Irish Salons and Spas get the green light to reopen in phase three – The public address with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Minister Heather Humphreys additionally made the welcome distinction between Irish hair salons, beauty salons, and spas.
We are absolutely thrilled with the welcome news that Irish Salons and Spas have been fast-tracked to reopen on the earlier date of June 29th. Following discussions with the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet), The Cabinet has signed off on new guidelines that will allow the reopening of all Beauty Salons, Spas, Hairdressers and Barbers to be brought forward to this phase.
Maria Morgan the MD of BeautifulJobs sits on the council with the Irish Spa Association ”We are really pleased that Minister Humphreys acknowledged all the work that has gone into preparing the guidelines and programmes for our return to work.”
An area that contributed to a great deal of confusion in recent months was the failure of some cabinet members and the general media to make the distinction between hair and beauty and often the sector would be referred to as ‘hairdressing’ Significant feedback from our members and the wider community was received and we were in a position to highlight these concerns directly with the Minister at a meeting during the week.
Over the course of the past 12 weeks, there has been a great deal of confusion, uncertainty, and disappointment from Ireland’s Beauty Salon and Spa operators as the media, members of the cabinet, and government agencies often failed to make any distinction between hair and beauty.
The CRO outlines the sector under ‘Hair & Beauty’ yet often no distinction is made at a government level and beauty business owners and their respective clients were left wondering if updates shared also relate to their businesses or if the updates only pertain to the hairdresser and the barber. Anita Murray of the Irish Spa Association raised this point directly with Minister Humphreys in an industry meeting of body representatives earlier this week. The minister was asked that serious consideration is given for more inclusivity around the language used.
”There is a clear distinction between hairdressing and beauty therapy and we would continue to encourage the media and government bodies to be mindful of that in their communications. A reference to both ‘Hair & Beauty’ would avoid any unnecessary confusion for already anxious business owners, managers, and therapists awaiting news and updates pertaining to their businesses. Minister Humphreys has been incredibly supportive towards our sector and she evidently really took our feedback on board as her address was very thoughtful and gave the many thousands of beauty professionals watching the address much-needed morale boost and a clear roadmap for their businesses to re-open” Anita Murray Co-Founder of the Irish Spa Association says.
