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Jul 2020

Last Updated: 14/07/2020

Business

Harrogate beautician warns treatments could happen "underground"

by Ami Miller Lifestyle Reporter

| 14 Jul, 2020

Beauty salons now have the green light to reopen but therapists will not be able to perform many facial treatments which are their 'bread and butter.'

https://youtu.be/AEGRWsuj5us

A Harrogate beautician has told the Stray Ferret that she is seriously worried for the industry as people are being driven to go "underground" to be able to make a living.

Beauty salons now have the green light to reopen but therapists will not be able to perform many of the treatments that are their "bread and butter", she said.

Treatments which involve work directly in front of the face are not allowed under government guidance.

Michelle Mohindra, owner of Coco Tan, which is a group of three salons in Harrogate, told us that she has some major concerns:

"We have been given green light to go ahead and then told we can't do certain treatments. People are so desperate to do treatments and to earn money again that we are actually driving our reputations and our industry underground and I am very concerned that we are going to damage our industry.

"People feel they have no choice but to carry out treatments behind their front door and they shouldn't be doing that, but I understand we have been forced into a very difficult place."

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Michelle went on to say that despite a demand for other treatments, they have lost customers.

"We have had lots of clients that wanted to book in, but because we can't do any work to the face we have lost the appointment. Sometimes it doesn't make sense to us that we can wax from the neck down without any issue at all but we can't touch anyone's face. This means no eyebrow waxing, no threading and no lashes, and people are desperate to have these done."

With the cost of PPE rising, this creates another challenge for salons.

"There's a lot of financial concern because of the cost of PPE. We used to purchase a box of face masks for £3.99 - the price of this just quadrupled overnight, so we have had to budget very, very carefully to staff the salons with the budget we have."

It comes as questions are being asked by the beauty industry about why barbers can offer a beard trim but a beautician can't offer treatments such as eyebrow waxing.

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Harrogate beautician warns treatments could happen "underground"

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