“If Everyone Was Told What Needed To Be Done, It Would Make Things So Much Smoother”

A prominent West Clare business owner is urging the Government to issue protocols for the hair and beauty industry to follow when they reopen their doors later this summer.

Phase Four of the Government’s COVID-19 roadmap will see hair salons and beauticians allowed to reopen in what will be the second last phase of the program.

There have been calls for that move to happen sooner with the industry not currently classed as essential but Cree woman Sarah Gould, who owns Riverside Hair and Beauty in her native village, feels that could not be further from the truth.

“We have service users from the Brothers of Charity coming to us for a haircut or to get the nails painted and that is essential to them for their own wellbeing. Our late former Parish Priest Fr Carmody called into me every Tuesday morning after Mass to pare down his nails because he could not do it himself. I never charged him and he always told me he would keep praying for me which I told him I badly needed. That service is essential to people and there are real mental health benefits for people to feel good about themselves with their hair done or whatever it might be. It is also that outlet for people to come in and talk to us or just to have someone to vent to. It is a major industry in Ireland and it really feels as if they have just forgotten about us. I have been liaising with clients and a lot of them are elderly. They miss coming to the salon and it was not just for treatments, it was for the chats too. That was their outlet and they enjoyed it so they are missing it. We are in a small country community and they miss the day out. Hair and beauty is essential to them but at the moment we are at the bottom of the food chain according to the Government” she said.

2019 saw Sarah open her new building in the West Clare village. That business was set to grow further this year as she added a hair salon to the beauticians, which increased her workforce to nine people along with herself. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she was forced to close her doors on March 14. Sarah feels there is a great deal of uncertainty around what will be needed to deal with the new reality once her doors are open again.

“One of the main problems really is that the Hair and Beauty industry has no governing body. There is the Irish Hair Federation but we have no official direction or guidelines. There are no protocols in place for what we need to do to make our salons safe for staff and clients, so we are really winging it and we don’t know what is right and wrong. It really is overwhelming because you are worried that clients will be asking why certain things are not done so it really is vital that we get some guidance on what needs to be done. There is no point in us going away to buy new units or desks that may not be needed and leaving us out of pocket. If everyone was told what needed to be done, it would make things so much smoother” she observed.

With no certainty around the structures needed, Sarah admits that trying to arrange rosters to ensure her staff can come on full hours is a challenge. Longer opening hours and extra days may be required to meet social distancing guidelines but she feels that may lead to a financially unsustainable situation.

“As soon as it was announced that we would be open again on July 20, I was bombarded with messages and phone calls which was lovely. I was really grateful that everyone was looking to book in but on the other hand I didn’t want a scenario where there is a huge influx of people coming to the salon and we are told we could have only a few staff on. I don’t think we will ever go back to the situation where a load of people are coming in and out having the chats and the place would be booming. I think we are looking at a situation now where people will be told to wait in the car until it’s their turn to come in and that really takes from the personal touch. People are on a list at the moment until we know how many we can take and we figure out how to work it” she concluded.