Beauticians have been left feeling “deflated” after the government’s last minute decision to push back the date for allowing them to resume offering treatments on the face.
As one of the last sectors to return to normality post lockdown, the beauty industry took another hit as prime minister Boris Johnson announced a U-turn.
What was supposed to be an exciting and “buzzing” atmosphere in Norfolk’s beauty salons on Saturday changed dramatically, and businesses now sit empty and clients are once again left waiting for their favourite treatments.
Charlotte Croft, owner of the Glambox, on St Benedict’s Street, in Norwich, had booked in more than 400 clients for eyelashes and brows up until August 15 and instead of getting back to doing what she loves, they spent the day rescheduling every appointment.
Ms Croft said: “Today we had eight staff members fully booked and this is what our day is now. One staff member is doing nails and I have no clients.
“When we heard the announcement yesterday, I was really overwhelmed, upset and disappointed.
“This is the fourth time we have been let down for the fourth time and we just feel deflated.
“We had mentally prepared ourselves for being really busy, we had opened up extra hours and extra days working six days to fit our clients back in, so for them to turn around and say we can’t it is really frustrating.”
The 30-year-old said she feels the beauty industry has been “forgotten” and once again pushed to the back, despite business owners who have been working hard to ensure their salons are safe for clients to return.
And now Ms Croft has had to make the difficult decision put some of staff members back on furlough.
She added: “I just don’t understand the difference from coming into here to going into a hairdresser. We have full PPE and we have every safety measure in place.
“It was meant to be buzzing in here today, we had 50 clients all booked in for facial treatments.
“I’m hoping we can get back to normal on 15th, but I just feel like they will probably push it back again. It’s so unpredictable.”
Alice Kingdom is the owner of Body and Brows, located at her home in Thetford, and she has had to cancel thousands of pounds of appointments over the next two weeks.
She said she is “upset” about the decision, which is “to the detriment of small businesses” like hers.
The award winning semi-permanent make-up artist and advanced therapist said: “We were given less than 24 hours’ notice and I was due to start working today.
“My financial reserves have been spent in readiness for opening, reinvesting heavily in stock, child care, insurance - with it being pulled from under us at the 11th hour.
“I truly believed that my business can open in a Covid secure way, and think that it is a total double standard for pubs, gyms, hairdressers and other situations where people are in close contact without the same measures as I would use usually in place.
“I think there was a massive misunderstanding of what advanced treatments look like, how they work and the measures those in my industry were already taking to protect clients and ourselves.”
But cosmetic nurse Kim, from Refine Aesthetics, in Gorleston, which offers non-surgical cosmetic treatments to the face, including filler and botox, said despite feeling frustrated she understands why the decision to push back the date has been made.
The 31-year-old said: “At the end of the day the number of cases is going up, so it would be silly to think that it is essential to have your lips done.
“It is annoying, but it is not the end of the world it is much more important we stay safe.
“I have worked as a nurse throughout the pandemic, so I have seen the affects. It is a real virus which is a real danger to some people.”
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