On 'Super Saturday' back in July, the day the hospitality sector and hairdressers reopened, Prime Minister Boris Johnson had a haircut and went to the pub. Since then, many have done the same, pouring out of bars and crowding busy streets, hair newly trimmed. Later Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden announced that we were to experience another lifting of lockdown restrictions in coming weeks. Swimming pools would be reopening, gyms too. Theatres, opera, dance and music could resume and (drum roll) beauticians, tattooists, spas and tanning salons would also be able to set up shop once more.
At first this news was greeted with joy - the knock-on effect of the continued restrictions on beauty salons and nail bars for the 220,000 people who work in the UK’s beauty sector was staggering, not least because until that point, many of them had no idea when they would be allowed to do their jobs. Around 94% of them are women, but it’s OK because the men who make the rules made sure that everyone could still play a few rounds of golf as long ago as back in mid-May.
It’s the inconsistent nature of lockdown easing (and now resuming) that has been so confusing: beauty parlours weren't able to open at the same time as hair salons because they weren't ‘Covid-secure’, but we could still have our hair coloured by a professional and catch a flight to Spain. A week later and they were suddenly fine? Well, not quite. The small print from Oliver Dowden's announcement revealed that a whole raft of treatments were still banned - including facials, eyebrow threading and makeup application, leaving huge swathes of the industry still out in the cold.
READ MORE: When Will You Be Able To Visit Your Favourite Nail Salon For A Manicure?
There was a real whiff of sexism and snobbery about it all. At Prime Minister’s Questions earlier in the year, when discussing whether the sector would reopen, Boris joked to the MP William Wragg that he would one day visit a salon in his constituency. Oh how all the men guffawed. But wait, that silly little beauty industry they were laughing about contributes almost £8 billion to the UK economy and, as the All Party Parliamentary Group on Beauty, Aesthetics & Well Being has pointed out, it is currently on its knees.
Emily Ewart-Perks, co-founder of Secret Spa, an at-home beauty service, feels there has been a lack of understanding from the Government. ‘The beauty industry contributes more to the British economy than the car industry,’ she says. ‘They talk about industries being “Covid-secure”, but we’ve been ready for what feels like months now. We’ve done all the training and all the Government-recommended hygiene courses. We’ve got the PPE in place and, actually, hygiene is the bedrock of the industry, more so than in hospitality.
This is about self-care and confidence, she adds. 'People have been locked down for omonths and everyone is talking about mental health.'
Sharmadean Reid MBE, founder of Wah Nails and CEO of Beautystack, tells Grazia she knows beauty professionals who have taken jobs in supermarkets during lockdown to make ends meet. 'I have been speaking to beauty professionals who have taken jobs in nearby supermarkets during lockdown to make ends meet or have applied for Universal Credit. They don't have white collar jobs that allow them to work from home. Reid feels the government should have done more to support what is a very female, working class workforce.
And let's not forget that the uneven nature of Oliver Dowden's announcement meant at the time that for some beauty professionals, this is just more bad news after yet another false start.
'I'm furious,' said Vanita Parti, back in July, who is founder and chief executive of the Blink Brow Bar walk-in beauty bar chain in an interview with the BBC. 'We can't reopen... This will kill so many businesses. I wish they'd consulted us.'
Parti explained that she had first welcomed the announcement as 'fantastic news,' before receiving an email from the British Beauty Council telling her that no treatments on the face will be permitted.
She added that she was already losing money after not being permitted to open at the same time as hairdressers. 'We had to cancel 2,000 appointments in the first week of July, That's £3,000 that we had to write off.'
Roxanne Davies had just opened two beauty salons in Liverpool when she had to close them weeks later for lockdown. ‘I have spent my whole life trying to build an empire that could just be shattered in a few months,’ she says. ‘If hairdressers were allowed to open last week why couldn’t we? The salons are a lot cleaner than pubs, bars and restaurants.’
What Treatments Can Beauty Salons Do?
For those beauty salons currently in Tier 1 and Tier 2 categories (and in some cases in Tier 3 categories) most treatments are on the table including the 'front-of-face' treatments that the government had initially put on hold.
What Are 'Front-Of-Face' Treatments?
