'Just ecstatic' - Hair salons and tattoo parlours react to reopening
Hair salons and tattoo parlours eagerly reopened yesterday with new safety measures in place after months of financial uncertainty due to coronavirus.
Staff have been equipped with enhanced personal protective equipment while social distancing guidance is limiting customers inside stores.
Business owners in the Black Country and Staffordshire described these changes as "strange" but said the important thing was reopening to customers.
Another major factor is that no procedures should be carried out on the face, under safety instructions from the Government to prevent Covid-19 spreading.
This has particularly affected hair salons including Gorgeous, in Perton. The shop has reopened with safety measures in place including PPE for staff.
Helen Liggins, who runs Gorgeous, said: "At the moment we are limited to nails, toes and body work. We are really busy for all the elements that we can provide.
"But the fact that there are things that we can't do, that has definitely impacted us."
The 44-year-old, from Perton, continued: "We can't work on any facial area at the moment which we are hoping changes quite quickly.
"We are assuming we are not far behind where we can do eyebrows and everything else on the face.
"We are sorted of excited but it would be nice to have the full green light. Without that major side of the business, it does make it quite difficult."
She added: "Thanks to all our clients who have supported us through lockdown and been loyal to us. It has made us emotional."
At Walsall-based The Underground Tattoo Studio, staff have been equipped with face shields as part of the new safety measures.
Serena Russell, 40, of Walsall, says staff already wear PPE due to the nature of their work, where they are exposed to things like blood.
But she says her business, which offers tattoos and piercings, has taken the new safety measures very seriously.
Alongside enhanced PPE, there is a limit on how many customers can enter the shop at one time.
She said: "I am absolutely over the moon to reopen. We have been running for 22 years. It was passed on to me by my dad and we lost my dad a couple of years ago.
"It broke my heart to think our studio has stood empty for so long, not knowing if we were going to reopen. It was really scary and stressful."
At Glam & Glow Hair and Beauty Salon in Cannock, safety measures in place include social-distancing markers, aprons and masks.
Charlotte Davies, 32, of Cannock, said: "We are just ecstatic to be back open. We are hoping all our clients come back, especially with the measures in place."
