Can my hairdresser be one of the six people in my social 'bubble'?
Last Thursday, Boris Johnson provided the UK with an update on its lockdown status, and the introduction of a ‘friend bubble’ was one of the welcome updates. Your 'bubble' may contain six people from different households that you can meet outdoors and maintain social distance with, with the aim to gradually ease us safely out of our lockdown period.
A recent opinion poll showed that second to visiting their family, 38% of Brits top priority once lockdown is fully lifted was to get a haircut. Surprisingly, it came ahead of a trip to the pub, clothes shopping, eating out at a restaurant and going on holiday. Now that we’re able to meet with a handful of people, it prompts the question that since it’s technically legal to have your hairdresser visit you in your garden, should you?
An overdue haircut or root touch-up have long been two of the most popular lockdown beauty pleas: The Telegraph reported on the rise in backstreet beauticians and hairdressers providing their usual services to desperate clients willing to pay a hefty fee. As well as this, almost 10,000 people have signed a petition to allow hairdressers back to work sooner rather than later.
While, in theory, socialising with your hairdresser in your back garden is allowed, any hair service that could take place would require them being within a two metre distance of you. This breaks the social distance rules that are still in place in the UK, regardless of the current friend bubble system, as it's just not safe to resume close-contact with anyone that doesn't live in your household yet.
‘Some of us would definitely put our hair stylist before a friend right now if it meant we could have our roots done,’ admitted Fiona McIntosh, founder of Blow LTD, a mobile beauty service where hairdressers are booked online and come to your home. ‘But hair and beauty services are still on pause until July 4, though, as per the government directive.’
Instead, ensuring you’re on a waiting list for your favourite salon (if it’s operating one) for when it opens next month is the safest plan.
‘We’re gearing up for an absolute tsunami of appointments once we open. By July, socialising rules will have changed, so it’ll be just as easy and safe to book a haircut in your back garden as it is to share a glass of wine with friends,’ encourages Fiona.