This list of treatments currently includes:
As long as all COVID-19 secure measures are adhered to by the salon or practitioner these services were allowed to resume as of the 15th August 2020. That said the government have taken to placing further restrictions in specific Tier 3 areas like Nottingham. Though the government have not definitively said that beauty salons should close in Tier 3 areas in general they did impose further restrictions in Nottingham stating that 'personal care settings such as tattoo parlours, tanning and nail salons and piercing services must close.' They continued 'hairdressers and barber salons can remain open but cannot perform services that are otherwise closed. It is advised that personal care services do not take place in private homes.' The services prohibited in Nottingham include 'front-of-the-face treatments'. These include face waxing, threading, facial treatments, eyelash treatments, microblading and eyebrow treatments to name just a few.
Can I Book A Facial At A Beauty Salon In Tier 1?
As long as your chosen salon or practitioner is adhering to all COVID-19 secure guidelines as required by the government, and travelling to and from the salon does not involve entering a Tier 3 area, you are allowed to book in for a facial.
Can I Book A Facial At A Beauty Salon In Tier 2?
As long as your chosen salon or practitioner is adhering to all COVID-19 secure guidelines as required by the government, and travelling to and from the salon does not involve entering a Tier 3 area, you are allowed to book in for a facial.
Can I Book A Facial At A Beauty Salon In Tier 3?
Here things get a bit more difficult. Theoretically and according to the government's general guidelines which don't explicitly require beauty salons to close in Tier 3 areas, you should be able to book in a facial at a beauty salon until further notice (as long as this doesn't involve travelling between different tiers). Be warned though, considering the heightened restrictions that the government has placed over Nottingham, it looks likely that we could see further beauty treatment restrictions being applied to Tier 3 areas in general. Nottingham is due to enter Tier 3 on Monday and the government has imposed even more restrictions on the area stating that 'personal care settings such as tattoo parlours, tanning and nail salons and piercing services must close.' They continued 'hairdressers and barber salons can remain open but cannot perform services that are otherwise closed. It is advised that personal care services do not take place in private homes.' The services prohibited in Nottingham include all those 'front-of-face' treatments listed above.
Can I Book A Massage In A Tier 1 Area?
As long as your chosen salon or practitioner is adhering to all COVID-19 secure guidelines as required by the government, and travelling to and from the salon does not involve entering a Tier 3 area, you are allowed to book in for a massage.
Can I Book A Massage In A Tier 2 Area?
As long as your chosen salon or practitioner is adhering to all COVID-19 secure guidelines as required by the government, and travelling to and from the salon does not involve entering a Tier 3 area, you are allowed to book in for a massage.
Can I Book A Massage In A Tier 3 Area?
According to the government's guidlines, which don't explicitly require beauty salons to close, and as long as your practitioner is adhering to all COVID-19 secure guidelines as required by the government, you should be able to book in for a massage in a tier 3 area as long as doing so doesn't require you to travel between different tiers. That being said, it is highly advised that you consult the guidelines for your specific area as the government has taken to imposing additional guidelines on different localities. Take Nottingham, for example. 'Front-of-face' treatments are now prohibited in Nottingham and some salons have been required to close altogether.
Can I Get My Eyebrows Done In A Tier 1 Area?
As long as your chosen salon or practitioner is adhering to all COVID-19 secure guidelines as required by the government, and travelling to and from the salon does not involve entering a Tier 3 area, you are allowed to book in for eyebrow treatments. These include eyebrow shaping, eyebrow waxing, microblading, eyebrow threading and eyebrow tinting.
Can I Get My Eyebrows Done In A Tier 2 Area?
As long as your chosen salon or practitioner is adhering to all COVID-19 secure guidelines as required by the government, and travelling to and from the salon does not involve entering a Tier 3 area, you are allowed to book in for eyebrow treatments. These include eyebrow shaping, eyebrow waxing, microblading, eyebrow threading and eyebrow tinting.
Can I Get My Eyebrows Done In A Tier 3 Area?
According to the government's guidlines, which don't explicitly require beauty salons to close in tier 3 areas, and as long as your practitioner is adhering to all COVID-19 secure guidelines as required by the government, you should be able to book in for a massage in a tier 3 area as long as doing so doesn't require you to travel between different tiers. That being said, it is highly advised that you consult the guidelines for your specific area as the government has taken to imposing additional restrictions on different localities. Take Nottingham, for example. 'Front-of-face' treatments are now prohibited (meaning any eyebrow treatments are off the table) in Nottingham and some salons have been required to close altogether.
READ MORE: Will Beauty Salons Close Again If There’s A Second Lockdown?