Doncaster salons ready for busy month with some booked up through April

With the Government confirming they can re-open from Monday, salons say they are now rushing to be ready, and prepared for full diaries as they meet pent up demand for haircuts after three months of lockdown.

Kerry Merritt, from Crazy Cuts, in Wheatley Hills, said they were fully booked for the whole of April, with both Kerry herself and stylist Jennifer Kirby ready to return and looking forward to seeing people again.

She said: “We are fully booked for the first three weeks of opening and doing extended hours to compensate the high demand.

“The salon has had a deep clean and all PPE in place once again. We are testing twice weekly to keep safe.”

Some had been cautious about taking bookings, after the wait they faced at the end of the first lockdown before they were able to open.

Sharon Quinn, who runs the Strands hair salon in Edenthorpe, had been reluctant to make appointments before the Prime Minister confirmed the date for re-openings this week, because she remembered salons had to wait until some time after retail re-opened before they could return in 2020.

Now she expects to be working long hours next week to meet demand.

She said she was on the telephone all day on Monday, booking in clients on what she described as a very busy day .

She said: “It’s been lovely talking to clients who’ve been waiting for the call.”

“We are very busy especially all of April.”

Karl Jones, who runs the Tate-Jones Hair and Beauty Salon in Thorne, said there was excitement about returning to work, but there was hard work ahead and a bit of apprehension.

He said: “We’re all a bit mixed emotions at the minute.

"With only a weeks notice to get all clients booked in, salon sorted and stock ordered, with such little time is really stressful but we are all excited to get back to some sort of normality at the same time.

“Let’s just hope this is the first step of getting back to a normal world we used to live in before.”

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Liam Hoden, editor.