A BEAUTICIAN in Winsford is urging the Government to take her industry seriously and give a date for reopening from lockdown.

Mum-of-one Katherine Kinley runs KK Beauty, which is based at the Elysium hair and beauty salon in Chester Road, where hairdressers will be returning to work on Saturday without her.

The 33-year-old was disappointed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday, after he failed to provide a date for reopening beauty salons when asked in the House of Commons.

And Katherine says her industry is being ‘seen as a mockery’ after Mr Johnson joked about visiting a beauty salon in Hazel Grove with William Wragg MP before answering his question.

She told the Guardian: “I was shocked at the way they were laughing about it and not taking the beauty industry seriously. So many people have made successful businesses out of it.

“There are a lot of people that want to have a pamper because of the way Covid-19 has been – people want to get back to normal and feel better about themselves.”

Katherine, who has been home-schooling 12-year-old daughter Lexie during lockdown, says Covid-19 has hit her own finances.

She says the decision not to allow beauty salons to reopen with hairdressers on Saturday has also caused confusion for clients, with many messaging her asking for appointments.

Northwich Guardian:

Katherine with her hairdressing colleagues at Elysium before lockdown

Katherine said: “I have felt so low. I’ve got a daughter, I’ve got my own mortgage, I still have to provide and my funds are so low I have even had to live off my business funds.

“It is affecting our mental health. We still don’t know when we are going to reopen – they won’t give us a date.”

Katherine is backing the national Salons Are Safe campaign day tomorrow, July 3, which is designed to put pressure on MPs to get behind the beauty industry and allow it to reopen safely.

She is not the only Winsford beautician to put pressure on Government to reopen salons.

Award-winning beauty therapist Vicki Evans told the Guardian last week that the lockdown has left businesses like hers fighting for survival.

Northwich Guardian:

Vicki Evans

She said: “We are one of the cleanest and safest industries. We wash our hands religiously. We are taught and have drummed into us from day one everything about infection control and blood borne pathogens.

"People can go to the pub, get their hair cut and go to the barbers but we are the lost voices, the forgotten industry. We are asking how much longer we can survive."

Responding to Mr Wragg during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Mr Johnson joked he was ‘sure that one day I will be going with him’ to a salon in Hazel Grove, before telling MPs he must ‘strike a balance’ for safety before allowing beauty salons to reopen.

 

He added: “It is a sad reality for many of these excellent businesses that they cannot reopen in the way that they want to and I certainly share his sense of urgency.

“I know that people feel it across the country and they feel a sense of unfairness when they look at hairdressers opening, for instance.

“As soon as we are sure that the nail bars and beauty salons can open in a way that is Covid secure, we will do so.”