A barbershop in Newport, Wales has been closed for two weeks and it was found in multiple breaches COVID-19 health and safety guidelines.

The not so aptly named ‘A Smart Barber Shop’ were given a surprise visit from the Newport City Council enforcement officers last week, and while at the shop they found that no member of staff was wearing any PPE, let alone the type II mask and visor set required by the Welsh government.

The close contact risk was so apparent that the client’s contact information also have to be taken for the purposes of Track and Trace.

Newport City Council has instructed the business to be closed for 14 days from the July 28^th, when the notice was issued, until August 11. This notice can also be appealed to Magistrates’ Court.

This is A Smart Barber Shop’s second offence regarding COVID violations, however their first offence was withdrawn after they applied the changes that was asked from the enforcement team.

Image: walesonline.co.uk

First Minister Paul Givan and Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill had a virtual meeting of the Executive on Thursday 22^nd of July to confirm a several changes regarding coronavirus restrictions, another discussion will take place on Monday 26^th of July continuing the conversation of the ease of restrictions.

Still under consideration for changes are places such as theatre and concert halls, however the number of people allowed to meet outside, along with barbershops and salons will now be able to remove the ‘booking only’ means of business.

The Northern Ireland Executive said “modest relaxations” had been reached after thorough consideration in a statement on Thursday afternoon.

Currently hairdressers and other close contact can only operate with booking systems or appointments. From Monday this will be eased, and Ireland will follow the likes of Scotland, where walk-in customers are permitted.

Image: belfasttelegraph.com

Independent high street business debt has more than quadrupled over the last year, a new Grimsey Review report has revealed, warning that Britain is facing a fresh wave of closures this autumn.

• Debt for high street independents has more than quadrupled
• Working conditions have become more insecure – 63% of people working in beauty salons are now self-employed
• Growth of trader associations and new adaptive spaces is giving indies a bigger voice and encouraging a new generation of high street entrepreneurs

In the latest review from veteran retailer Bill Grimsey, his team examine Britain’s vibrant independent shops, services and hospitality businesses, which have done so much to turn our high streets and town centres into attractive community places.

With 17,500 chain stores closing in 2020, Grimsey warns that a tsunami of smaller independents could soon follow. They are believed to owe £1.7billion and, as business support measures are withdrawn, thousands are vulnerable.

“Our high street independents have experienced a newfound appreciation during lockdown,” he said.  “But they’ve also been forced to take on government-backed loans, which they would not have normally been able to get because their balance sheets wouldn’t allow it. Now they are struggling to manage a mountain of debt and need help.”

The review is calling for a Government ‘forgiveness scheme’ to write off government-backed loans for viable small businesses.

“The French Government is already working on a policy to save small businesses from being crushed by debt and we need to do the same to save thousands,” added Grimsey.

In a wide ranging examination of how high street independents have survived the pandemic and their impact on communities, the review also looks at a new generation of retailers that are trying out bricks and mortar retail after first building online brands.

To support this sector more, it urges Government to take action on business rates in their autumn review, and calls for more initiatives to entice online entrepreneurs onto the high street.

The review also acknowledges the huge contribution made by hair and beauty, the fastest growing sector on the high street. However, it warns that the sector has become more precarious during the pandemic, with thousands of workers shifting to self-employed status.

It is also suffering from a lack of regulation, and deteriorating standards are encouraging a race to the bottom.

The UK is one of the only countries in Europe and North America where hairdressers and barbers aren’t regulated. Furthermore, after a week’s course, people can start injecting Botulin or reshaping customers’ faces with a dermal filler.

In conclusion, Grimsey said that Britain would not ‘build back better’ unless policymakers looked beyond infrastructure investment to equally prioritise small business and strengthening the social fabric of high streets.

“Britain is at a crossroads and the pandemic has brought about sweeping changes that will make a decisive break with a traditional high street model,” he warned. “But we can’t build our way out of trouble. To unlock the potential of our high streets, we need to focus on people, partnerships and communities as well.”

“That means protecting small businesses. It means supporting a new breed of digitally savvy entrepreneurs and making high streets a testbed for new thinking. And it means promoting high standards and regulating key sectors like hair and beauty. Britain needs a social recovery to lock in an economic one and our high streets should lead by example.”

Hair & Barber Council Registrar/CEO, Keith Conniford, said: “This highly anticipated review focuses on the increasingly worrying position of the retail, hair and beauty and hospitality sectors. It highlights the plight of our sector specifically, and the lack of support we have been given in spite of the many reports, letters and contacts The Hair and Barber Council made during the pandemic to MPs, Cabinet Ministers and direct to No 10.“

He continues “The report highlights the real need for our sector to be regulated to protect it moving forward and forms part of its recommendations to Government. Salons, Barber Shops and Beauty salons/spas are the powerhouse of the high street and Government must now start to seriously listen, support and help us to finally amend the current Act of Parliament from voluntary to mandatory….not until then will we ever be taken seriously as the professional industry we clearly are. The time is now…..a fascinating piece of work.”

