Yahoo Finance 10 beauty treatments you still can't book
Given that the latest lockdown easing measures, came into place on Saturday 4th July, and included hairdressers re-opening, you might now be wondering if you can head for pedicure, too.
Well the good news is that you can visit your local beauty salon as of Monday 13th July. The not-so good news? Facial treatments are still off the menu.
A list of treatments that will not be allowed has been provided by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
This includes:
Face waxing, sugaring or threading services
Facial treatments
Advanced facial technical (electrical or mechanical)
Eyelash treatments
Make-up application
Dermarolling
Dermaplaning
Microblading
Electrolysis on the face
Eyebrow treatments
There are currently no specific dates for when beauty salons will be given the green light to do facial treatments. While many in the industry were anticipating that those providing services like threading and microblading would be set to get back to business at the same time as the hair industry – as has been the case in Germany and Italy – that was not how the plan was laid out in an address by the Prime Minister.
A post shared by BritishBeautyCouncil (@britishbeautycouncil) on Jun 23, 2020 at 5:11am PDT
"We intend to allow some other close contact services, such as nail bars, to reopen as soon as we can, when we’re confident they can operate in a secure way," Boris Johnson said in the briefing.
What does 'COVID-secure' mean?
Beauticians who do open on Monday must follow strict rules to ensure they provide a safe space for their customers. Rules include:
using screens or barriers to separate clients from each other, and to separate practitioners from clients
operating an appointment-only booking system to minimise the number of people at the salon at any one time
keeping the appointment times as short as possible
ensure frequent hand washing guidelines are followed
no serving of food or drinks apart from water
use disposable equipment where possible
Wear gloves where possible
maintaining sufficient spacing between customers
keep records of staff and customers and share these with NHS Test and Trace
Will customers have to wear a mask in a beauty salon?
Most probably. Your beautician is required to wear protective equipment when two metres social distancing cannot be maintained and they may ask you to do the same.
What does the beauty industry think of not allowing facial treatments?
Naturally, there's a keen desire for an understanding of what will happen next. Businesses cannot survive without turning profit forever, while the furlough scheme is set to end in October.
Hilary Hall, chief executive of the National Hair & Beauty Federation said, "We don’t yet have a date for when treatments in the ‘high-risk zone’ will be allowed, and so will continue to push hard for more financial and business support for those in beauty who cannot yet return to work. This is essential to protect people’s livelihoods and our industry’s future. We will keep working closely with government officials, alongside other industry bodies, to get these businesses open as soon as it’s safe to do so."
Millie Kendall MBE, British Beauty Council, says: "The decision to broaden the scope of available hair and beauty services will allow many more beauty professionals to get back to work, and will also allow customers to benefit from a range of beauty treatments which can be carried out safely for both client and practitioner. It’s a positive step, but we are still only part of the way there. We will keep working closely with governing bodies and supporting everyone in beauty until we are able to achieve the fully-reinvigorated beauty industry we all want."
Skincare expert Caroline Hirons took to Instagram live last night to share her anger that beard trimming is allowed, but eyebrow waxing isn’t: "I’m raging, I cannot understand how they're getting away with this," she told her near half a million followers.
How might beauty salons continue to open up?
While hair salons do have permission to open up, they must be "covid secure." This means measures such as plenty of space between customers and hairdressers wearing protective visors. As such, it's safe to assume that similar measures will be in place with salons, given that similar risks (lots of person-to-person contact, small, indoor spaces) are posed.
What do open beauty salons look like elsewhere?
In Italy, beauty salons have opened up – but the experience is a far cry from what you might be used to. Tape lines floors in many salons, indicating where you can and can not step. Things like nail files have become single use, and thrown away once put to work on a customer. Staff sport masks and gloves. It gets more dystopian – some nail bars have glass partitions to separate technician and customer, with a space to slide your hand through.
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