'Customers are looking forward to some much needed pampering' - Kirkcaldy hairdressers welcome April 5 re-opening

And following Tuesday’s announcement by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon local hairdressers and barber shops can now re-open on April 5 after the date was brought forward - in a surprise but welcome - move from April 26.

Long-established operator Dom Panetta, who owns Migele Experience, said while he didn’t expect it, he is ‘over the moon’ with the news.

He said: “I am looking forward to welcoming my clients back into the salon. Most of our clients are like friends or are friends and when you haven’t seen your friends for ages you miss them.

"Before we closed we had been operating safely and within the government guidelines for almost seven months so our team had become used to our safety protocols. We will do another risk assessment and have a deep clean.

“Now it’s all about contacting all the clients who had bookings during lockdown, a big undertaking but we have plans in place.”

Dom said lessons were learned from when they emerged from lockdown last year: “Last time we worked split shifts with two teams so that we maintained social distancing however we soon learned that this was unnecessary due to our generous floor space, we had 22 positions prior to Covid now we can still operate with 16 and safely social distance.

“For the first two weeks we will work on longer appointment times so that the team get into their stride without being stressed out.”

Dom said the emails began to fly in from clients wanting appointments as soon as the announcement was made: “I’m delighted as are our team and of course our clients. I feel very positive about our business for 2021.”

Ronnie Marshall, who owns Byron Hairdressing, is also excited about the return.

He said: “I wasn't expecting the date to be brought forward from April 26 to April 5 but I am absolutely delighted. I truly can’t wait to welcome our clients back to the salon, we have great relationships with them and really miss them. Many things were already in place in terms of preparation but I have been planning some additions and they will be in place for opening.

“We will be doing all we can to get all our salon guests booked in as quickly as possible.”

He has had many calls and emails too since the announcement and is keeping clients up-to-date through social media and emails.

Louise Linton, who runs her own hair salon in Commercial Street, said: “I was very surprised but absolutely delighted to be coming back three weeks earlier than the planned date of April 26 -

“I jumped out of my seat with excitement.

“I am unbelievably excited to see all my clients, I have really missed them. Equally I am super excited to get back to a working routine.

“I have a big waiting list to get through and will be working a lot of extra hours. Again I will make sure all preparations of PPE will be set and organised for the opening.”

She added: “My clients have been amazing. The messages were flowing once the announcement was made. They are looking forward to some much needed pampering.”

Thank you for reading this article on our free-to-read website. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

Please consider purchasing a subscription to our print newspaper to help fund our trusted, fact-checked journalism.

https://www.localsubsplus.co.uk/nord/dm/FFP/V