Beauty salons and hairdressers are planning to work extra hours after a “crazy” weekend of bookings was reported ahead of England’s nationwide lockdown.
The National Hair and Beauty Federation (NHBF), which represents the industry, said several venues had planned to open when they would usually be shut after many rushed to get appointments before Wednesday night’s deadline.
Jayne Prigent, who owns salon group JAS Hair in Salisbury, said she was anticipating the company would process “seven days of trading in three” as customers rushed to get haircuts ahead of lockdown.
Ms Prigent, 50, told PA: “Saturday was crazy and yesterday we worked on our diary to help get guests in over next three days!
“We will be doing late nights to get guests in.
“We will do about seven days trading in three!
“My team of 40 are amazing, working days off and longer hours to help out.
“Online bookings also went crazy, with about 60 coming in one hour.”
“The business will lose a lot of revenue that we will never get back,” she told PA.
“We are already 70% booked for December, which doesn’t leave us much space to fit in extra guests.
“It’s shocking and sad and a massive worry.
“We are 30 years old on November 12, and in all the 30 years this one has been the hardest to cope with.”
National restrictions will apply in England from 5 November until 2 December.
You must stay at home, with a limited set of exemptions.After 4 weeks we will look to return to a local and regional approach, based on the latest data. https://t.co/shgzOurdZC pic.twitter.com/7j9DDayqxr
— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) October 31, 2020
The NHBF said in a statement: “The NHBF has spoken with a few salons this weekend and we are seeing a rise in requests from clients to bring appointments forward before the lockdown.
“Many opened their doors yesterday and are opening them today when they may usually be closed.
“We recommend that salons speak to clients who have appointments booked for the lockdown period and arrange with staff to see if there is any opportunity to book these clients in before the lockdown commences on Thursday.”
The Prime Minister announced on Saturday that pubs, bars, restaurants and non-essential retail across the nation will close from Thursday, and people will be told to stay at home unless they have a specific reason to leave, but schools, colleges and nurseries will remain open.
