With hairdressers and barbers in Wales able to re-open on Monday, BROOKE BOUCHER visited two businesses in Newport to see what new measures will be in place.

ALTHOUGH hairdressers in England were able to re-open earlier this month - with strict social distancing measures in place, of course - those in Wales have had to wait a little longer, but will finally be able to open their doors on Monday, July 13.

Among those re-opening on Monday will be Friends Hair in Chepstow Road, Maindee, while T’s Male Grooming, in Station Street, will follow suit on Tuesday.

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Both businesses have been buying up PPE for the past few weeks and months to make sure that were prepared for when they eventually reopened, and will have disposable gowns, masks and aprons available to customers.

“The stylists will have a set of masks and visors to use and we will be asking everyone to wear masks to their appointments for the first few weeks,” said Cerys Woods, stylist at Friends Hair.

Inside Friends Hair Salon

“One client will be allowed in at a time. We did a role play with the staff last week to go through what would be done upon a customer arriving in the salon.

“We will also be taking people’s names and addresses for track and trace.

South Wales Argus:

The team at Friends Hair in Maindee. L-R Back Lydia Burn, Seren Berry, Abbie May, Sarah Andrews and Tayla Gibb with front, Lynne Palmer and Cerys Woods. Picture: www.christinsleyphotography.co.uk

“It feels weird being back. The girls feel a lot better after the meeting we’ve just had and now we’re just excited."

Within the last two weeks, the salon has received hundreds of messages from loyal customers frantically wanting to get their appointment booked in – with more coming in by the day.

Staff have carried out a deep-clean, with finishing touches taking place this weekend. No coffee or food will be served, and no magazines will be offered to clients.

Consultations are being done over the phone as much as possible to avoid doing so in the salon. And those wanting a full head of bleach or a colour change will have to wait a bit longer due to the time it would take in the salon to do so.

South Wales Argus:

Friends Hair are equipped with PPE. L-R: Cerys Woods, Kate Trezise and Abbie May 

“We feel really safe now,” said Lynne Palmer, owner of Friends Hair.

“If the government had said six weeks ago, we could have opened, I wouldn’t have. But I feel now we can open safely."

Tom Slight, owner of T’s Male Grooming has also taken the same approach to opening with new safety measures.

“We’re all excited to come back," he said. "We all came in last week to clean.

Deep clean at T’s Male Grooming

“We’re lucky to have such a big customer space. For the first few weeks masks will be mandatory, but then it will be optional.

“Staff will be wearing visors and masks and have their own station. We’ve also added in an extra 15 minutes between every haircut to make sure surfaces are wiped down.

South Wales Argus:

Tom Slight, owner of T's Male Grooming 

“There will be enough staff members available for people to make appointments."

Clients are being told to make sure they turn up on time, as no more than two customers will be allowed to wait in the store at one time.

New safety measures at T’s Male Grooming

Mr Slight has visited the shop each week since lockdown to clean, and has recently hired a cleaning firm to disinfect all the surfaces in the shop.

All staff, for both businesses, have completed the Barbicide course that is available to those in the industry – a program designed to present the most current information that is pertinent to the profession.

South Wales Argus:

A new handwash station has been installed at T's Male Grooming 

Both shops are still getting some last-minute touches ready, such as clearing out areas, but look forward to welcoming back clients next week.

To make any appointments, or to find out more information on either business, head to 'Friendshair Maindee' on Facebook and @TsMaleGrooming on Facebook.