Is your hair salon ready to reopen? here are the must-read coronavirus safety resource guides
Published
18th May 2020
by laurahusband
Do you feel your hair salon is ready to reopen and have you considered the coronavirus safety procedures and guides you will need to follow yet?
Hair salons (which include hairdressers and barbers working in and out of a salon) are included in phase 3 of the government guidelines issued on Monday 11 May. This means your hair salon will need to prepare safety protocols for when your salon will be allowed to reopen, which as it stands is from Saturday 4 July. It may feel like a daunting task but there’s no time like the present to consider how you will reopen safely and smoothly for both your team and clients.
Is your hair salon ready to reopen? HJ's list of coronavirus safety resource guides
HJ has compiled a list of the UK hair industry coronavirus safety resource guides that are available so far to help you and your team reopen your hair salon as soon as it is feasible. The UK government has not announced any official guidelines yet for hair salons to follow, however HJ will continue to update this list of hair industry safety resource guides to help hair salons prepare to reopen as more resources become available. HJ is sharing the latest developments during lockdown and how it is affecting hair salons. Click here for our latest coronavirus articles.Hairdressers Journal International – COVID-19 Salon Guidelines to share with clients
Hairdressers Journal International has created a set of guidelines for you to share with your clients and for you and your salon to use as a starting point for considering safety once salons reopen. It is written in a client-friendly way, which means you can share it on your social media channels, salon website and place it in your salon window.
Displaying a set of guidelines will remind your loyal clients that you are taking their health and safety seriously. It will also give them some peace of mind that you have implemented a number of procedures to protect their safety during their salon appointment.
Please click here to download a draft version of HJ's COVID-19 Salon Guidelines to share your feedback with usWe would love you to send us your feedback on the guidelines that we have compiled so far to share with your clients. Please email [email protected] to share your feedback with us.
BABTAC – Back to Work Guidelines
The British Association of Beauty Therapy & Cosmetology has created eight-pages of guidance for preparing beauty and hair salons for post COVID-19 lockdown. BABTAC explains the guidance is intended for planning purposes: “Employers and staff should use this guide to help identify risk levels in their workplace settings and to determine any appropriate control measures to implement. Additional guidance or changes to current guidance may be needed going forward as COVID-19 outbreak conditions change, including as new information about the virus, its transmission, and impacts, becomes available from government or health organisations.” The guide includes an explanation of how coronavirus spreads, how to implement infection protection measures and operational protocols and controls you will need to consider. Go to https://www.babtac.com for more information about the BABTAC guidelines.Hair and Barber Council – Back to Work Plan
The Hair and Barber Council has created its guidance for preparing for the reopening of your salon, barbershop or freelance business. The Hair and Barber Council says: "In the continued absence of any formal Government guidance regarding what the industry must have in place for health, safety and hygiene purposes for returning to work, this Back to Work Plan will help you plan for reopening, in a way that will give your staff and customers the confidence they need to know that you have taken all the precautions you can to protect them whilst on your premises. If the Government, in the meantime, gives the industry formal guidance on what they require of us, that will take priority in the parts they mention over this plan." The plan starts with putting together a risk assessment for your premises. The guide goes on to focus on hygiene, your premises, retail and reception area, work stations, bathroom and staff room. There is also a section specifically for freelance and mobile hairdressers and barbers. For more information about the Hair and Barber Council guidelines go to haircouncil.org.uk.Henkel – Back to Work Programme
Henkel, which is the parent company of Schwarzkopf Professional, Indola, JOICO, Alterna Haircare and Sexy Hair has created a Back to Work Programme designed to lift the professional hairdressing industry during the coronavirus pandemic. The initiative is a one-stop drive to equip all salon owners who are Henkel customers, regardless of brand affiliation with all the necessary PPE, hygiene products, training and communication materials needed to reopen safely. Julian Crane, general manager, Henkel Beauty Care UK and Ireland says: “As salon doors are (hopefully) flung wide to welcome back those clients, the industry collectively has one goal in sight: to create environments that are safe, clean, flowing, observing social distancing, protecting teams and clients and most importantly for us all are safe places to create hairdressing beauty.” For more information go to henkel.co.uk.JOICO – Salon Health and Safety Guide
JOICO Europe has unveiled its Salon Health and Safety Guideline Pack, which contains information and guidance for salons preparing for reopening.
The cohesive guide contains advice and recommendations on how to practice safe social distancing whilst putting clients at ease and maintaining their safety at all times within the salon.
The guide also include equipment recommendations, hygiene standards guides and PPE information. Not just for salons, the guide also offers advice for freelance and mobile hairdressers.
The JOICO Salon Health and Safety Guide can be accessed by visiting one of JOICO’s UK distributor websites:
L’Oréal – Back to Business Salon Support Guide
L’Oréal Professional Products (which includes L’Oréal Professionnel, Kérastase, Matrix, Biolage and Redken), has created a 48-page Back to Business Salon Support Guide to help salons reopen their doors during the coronavirus.
L’Oréal Professional Products Division UK & Ireland managing director Béatrice Dautzenberg explains: “We want to affirm our total solidarity and we are here to help you navigate this challenging moment. Together with industry trade bodies, we are working to provide useful information to aid the preparation for the safe reopening of salons - with care for you, your teams and your clients as the number one priority.”
The guide explains how you can modify your salon operations as well as how you will need to address personal hygiene and workplace hygiene. This includes respecting social distancing and adapting to how clients will enter and exit the salon.
Go to https://uk.lorealaccess.com/learn for more information about the L’Oréal Back to Business Guide.
NHBF – Back to Business Guidelines
Following the publication of the Government’s COVID-19 Recovery Strategy, the NHBF aims to help your hair salon reopen with its coronavirus safety resource guides called the Back to Business guidelines. The set of guidelines are for hair salons, barbershops and beauty salons. The organisation is using these guidelines to continue its conversations with government and is aiming to show the UK government that the industry can work safely to avoid delaying when salons and barbershops can return to work.
The NHBF’s chief executive Hilary Hall says: “We strongly believe there is a need for sector-specific guidance for hair, beauty and barbering. We have worked with members, our health and safety team and other industry bodies to develop robust guidelines that show salons and barbershops can operate safely when the time comes to reopen. These guidelines have been widely shared with our government contacts. They will also help salons and barbershops make full use of the time available to prepare for reopening.”
The NHBF’s Back to Business Guidelines cover how business owners can recover from the coronavirus lockdown, the safety precautions they will need to take once operating and how to take financial control of their business.
Go to https://www.nhbf.co.uk to read the full guide and go to www.nhbf.co.uk/coronavirus for more information and coronavirus FAQs.
Salon Success – Here for You Resources
Salon Success has created a hub containing key Salon Success brand assets, documents and resources for salons to help them to prepare for a successful future for salons.
Salon Success managing director Simon Tickler states: “Whilst we do not yet have official guidelines from the government, we should still prepare ourselves for the reopening of our salons.”
The initial key resources include:
- Checklist for preparing to reopen your salon
- Post COVID-19 Safety and Care Strategy for Salons
- Vlogs from business expert Ken West
- Unbranded social media assets
- ‘We’re Taking Precautions’ posters