Survival fears for Leeds salons as they speak out on 'disproportionate' impact of second Covid lockdown

Hairdressers and beauty salons were closed at short notice on November 5, meaning hundreds of appointments were cancelled and businesses left without income for four weeks.

It's raised survival fears for the hair and beauty industry in Leeds, which is largely made up of small independent businesses.

Carl Thompson, owner of The Opposition Hairdressing in Cross Gates, opened the salon for 18 hours a day in the week before lockdown, trying to squeeze in customers before it was forced to close.

Carl, 63, said it was unfair that many big retailers could remain open during lockdown selling non-essential goods, while small businesses were left with no income.

"Most hairdressers have taken this really seriously, we’ve gone to the ends of the earth to implement as many safety measures as we can reasonably afford," he said.

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“We ask every customer to sanitise when they come into the store and we sanitise the card machine after every use. You don’t see that at supermarkets and while I appreciate they cannot enforce this, it shows it’s a completely unlevel playing field.

“You can go into big retailers and buy Christmas decorations. While I love Christmas, it’s not essential. It’s only a lockdown for certain types of businesses and it's the small businesses that are being penalised.”

Becky Wendel owns Boheme Hair and Beauty Boutique in Farsley, which has been open for six years.

Like many small businesses in Leeds, the salon has applied for a grant of £1,334 for the period of closure.

But Becky says she has struggled to cover the cost of rent, overheads and weekly wages while waiting for the money to come in.

She has taken out a loan to help the business stay afloat and is concerned that the hair and beauty sector, which usually generates around £6billion a year to the UK economy, will struggle to recover in the new year.

Becky, 43, said: "It’s hit me so hard both mentally and physically this time. It’s exhausting.

"Grants have been distributed across all small businesses, but whereas some industries could still generate revenue with takeout or online sales, we had no other income. It’s not fair how disproportionate it is.

"We’ve felt persecuted as an industry, we’ve been left to the last minute for everything and we’ve been moved from sector to sector, with no tailored support.

"Is it right that I should go into the new year in debt for something that isn’t my fault because I’m abiding by the rules?"

Louise Howard-Long, owner of Architect Hair Salon in Headingley, has used the second lockdown to 'up-scale' the salon as stylists are permitted to continue training wearing PPE.

The hairdressers recently won Ultimate Salon in the Salon Business Awards 2020, which Louise said was a welcome boost for her team.

Louise said: "Sitting on our backsides wouldn’t be good for anyone’s mental health and learning new techniques means the stylists will be bouncing to try them out once we reopen.

“But we’re lucky we’re well-established and had money in the bank to start with, I’d hate to think what would have happened if this happened a few years ago.

"My heart bleeds for businesses who don’t have those reserves.

“You go from being unbelievably busy where you have to put the brakes on and be so aware of staff welfare, to being closed.”

The salons are now preparing for a busy Christmas period when national lockdown restrictions lift on December 3, as the Government confirms all personal services can resume.

Becky said salons like Boheme have a more important role than ever during the pandemic.

She said: “Our job is far more than cutting hair or painting nails. We’re not trained counsellors, but that’s what we spend a lot of time doing.

“From a mental health perspective, it’s a huge thing for customers - some elderly customers still haven’t seen family members but they have come into the salon because they feel it’s a safe environment, just having that interaction with somebody is huge.

“But equally for people who work in salons like myself, we’re used to spending time with people throughout the day and being closed has impacted our mental health.”

Louise added: "Everyone has a different take on this awful situation, so it’s important that we can take someone away from that and have a bit of a laugh.

“We’ve been the first place outside that some clients have visited since lockdown, you can feel someone’s shoulders dropping as they relax during their colour or cut.

“People might say 'we’re not going anywhere so we won’t get our hair done’ - but actually, why not go home and watch Strictly and feel glamorous?

“Even if it’s just for working from home, people need to look in the mirror and feel confident about themselves, whether anybody else is seeing it or not.”

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