THE sound of scissors snipping and trimmers buzzing will return to East Renfrewshire today as barbers and hairdressing salons emerge from lockdown.

Countless people in need of a short back and sides or help to rescue a home-made haircut have waited almost three months for crimpers to reopen their doors.

But the customer experience will be very different, as the industry adapts to a ‘new normal.’

Barrhead News:

Davie Walker, who owns Davie the Barber, in Grahamston Road, Barrhead, has installed a series of measures to keep people safe from coronavirus as his business gets up and running again.

Staff have been kitted out in PPE (personal protective equipment) and a one-way system is in place for customers to follow as they arrive at and leave from the salon.

Davie told the Barrhead News: “Everything is by appointment and we have two sets of all equipment so that, once it has been used for one client, it goes to our sterilisation unit to be wiped down.

“The PPE kit used gets replaced and the chair is cleaned with disinfectant before the next client arrives. It is fresh utensils for each person, to prevent cross contamination.

“When each client arrives, we check their temperature. We are very cautious about people being ill in the shop because of how fast the virus can spread. 

“We are probably going to the extreme but I would rather be safe. The first thing you are taught as a barber or a hairdresser is that the client’s health and safety is paramount.

“If you can’t look after your clients, then you shouldn’t be open.”

Barrhead News:
Staff have undergone training over the past week to make sure they are ready for their new way of working.

“We’ll need to get used to looking more like a dentists than a barbers,” Davie said. “We have air purifiers and have had the builders in to make a walkway out the back to create the one-way system.

“At the moment, we aren’t doing skin fades or trimming beards and we ask that everyone comes with their hair washed and ready to be cut.

“It is good to finally get back to work. This is longest I’ve not cut in 22 years. It’s going to take a few days being back on the tools to get into the way of things, especially with all the new safety measures, but it’s a small inconvenience if it keeps everyone safe.”