Eight of Croydon’s finest barbershops will soon be offering free on the spot blood pressure tests to their clients in an attempt to raise awareness and potentially give life-saving advice.

This scheme started in April and is a UK first being run by London South Bank University (LSBU), Croydon BME Forum, and Off the Record.

The groups provide eight barbers who have customers in Croydon with the training they need to diagnose. Among them are Lambeth, Southwark, and Bromley to deliver the blood pressure checks at their premises, an effective way to detect for issues. About 30% of men in the UK are believed to have high blood pressure and problems relating to it.

The project is inspired by a successful health venture in Los Angeles barbershops, which resulted in 68% of those diagnosed with high blood pressure in said barbershops leaving the study with more healthy blood pressure levels.

The eight barbershops participating are:

• Da Ace Of Fades (Thornton Heath)
• The Barber Shop (Croydon)
• Finishing Touches (Mitcham)
• Yian the Barber (South Norwood)
• Cutter Hair Doctor (South Norwood)
• J & D Doyleys (Thornton Heath)
• House of Bertrand (Bromley)
• Juls The Hair Klinik (Mitcham)

Have you heard of Stormzy, Anthony Joshua, and Lebron James? Well Mark Maciver has – he’s worked with all of them. Work such as this has recently led Maciver to be named part of this year’s Top 25 Entrepreneurs List by the Black Business Sow.

Slider Cuts is located Hackney Road, the space between Hackney and Tower Hamlets, since 2018, but the brand has been around for about 10 years. Mark left Camden, London, in 2004 and has been in the Hackney area ever since.

Maciver said “When I was working in another shop my nickname was Slider. So when I decided to set-up a website for myself I called it Slider Cuts”.

Currently Maciver is one of the biggest and most sought-after Black Barbers in the United Kingdom, but still feel gratitude towards this announcement from the Black Business Show. He stated that “It’s an honour”.

Image: complex.com

Staff of the Fort William, Scotland, Stag&Buck barbershop have recently scaled Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in all of Scotland, to cut hair at the peak all in the name of Make-A-Wish.

They reached the top of the 4,413ft climb and started giving clients the chop, ditching the traditional barber seats for a very inviting and rewarding pile of rocks, looking rather dapper in their Reuzel capes. “Ben Nevis, 4,413 feet, completed it mate.” The shop posted on their Facebook page after the climb.

Terri Nicolson and Sharon Sweeney, Co-owners of the shop, undertook this challenge to not only perform the “UK’s Highest Haircut” but to raise money for the incredible organisation, Make-A-Wish.

Stag&Buck’s ventures doesn’t end there however, they are also the Fort William stop for the up-and-coming Barbersride, and you can read our full article on that amazing tour here.

They sign off “We try to get involved with a lot of charity and local community events where we can. To us our wee barber shop is about way more than just cutting hair.”

Within the village of Nottinghamshire there is an incredibly unique barbershop, where you can get a both a haircut and a drink – you don’t even have to move. The Barber Shop & Bar in Burton Joyce offers their clients just that.

The establishment is a barbershop set up nearly 30 years that is also a fully licensed bar in the evenings.

Situated on Station Road in the village, the family-run business has drawn on inspiration from another barbershop bar in Soutwell, which is run by the brother of the owner.

Angela Robertson, who has lived in the village for 22 years and comes from a family of barbers is the owner of The Barber Shop & Bar – which was established in 1992, she said: “When the shop was first opened by my dad, it was just a barbershop back then. Him, my brother and me are all barbers.

She continues “It’s quirky because you can sit in the barbershop chair and have a drink. It’s a great way to utilise the business space because you can have two things going on.”

Former England Football Team barber is offering free haircuts to customers ahead of the Euro 2020 Final. The barber, Simon Townley, used to cut Gareth Southgate’s hair before the 2018 World Cup Semi-Final in Russia.

Townley runs the aptly named Simon Townley Salon in Burnley Lancashire and found the inspiration for the promotion following England’s 2-1 victory against Denmark, and the subsequent drinks that followed – making the offer official by posting it on his Facebook page.

He then woke up to a plethora of messages from people holding him to his very generous offer, and with Final between England and Italy round the corner, it was time to make good on his word.

So far, the biggest trend in these free cuts is to get ‘the Phil Foden’, who’s signature is a bleach blonde buzzcut.

“I’ve done it to a couple of footballers in the past – we’ve done it at the end of the season – and the start of the next season they go into training and I’ve had to dye it back dark, because it takes some cojones” Townley told PA News Agency.

He then continues “(Foden’s) first major tournament, to walk in with that haircut, what a guy. Very cool.”

