Exclusive: I had the first mobile hairdresser appointment in the UK
Having always favoured the full experience, the chats and the next-to-nothing feeling of leaving a salon with immaculately blow dried hair, for me, the thought of mobile hairdressing has always remained under the radar. That is, until covid-19.
For the past 15 weeks, hair salons have been closed in a bid to help quell the spread of the coronavirus. But today, in what is the third phase of lockdown lifting, hairdressers up and down the country are back to business. Yes, really, it's happening.
While some of us will be eager to join those “Socially-distanced queues at barbers and hair salons” - as repeatedly mentioned by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and MPs in the lead up to ‘Super Saturday’ (unlikely by the way, as walk-ins and waiting around won't be a thing in the covid climate), there are likewise those who may still harbour some reservations.
Such reservations will have little to do with salons themselves which have spent weeks gearing up for today – spending vast sums on PPE, covid-secure equipment and adapting their way of work to meet guidelines – and will have more to do with everything that comes before and after a salon visit. Getting on a bus or train into town, for instance, is frankly the last thing I want to do, no matter how much my split ends are crying out for help.
And that’s where mobile hairdressers come in. Blow LTD, the UK’s leading on demand beauty business, is at the forefront of delivering mobile services in London, Birmingham and Manchester. Before covid, Blow were taking appointments via their app for everything from blow dries to make-up and nails. Having been unable to deliver services amid the pandemic, Blow are now getting back to work by offering mobile hair services in line with government guidelines and I was lucky enough to have one of their first appointments with mobile hairstylist of three years, Zoe Emmett.
Before arriving at my house, Zoe had sterilised all her tools, packed face masks and gloves, checked her own temperature and filled out the covid symptom tracker app to ensure she was fit for work - something which Blow has asked all its covid-19 hygiene certified beauty professionals to do each morning from now on. Blow has also created and distributed covid-secure protocols for its staff, which acts as a checklist and frames their new way of work.
Zoe arrived fully equipped, mask secured. We headed straight to the garden, where Zoe talked me through the protocols, which includes informing clients of the risks involved, as well as what I wanted from the appointment (the fun bit - slicing off my straggly, lifeless ends please!). Zoe then washed her hands in the kitchen alone and put on her gloves. Having already washed my hands and placed a mask on, Zoe then helped me into a cape and I was finally ready for my long awaited cut.
"Before covid, there were no masks, we would take shoes off before entering a clients home and wash our hands on arriving. Hygiene has always been key, but it is much stricter now," explains Zoe. "I would normally clean my tools at the end of the day, but now I sanitise after each client, wear a mask, gloves (which are essential) and an apron if the client would like - it's all about making our clients feel safe, and everything is disposable."
Likely to see further growth post-lockdown, mobile hair services like those offered by Blow are not only convenient, but have a benefit in its safe feeling, one-on-one nature. And it shows, for this weekend the company received around 750 bookings.
Aside from having to cover our faces, the appointment felt strangely 'normal', or at least what I expected from the new normal. Zoe and I only stepped into the house together once, to wet the mid to end sections of my hair over the kitchen sink, this is all that was needed for a minor trim and straight cut. Back in the garden, Zoe got to work snipping off my dead ends and soon began to blow dry (which has been permitted by government guidelines) and tong in order to create beautiful waves. And, in no time, we were done - no doubt because, though things may have changed, that wonderfully warm and familiar hairdresser chat remains unfaltering.
Once we finished up, Zoe packed up the tools she would sanitise before her next client, and kept her mask and gloves on while she exited. I too, kept my mask in place, but removed my cape.
"Lockdown has been hard, we've gone from regularly working with clients to nothing," says Zoe. "Mentally it was frustrating because we stopped so abruptly. I'm so happy to be back at work, I've missed doing people's hair."
