Hair salon owner prepares to open after lockdown

Hair salon owner prepares to open after lockdown

1 July 2020

LOCAL hair salons are expecting a roaring trade when they reopen next Monday.

All salons in the province have been closed for more than three months because of the Covid-19 crisis.

But now they’re about get to back in business — and that’s good news for the stylists, as well as thousands of women — and men — who have been counting down the days.

Castlewellan stylist Bridgeen King closed the doors of her hair loss and replacement clinic in Lower Square a few days ahead of the province going into lockdown.  

Bridgeen, whose salon has been named Ireland’s Hair Loss Clinic of the Year, says she has never been busier as she makes last minute preparations to reopen her salon and implement the necessary changes. 

She said: “I’m just up to my eyes at the moment trying to have the clinic ready on time. Bookings for appointments have been going through the roof. At the moment there is a six-week wait for all new appointments. 

“I foresee that I will be flat out over the next few months – working 12 hour shifts seven days a week to cope with demand.”

Bridgeen, who makes bespoke wigs and hair pieces for clients who have lost their hair through tough chemotherapy treatments, says a visit to her salon will have a very different feel. 

She said: “We have 457 clients and so we have had to adapt a 50% capacity rule which basically means we can only take one customer at a time. We will be wearing shields and will be sanitising stations each time they are used.”

Bridgeen briefly stopped working at the start of the lockdown, but that soon changed.

“At first, it was something of a novelty for all of us,” she explained. “I was drinking wine in the back garden, enjoying the sunshine like many others for the first few days, but reality soon kicked in. 

“Most of my clients are unwell and are in desperate need of help so by the second week I was delighted to be able to set up Zoom meetings and video conferencing calls and conduct a consultation that way. 

“It wasn’t long before our online shop, which sells hair products like shampoo and treatments, became busy too and before we knew it we were inundated with orders.”

“I suppose you could say, like many other businesses, I have learned to improvise and diversify to survive, but I’m still delighted to be able to welcome my clients back once more.” 

Bridgeen, who recently took part in a BBC news programme ahead of the opening, cautioned that a return to normality too soon could be detrimental. 

She said: “If a second wave of the virus was to strike, as some scientists have predicted, it would be just awful. Like many people, I don’t think I could go through it again.”