Townley then reflects on his time spent working with the England Football Team and where it all started “The first time I ever went anywhere with the England squad was in the Euros in 2016 in France, I was doing (goalkeeper) Tom Heaton’s hair at the time – basically he dropped me a message saying do you fancy coming to France? A few of the lads want a haircut.”

The NHBF has dedicated July to the new generation of hair and beauty apprentices and learners just starting out in their career. Its annual Industry Statistics Survey has shown a decline in the number of hair & beauty apprentices year on year since 2018 so NHBF want to start a debate, asking, as an industry in flux, what could the future of hairdressing look like, and is it what we want? 

What is the impact of the rise of the self-employed hairdresser?

Individual self-employed people are unlikely to hire anyone else, especially a trainee. Salon owners who hire only self-employed staff are equally unlikely to invest in training an apprentice, who won’t deliver income into the salon for around two years. 

However, we are seeing the emergence of a hybrid salon model, where most of the stylists are self-employed and the salon invests in apprentices supporting them as fledgling stylists, growing their skills and confidence until they are ready to become self-employed.

Has the cost of employing apprentices become a major barrier to people coming into the industry?  

Recent surveys have shown salon owners reluctant to take on apprentices because they are “all cost and no revenue” for up to two years.  

Salons are unable to afford to take older learners due to having to pay the higher rate of National Minimum Wage (NMW) after the first year. 

The Government’s latest Skill Recovery Package, whilst welcomed, offers just £3,000 for new employees of any age who start their apprenticeship from 1 April 2021 to 30 September 2021.

However, a typical 16-18yr old apprentice full time wage for 24 months (the period of the apprenticeship) costs around £14,660 and a typical wage for an apprentice aged 19+ is around £20,800, so this funding provides no real incentive for employers, especially during this difficult financial period.

Does government have a proper understanding of the sector when it sets the rules for apprenticeships?

Probably not, as employers are not able to claim the apprenticeship incentive payments if they take on existing Saturday or part-time staff because they are not considered “new” employees, effectively removing the incentive from one of the traditional entries into the industry.   

What will be impact of the imminent introduction of T-Levels in England?  

The government’s preferred route for 16-19-year-olds is mainly classroom-based and requires learners to demonstrate ‘threshold’ competence, ie the very basic level. 

Anything short of full competence isn’t attractive to salon owners, who are asking whether T-levels will create a generation who have the technical skills, but are not ‘salon-ready’, and will need be trained in these skills whilst also being a fully-paid worker. If T-levels get a poor reputation, that won’t help public perception of hairdressing and beauty as a revered and viable profession. 

Are school-leavers actually interested in a career in hairdressing or beauty?  

Employers may be worrying about the cost at the moment, but could they find the candidates if they wanted them? There is anecdotal evidence of salons that are taking on more apprentices to cope with demand post-lockdown and a rise in interest in hair and beauty as a career. However, others say that the emphasis by schools on academic routes to college and university puts many young people off more vocational careers.

And ultimately what does lack of new talent coming in to or being supported by the industry mean for clients in the future? 

If the majority are seen as less skilled or competent, will those with expertise be able to name their price? A nation of awful hair – imagine! UK hairdressing, and UK hairdressing education, is regarded as the best in the world – it would be a shame to lose that accolade.

Richard Lambert, NHBF chief executive says, “If there is a positive from COVID, it is the elevated profile of hair, and we must use this to ensure a successful future for the industry. What we need is for all hair & beauty professionals, from salon owners to those just starting out, to join in the conversation and let us know your thoughts.”

 Join the conversation 

@nhbfsocial 

#shapingthefutureoftheindustry

NHBF

Session stylist and salon owner, Joe Mills, is offering someone the
opportunity to work as his assistant – giving them a rare and unique
look into the world of men’s grooming and session work.

Joe, who is in regular demand by fashion magazines, celebrities and
advertising campaigns, is offering one lucky person the opportunity to
work alongside him and learn what it takes to be the best of the best.
The role is available for anyone who is a master at multi-tasking,
confident in their ability, flexible with their time and preferably trained
to NVQ level 3. In return, Joe offers amazing session opportunities in this paid role with your own responsibilities.

“I have been working as a men’s session stylist for more than 10 years
and have been fortunate to be in demand for front cover shoots, TV
work, advertising campaigns and red-carpet events. As the UK starts to
get back to some sense of normality, I need an assistant I can rely on,
can turn their hand to any style and is calm under pressure.

“It’s a great opportunity for someone who wants to work in the
session world, and I’m looking forward to mentoring and seeing my
assistant grow.”

If you’re interested in this amazing opportunity, contact Joe at joemills1@me.com

Find out more about Joe Mills:
www.joemills.net
www.theloungesoho.co.uk
www.joeandco.net

Instagram:

@joemillshair
@joeandcosoho
@theloungesohohair