Mayhem hit the beauty industry over the weekend, as salons opened their doors – and appointment books – for the first time in over two months.
Jamison salon, Beauty Bar, opened on Saturday and owner Mikaela Boundy said she was overwhelmed by the number of people looking to book in.
“We only got an official date on the Tuesday afternoon to say we could open on Saturday and it was crazy,” she said.
“In the first 24 hours we would have had 300 people calling us to book.
“We had set up a waitlist for those who had lost their appointment or had pre-booked appointments during the time of closure and then also had to answer the huge amounts of phone calls, messages and Instagram DMs.”
Despite the high number of clients looking to book, Ms Boundy said the salon was only able to take limited appointments while following government guidelines.
The salon can not exceed 10 people in total, with five staff each servicing one client at a time.
Ms Boundy said they also needed to factor in a 15-minute transition period between each timeslot.
“We had to apply a transition time between clients to make sure there would be no one overlapping in the salon,” she said.
“In that time, we could also do a full sanitisation and wipe down between clients.”
The salon owner said the business had also looked at incorporating more disposable products during this time and had all staff using personal protective equipment.
Ms Boundy has owned Beauty Bar since 2005 and said she had never seen something change the industry so dramatically as the COVID-19 restrictions.
“The first week we were closed I looked at the business and what could be done to make sure we could stay afloat and people didn’t forget about us,” she said.
“This time has really pushed us to create a second outlet for the business online.”
The salon offered take home DIY kits for facials and eyebrows, as well as hosting tutorials on its social media platforms.
Ms Boundy said that while people will have managed their beauty maintenance at home, nothing will replace the in-salon experience.
“I don’t think the industry will ever go back to the way it was, but I think people need the salon contact and they love it,” she said.
“I think there will be a shift in people doing some treatments at home for themselves, but nothing will replace that in-salon experience.”
