When can hairdressers re-open?

[TheFredericaQuartet]

They can limit customers so the chairs are spaced out.
Same person washes your hair as cuts it.
Anti bac their hands between customers.
Wear masks and limit chit chat.

beresh Interesting, I don't think we have any specific rules. I think it will be just up to the hairdressers themselves if they want to take any precautions.

My son is a hairdresser - recently self employed so falls through the gap of the government schemes. He has just received his first universal credit payment. £500 for housing (his room is £600) and £300 for living costs. A month. He's grateful but that won't cover bills and food. He is desperate to get back to work and hearing the 6 months speculation has had a massive impact on his mood. He's already feeling pretty desperate. I personally don't think it'll be 6 months but who the hell knows given that we are not being told anything at all.

@flaxmeadow - my son got 'awarded' £300 living costs from UC. It's not enough.

As an slightly unrelated point, how much UC do you think people get??

I know because I've claimed it myself in the past. It isn't a lot but It's enough to feed yourself on and tide you over.

I used to work in (non essential) retail, before this crisis. I was on a minimum wage. I have no assets at all and live in rented council accommodation. I'm not some middle class or wealthy person far removed from reality of claiming benefits .

So flax, you live in council accommodation which means you likely don't pay market rent. When a third of what you receive in living costs from UC has to be paid to top up your rent, is there still food on the table or do you not have to pay bills either?

I think we all need to remember that the goal isn’t to stop us all from getting the virus it’s to reduce the pressure on the NHS.Most of us may get it at some point.

These businesses can’t stay closed for years.
It’s people’s livelihoods. They may well open and then we will all individually do a risk assessment. Just as I did when I went to the hairdressers a couple of days before lockdown. The risk was there. I chose to take that risk.

Vulnerable people won’t take the risk. The government will end up having to control the spread of this rather than reduce the risk to zero or keep everything closed for a year.

- my son got 'awarded' £300 living costs from UC. It's not enough

Presumably he lives at home and does not have to pay any house rent?

The amount of UC someone is entitled to depends on their circumstances. This has always been the case, before the crisis. It hasn't changed.

Is it enough? Probably in many cases not no, but people did claim the same amounts before.

The problem with it was when it was introduced that there was longer lag in payments. That was wrong because it meant people had to wait longer for a payment, but that was changed ages ago, but the actual claim can go through quite quickly, especially now when they are being prioritised.

Don't get me wrong. I agree that it isn't enough, but then it wasnt enough before the crisis, so now more people might a bit more sympathetic when they think people on UC had been living a life of luxury

So flax, you live in council accommodation which means you likely don't pay market rent. When a third of what you receive in living costs from UC has to be paid to top up your rent, is there still food on the table or do you not have to pay bills either?

This is why some people, especially in private rented, can claim an amount toward their rent. It's a sliding scale and the amount is also dependent on what local authority you live in. So someone who lives in a high rents area will be entitled to more toward rent than someone who lives in a low rent area. Its not just worked out by local authority but also by areas within the LA.

Also someone working for a low wage can also claim an amount toward rent. Hope that answers your question

he doesn't live at home, no. We all live in London and he rents a room. The amount he received for rent was £100 less than his rent actually is. So he will need to use £100 from his "living costs".

So he actually has £200 a month to pay all other bills and eat.

I will of course be helping him but your repeated assertion that no one will starve or there's enough to keep food on the table, doesn't sit comfortably with me when you're actually talking about someone having less than £50 a week to live on.

My point about living in London is simply to say rents are high here so you do only get a room for £600 per month.

The beauty industry is finished as far as I can see. So many places will go under.

I’m a beautician and it’s awfully sad. You cannot do a beauty treatment without breathing the same air. As sad as it is treatments can’t come before people’s health.

I’ve surprised myself how unbothered I am about the hairdressers.
I go to a high end salon so them being shut means I save a fortune.
I have grey roots but can cover them with a bit of colour wow if a want to. If the cut gets to me then I’ll just trim my fringe.
I really want to try and get a lot fitter at the mo and that’s something I can do. I really don’t care if it’s 6 months til they open and if they do open in the next few months I’m not going. Me and DH have had an awful virus for the last month, don’t know for sure it was Covid but I’m not happy to mingle any time soon.

