Beauty salons in Edinburgh reopening their doors after lockdown

Spas and salons are set to open across the city today as lockdown measures ease us ever closer to normality. The motion comes as England announces similar openings on 1 August, a push back from their original date of 13 July. Nicole Sturgeon has given the thumbs up, however, causing a surge of excitement amongst salon owners and goers.

Decisions on what services to offer have been left to the discretion of the salons and spas, who must consider the safety of their staff and clients during lockdown. Julie Brown, founder and owner of The Source Clinic in Morningside, is happy to be offering a full range of services starting today.

She said: “We have strict measures in place to deal with air circulation and can do many treatments from behind or side of the head with PPE which means less risk for close contact services like ours.”

After four months of forgoing facials and eyebrow waxes, Edinburgh residents are thrilled to see the beauty industry back on its feet. Dr. Rebecca Heller is first in line at The Source Clinic, saying she texted Brown the second she heard they were taking appointments.

She said: “I’m very excited. I was in getting my brows done with Julie when my daughter was three weeks old, so I consider it an essential. It’s the personal connection.”

Booking an HD eyebrow session and an eyelash tint, Heller, 39, is looking forward to feeling more like herself again. The fresh look will bring a sense of normality to Heller's day-to-day life working as a doctor through the pandemic.

She said: “It’s just being able to put your face on and go about your life and do your job. Especially when my job’s been a bit harder for various reasons, it’s nice to have that face looking like me again.”

Brown is equally excited to be reopening The Source Clinic, which had been open less than a year when COVID-19 forced its closure in March. She stresses the importance of safety measures in her line of work, which by nature involves close contact with others, and says her clients seem “calm and confident” in the precautions that have been taken.

She said: “Our clients are over the moon to be booking treatments again. I am delighted to be open again. We can’t wait to get back to what we do--with more safety precautions and enhanced hygiene measures! I’ve missed our clients and seeing new people every day.”

A formal review of lockdown phase three is set to take place on 30 July.

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