How to help your hairdresser following COVID-19
When hair salons in the UK are finally safe to open following the COVID-19 pandemic, there are lots of measures your stylists will put in place for you. They will ensure your safety through rigorous hygiene practices inside the salon, and things may be a little different to what you’re used to going forward.
Just as your hairdressers are looking out for you during this time, you should aim to do the same. Here are just a few of the ways you can make life easier for your local hair salon in these coming months:
1. Book an appointment (when it’s safe to do so)
The best way you can support your hairdresser is to book an appointment as soon as your local salon reopens. Many salons have been without business for nearly three months now. Simply giving staff the reassurance that you, the customer, is still there for them when the pandemic passes will help them enormously. Spreading the word of their opening on social media and encouraging family and friends to visit for an appointment would also be appreciated by your hairdresser.
2. Attend your appointment alone
We understand that in some circumstances, having to bring your young child with you to the salon is unavoidable. But wherever you can, try to book your appointment to fall at a time when your child can stay with a family member or attend school or pre-school. Bringing another adult with you to the salon is a definite no-no, unless that other adult happens to have a hair appointment too. Some salons may implement restrictions on how many people can be in the salon at once, so be prepared to have to leave your tag-ons to wait for you outside.
3. Wash & sanitise your hands as advised
Hand washing is one of the simplest but most important things we can do right now to remain safe. You should wash your hands as often as possible, and when you can’t, use hand sanitiser after touching items that aren’t yours. Most hair salons will have a bathroom area, or at least a sink, where you will be able to wash your hands whenever needed. Some may also ask that you use their hand sanitiser upon entry into the salon.
4. Stay at home if you feel ill
It might sound like common sense, but if you have even the slightest symptom of a cold (and even if you think it is “just a cold”) please stay at home for the sake of the staff at your hair salon. Not only do you risk passing your virus onto the staff, you could pass it onto other customers, too. If a salon is discovered to be a location where COVID-19 has spread, the decision could be made to re-close all salons as a precautionary measure, which would be incredibly frustrating for the hairdressers whose job is their livelihood.
5. Where a mask if you have on
Masks can’t stop the spread of coronavirus, but they can prevent an infected person from being able to breathe the virus directly through the air to another person. If you have a mask, respectfully wear it at your hair salon. Your hairdresser will most likely be wearing their own mask for the time being, which will help everyone to stay safe.
6. Follow your hair salon’s rules
For a few months up to a few years, your hair salon might have implemented new rules that it intends to follow. These rules could restrict which accessories you can take with you into the salon, or they may affect the way that your treatment is carried out. No-one likes change, and it’s likely that your hairdresser isn’t too keen on having to switch up the way things are done either. But if you can respect the fact that these changes are enabling the business to stay open, and stay polite and understanding, your hairdresser will greatly appreciate your effort.
7. Be kind, always
It goes without saying that in any situation with a business that has been affected by COVID-19, you should offer kindness, support, friendliness and compassion to its staff. This doesn’t mean asking for a detailed financial breakdown of how they’ve managed to stay afloat over these past few months – that would be insensitive. Behave like the customer you’d like to treat, and avoid fussing or moaning about things your hair salon can’t control.