My point about living in London is simply to say rents are high here so you do only get a room for £600 per month

Yes this is why allowance for rent is different in different areas. A high rent area will have a larger rent allowance. A low rent area will be a lower amount

For the other post you made I'm not sure what to say, but UC credit is worked out to be able to pay your rent, bills and to eat.

The eating and living costs you say would be about right, but why he isnt getting the amount toward rent I don't honestly know. Because it sounds like that's the part that's missing

What does it say in his letters or emails, because each claim is broken down to tell you what the money is for. So living costs will be written separately to the amount for rent

If I worked in a personal service like hairdressing or beauty I would be busily working out what new career I would have. I honestly don’t see the demand coming back for these services anytime soon.

I know you are all saying you are desperate to get back to the hairdresser - but we are only at the beginning of the death toll. When a few of your friends have died you will probably be less keen. We will change our habits and expectations of what is essential to us. So researching a new career now and starting on skills building is a really good use of this time.

They except coronavirus to have an R less than 1% - I think some reports are suggesting 0.65%.

They expect 80% of people will get it mildly. Those who do get a severe case won't all die. This isn't the end of the world. People will go back to hairdressers and beauty salons.

Of course people are going to die but "it's only the start of the death toll" is an odd turn of phrase.

No it isn't. The government has put various financial supports in place. People who are out of work now might be taking a financial hit, but there is enough money available for food.

There may be financial supports in place but how does that help when nothing will be paid until June?

begging us to stay away from the box dyes and kitchen scissors

I'll stay away from the scissors but my hairdresser can dream on if he thinks I'm not going to be colouring my hair until I can see him! No way am I going to have 6 months or more of grey showing!

Of course people are going to die but "it's only the start of the death toll" is an odd turn of phrase.

It's because it's MN, the home of competitive doom and gloom

Look at any cancer diagnosis thread, what’s the biggest concern for a lot of women? Losing their hair. Would you go on a cancer patients thread and give it the big ‘it’s only hair you vain stupid person!’?

Are you comparing a cancer patient losing their hair to someone with a home dye job or their hair grown out/a dodgy haircut?

It’s not an odd turn of phrase, nor doom and gloom. It’s sensible mathematics. Until we can stop the spread of the virus, something like 1% of people who catch it will die. Yes more predominantly the ill or the aged. But not only. But as it spreads through the population steadily the death toll will rise. And habits will change. I guess I have a particularly doom-laden perspective because as an English student I have read literature about the impacts of the plague on society in the Middle Ages and beyond. Until we have a vaccine we are in the same boat.

Well except modern science and knowledge is far greater than it was in the middle ages? The entire point of lockdown was to suppress the spread. They aren't going to allow it to rip through society again are they? The highest and quickest "death toll" is now.

I feel so sad for my lovely hairdresser. Most of her clients are older, and I suspect some will be shielding for a long time. Her salon is really tiny, too, so very difficult to socially distance. It was such a friendly place, I think it will be much missed by the regulars.

I have never dyed my hair so don't mind looking old and grey! I am letting my fringe grow out and looking on YouTube for diy styles.

@Moomin8 I’m a beauty therapist too and I won’t be going back to work to protect my viral load people are worried about catching it from hairdressers etc but my concern is protecting my viral load so if/when I do contract it I am not too Ill

Separately filtered space like hazmat suits for the stylist with one customer at a time and disinfection between each customer could be one way to go. With filtered air of course like an operating theatre. In fact rich salons are probably already looking into that. Your local high st forget it.

I am amazed that so many on here are not taking into consideration that their hairdresser will not continue but go into some other employment or business.

After all, it is the hairdressers and beauticians that are at risk of viral loading from umpteen clients, not the clients from umpteen hairdressers!

I think that those who DO reopen for business will be able to charge the earth as they will be in great demand from people with ££££££.
Those without ££££££ to spare are going to have to do each others or their own.

In the case of COVID-19 there doesn‘t seem to be a connection between viral load and severity of symptoms.
Otherwise, yes, hairdressers might decide to do something else but let’s assume that some will want to continue.