Open letter to the UK Government on Behalf of the Nail and Beauty Industry.
Following the recent government announcement on most businesses being allowed to re-open from 4th July, nail bars and beauty salons were singled out as being unable to do so until they can operate in a “covid-secure way”.
Alongside this announcement, the government also provided guidelines for close contact services which include “hairdressing, barbering, beauty and nail bars, makeup, tattoo and spray tanning studios, spas, sports and massage therapy, dress fitters, tailors and fashion designers.” Despite categorising all our professions together, nail and beauty salons were among those declared as being unable to open.
Whilst delighted that hairdressers and barbers get to open, it’s hard to understand why nail bars and beauty salons are excluded from opening on the 4th July. It has been suggested that this is due to nail and beauty treatments being face to face services but we are at a loss as to how hairdressers/barbers get a fringe/front hairline straight without being face to face?
We have installed safeguard screens and both beautician and client each wear a face mask. Our industry has long been trained on the importance of health and safety. Hygienic practices were in place prior to the advent of Covid-19, we have reinforced them to adhere to the published Covid-19 secure guidelines and beyond.
Since the early news of the outbreak, The Nail Group were among the first to close, to join the national effort in protecting the safety and well being of our staff, clients and community. During this time, we have carried out a risk assessment and have implemented new measures and practices to ensure we can operate in the safest way to reduce the risk of transmission.
New measures include but are not limited to:
Floor markings and signage to encourage social distancing and safe practice.
A strict appointment system to control numbers.
Perspex screens to safeguard technicians and clients.
Obtaining client details for contact tracing.
Extended cleaning routines.
Staff training and covid-19 certifications with Barbicide to enforce universal precautions.
Existing pre covid-19 sanitisation and disinfection measures:
All of our sterilisable salon tools (metal instruments) use an ultraviolet germicidal irradiation machine to kill microorganisms. They are further packaged into sealed sterilisation pouches for each client.
All other tools are single-use.
Personal protective equipment (PPE) have long been worn at nail salons.
Face masks to protect us from fumes and dust.
Gloves are worn and changed after each client.
Aprons are worn and changed regularly to avoid dust particles being absorbed into clothing.
Considering the above, we ask the following:
Clarity on why our industry has been singled out for an extended ban on opening, when the guidelines provided have been met.
Clarity on when we would be able to re-open. With no provisional date to communicate to our clients, we are now being kept in limbo with no clarity of when we can serve our communities again.
As we are forced to remain shut, will financial support be extended? Keeping the beauty industry closed is causing financial difficulties and affecting the livelihoods as well as the mental health and well being of many professionals, who primarily are operating as small businesses without extensive financial safety nets.
Sincerely,
Susan Nguyen
Managing Director of The Nail Group.
