People are going to serious lengths to get their mops chopped in lockdown.
Leo's roadmap to reopening Ireland, announced on Friday evening last, was a bittersweet mix of hope and stark reality.
For many, it was the first time that it really hit home that they may not be able to get their hair seen to in a salon until July... among many other things of course.
But it seems that the hairdresser issue has really hit a nerve, with customers reportedly now offering to pay up to €200 for haircut worth €40, according to the incoming President of the Irish Hairdressers Federation, Danielle Kennedy.
She told Sean O' Rourke on RTE Today that the "black market" has "erupted" since it was announced that hairdressing may not reopen until July 20:
"People just aren't prepared to wait that long for a haircut.
She said that people were offering "roughly €150 to €200 for a haircut compared to €40 to €50, so three and four times the normal price to get it done."
"It’s putting salons under an awful lot of pressure because there is a fear that the owners are going to crumble and will just try and look after their clients."
To combat the issue, Danielle is proposing that salons open in June with strict guidelines to ensure a safe experience.
She's confident that this can be achieved:
"Hairdressing salons are sterile environments. We are well equipped to cope with this and we are happy to take that up a notch," she said.
"We are all salon owners so we know what we suggest are things that will work and are practical for the industry."
Her sentiment was
echoed by Dylan Bradshaw of Dylan Bradshaw Hair on Newstalk this morning. He said:
“A lot of people forget in our industry we’re incredibly clean in what we do - when I’m cutting somebody’s hair normally, I’d be washing my hands two or three times. You’re also working behind your clients.
"If a client comes through the space, then you would have to take 15 minutes in between to do a deep cleanse of the station you’re working in. Then there’s disposable gowns, and you don’t let anyone into the salon unless it’s appointment only."
Meanwhile the
Irish Spa Association have outlined their plan for reopening, and are also hoping to reopen their doors sooner than July 20.
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