Beauty professionals have made a passionate plea to Boris John’s government to fully lift the restrictions on the beauty industry in a #BringBackBeauty campaign led by Sharmadean Reid MBE.
Yesterday’s announcement that beauty salons in the UK would be allowed to re-open as of Monday 13 July, stopped short of a full return to business as usual. The latest announcement now comes with limitations on those services which purportedly pose as ‘higher risk’, meaning no treatments are allowed on the face.
This is the latest disappointing news to the beauty industry, which was left out of the party when hairdressers and barbers were allowed to open their doors to business last week. When the government talks about the importance of kick starting and reinvigorating the economy, it seems they are talking to everyone apart from the beauty industry. Rather short-sighted as beauty salons have been the fastest growing business on the high street in the last five years, with the UK beauty industry making a total contribution of over £28 billion annually.
Sharmadean Reid MBE, founder of the Beautystack app, has created the #BringBeautyBack campaign, to give a voice to the previously unheard beauty pros themselves. Created in partnership with video production startup, Seenit, the #BringBeautyBack campaign film, highlights the tangible effects Covid19 has had on beauty professionals; educating the government, clients and other beauty professionals of the health and safety measures being undertaken in order to get back to work safely.
The short film features numerous beauty professionals nationwide who submitted their videos via social media keen to share their experience and journeys over the last few months and their hopes that they will be allowed to fully open their doors once again, just like everyone else.
Sharmadean expressed the frustrations of the beauty professionals. She said: “You simply cannot have a conversation about reinvigorating the beauty economy without involving the beauty pros who operate within it. Beauty therapists are not just in the business of making people look pretty. They are essential in supporting their clients’ mental health. Combating loneliness and supporting their clients’ mental health in an informal role that we will continue to play forever and for that, I would really like to see people understand and honour this more.”
Let’s hope the powers that be are listening.
