Exclusive: hairdressers can open on June 15 for 'click and collect'

Hairdressers and salons have been closed to the public since lockdown started on March 24, however we can exclusively reveal the government has given hairdressers the green light to reopen for retail services on June 15, offering ‘click and collect’ for products such as shampoos and conditioners in a bid to restart the £6 billion hairdressing economy. They still cannot offer any services such as haircuts until July 4.

A senior government source said, “We still do not anticipate hairdressers and salons opening before phase 3, which on the Prime Minister's road map is around July 4th. Click and collect can be used for these businesses to sell products as long as customers order in advance and do not enter the premises.”

Hairdressers and salons keen to sell their shop stock will be able to provide a physical collection point from June 15, when other 'non-essential retail' shops reopen. However unlike other retailers opening on June 15 such as clothes shops and department stores, in a rule unique to salons, customers cannot enter the premises because in some smaller salons, ‘social distancing requirements cannot be met’.

Although it is still ‘highly unlikely’ salons will be able to resume services such as haircuts and manicures before July 4, the click and collect service means you could speak to your hairdresser face-to-face for any hair care or beauty advice.

The salon Gatsby & Miller in Amersham was the first ‘covid-secure’ salon in the UK, ready for opening on July 4. They will be offering the ‘click and collect’ service from June 15. Dawn Montgomery, salon manager says, “We’ve already got an online shop to post products to customers, but the click and collect service will be very popular with our clients. We’ve kept in touch with our clients throughout lockdown with online consultations, recommending products they might need, so now they can get it on the same day.”

Montgomery plans to be open between 9 to 5 from June 15, with a large table in the foyer of the salon with labelled packages of each order. Customers can then collect their package from the table, while staff inside the salon will be in full PPE. If there is more than one customer at a time, Montgomery says they will “form a social distanced queue and wait outside, so we are only only serving one customer at a time.”

Speaking to the Telegraph, Millie Kendall, the CEO of the British Beauty Council said: “It is great that we can start supporting our high street salons and hairdressers by buying products through them, but we need to make sure we follow the guidelines and not enter the shop for any services.”

Kendall is also a member of the Government taskforce set up by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to look into exactly how the sector can reopen safely. A set of draft guidelines are expected to be released next week to those consulting with the Government, detailing the safety measures each salon and hairdresser will have to implement before reopening.

The beauty industry as a whole employs over 600,000 people in the UK, and the hairdressing sector alone is the single largest contributor to the British beauty economy, valued at £6 billion.