It has been wonderful watching the different Hair Professionals all over the world getting back to work, doing what we love to do, HAIR. In this blog getting back to hair I wanted to continue on my earlier themes of beauty industry changes, little did I know I’d be adding to it so soon. These are fresh observations as well as insights from other Professionals I have had the pleasure to coach and mentor as well as those I call friends.
3-4 months of lockdown is a lot of hair growth and it was very uplifting to hear from clients, celebrities, TV presenters and many more how they missed their Hairdressers. During several of our neighbourly coffee mornings on the street (now that was alien) the conversation always got around to hair with many wanting to know how to style to hide the ever increasing regrowth or the growing unmanageable longer locks. Even my husband was approached in a supermarket and questioned intently about his haircut. So YES! We were missed.
We all lived through or witnessed the changes and preparations businesses were making during lockdown to get ready for a alternate way of doing business. Before each phase of lockdown easing the soon to be opened businesses were interviewed and given the opportunity to share the changes, costs and share their anticipations of opening up and yes there are many changes. One of the most visible changes in this Covid-19 world is within the salon environment. Most salons unless already well spread out or 1-2 chair salons have had a reduction in the number of seats being used, this will affect the incomings versus the outgoings as the fixed costs are still the same. In various markets the governments and local authorities are trying to help with reductions in tax, rates, furlough payments for employees and grants for businesses. In other parts of the world the Beauty Professional is on their own which has resulted in many shutting their doors permanently.
The Independent and Freelance Professional although they have had less impact on their physical set-up, some already have separate suits/booths while others travel to homes or places of work are faced with a new set of challenges such as having to spread out appointments to carry out a deep cleaning between clients or prepare themselves to go into homes/offices wearing a fresh set of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE a new acronym forever now in our lexicon) resembling that of a hospital operating theatre rather than a beauty Professional.
Almost vanished are the walk-in services, I did notice our local barber has added yellow lines outside the shop for clients to queue at a safe distance. The majority of Professionals are working by appointment only, to ensure minimum contact of multiple individuals. Only one client at a time, friends, family and children cannot attend during the appointment. There has been an increase in digital booking systems being subscribed to or purchased that allowing clients to book directly online. Several have now shifted their appointment system where a client secures their visit with a deposit or a credit card that can be charged if they missed their appointment or do not cancelled within a given time-frame. Although not a new idea, it is a practice used in other industries e.g. hospitality, it is a good move to see it being more readily adopted by the beauty industry. I think our local barber may need to rethink the queuing strategy once winter starts to move in.
Capacity is the challenge, getting appointments can be difficult at the moment but this will start to even out in the coming months. As I write my hair is beyond my shoulders, self-trimmed and in a ponytail. I like many others am waiting until my favourite Stylist is free, I will be patient as I feel guilty using my friendship card to get a slot that could be used for a client in need. Several Professionals are working longer hours and opening more days a week to get to as many clients as possible. I suspect these longer working hours may be a fixture for some time under the current 2-meter restrictions.
Clients may notice an increase in prices to cover the additional cost associated with the new practices and these do vary by market and salon. There has in the UK and Ireland been a lot of negative press about some of the ‘price hikes’ as the press call it being passed onto customers. I applauded the Professionals who have taken the time to plan, source and supply PPE for their employees and customers. Some salons have gone as far as to add partitions between units. Personally I think the industry should charge for these extras, in many examples I have seen it is a surcharge between Euro 4-10 depending on the services and the level of protection needed e.g. a haircut will need fewer items than a colour service or some more vulnerable clients/employees may need a visor and mask whereas others just a mask. Margaret O’Rourke Doherty, CEO of the Hair and Beauty Industry Confederation reported in The Journal, how some small salons were expecting to pay almost €1,500 a week on PPE, and said the majority of salons she surveyed had no choice but to pass extra costs on to customers because they are unable to take the hit themselves.
Peter Mark a large salon chain with some 71 outlets have notified customers of an increase in their normal colouring services of between Euro 45-60 if they have to correct a home colour. Intentionally or not they got a lot of attention and criticism on SoMe and in the press. This has been my learning in all this, as Professionals we have been very responsive to the safety aspect of offering our services, however pre-warning our clients of the consequences of lock-out hair was not as well communicated. Some services are more expensive than others; there is a difference between a trim and a restyle, there is a BIG difference between a 6 weeks colour regrowth, a 12 weeks regrowth and a colour correction. It is not that the clients’ service costs have increased it is that they need a different service and with that comes a different price structure. And yes, business have to lay out the price structure for clients to see, the challenge is for a client who regularly has a specific service, at a given cost, over a long period of time, is not aware of the differences.
Learning and Development has changed dramatically in the Hair industry. When I started working on digital education over 10 years ago, I remember my proposals although liked were always met with statements like it would take 5 years, lots of resources and lots of money. Once lockdown was announced I witnessed in a matter of days digital approaches and online training being offered from all over the globe. Professionals supporting Professionals, big manufactures wading in with great online learning content and even subscription service providers offering free access albeit for a limited time. I take it all as it is all Fabulous! I too dusted off my mannequin and got busy following along with the step by steps, reinforcing that, if the will to learn, there is a way, no matter how it is delivered.
Customer reach from lockdown. Professionals have been reaching out to clients personally by phone/video calls or through SoMe, offering nougats of advice or simply listening. This has been a great support beyond the hair service especially for clients that were cocooning (elderly and vulnerable), clients who felt isolated and others who have struggled with all the sudden changes. When I am working on someone’s hair, I do feel part artist, confidant and councillor and I am not alone. In addition, some Professionals were offering tutorials, live sessions, general advice, consultations and products that could be posted in a effort to help clients maintain their hair themselves at home.
It’s difficult during this time of flux to see a clear path. We will continue to do our bit in the industry to offer hair services safely to our clients. We are using this time to reassess out client’s hair, it is a great time to make a change with them to something different. We will see greater adoption of digital and with that will come easier and more sophisticated solutions from running the business to learning and development. I suspect our 2020 winter festive season will not be as party driven and hair pressured as it has in the past consequently our busy time will be spread out over the coming year. I live in hope that the scientists come up with an effective vaccination soon and that there is not a second wave. In addition, I am adding my personal cause, to get the local councils to address all the waste from PPE and help businesses do the right thing.
Stay Safe
Caroline
