Beauty industry is set to fully re-open
Beauty industry to fully reopen in England
Prime Minister Boris Johnson last night announced that beauty treatments on the face can take place in England from Saturday 15 August and that all hair and beauty professionals will now be required to wear both a Type II surgical mask (see below for what Type II masks are) and a visor whilst working.
This comes after the disappointing announcement two weeks ago that beauty businesses were able to reopen but banned any treatments to be carried out in the ‘high-risk zone’, which is the area directly in front of the face.
All businesses will be required to operate in a Covid-secure way. This means undertaking risk assessments and following the guidelines set out by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), including wearing the appropriate PPE, which is now the additional surgical face mask plus a visor, social distancing, thorough cleaning, and operating by appointment-only.
The Prime Minister also announced that tougher measures will be put in place for people who don’t follow the guidance including increased fines for not wearing a mask. The government will continue with local lockdowns where necessary to help control the spread of the virus.
Hilary Hall, chief executive of the NHBF said, “This is fantastic news for thousands of people in the beauty industry who have, up until now, been unsure about the future of their businesses. We have been working tirelessly with other industry organisations to get to this point, which has been hugely delayed compared to other sectors. We strongly urge everyone working in close contact services to ensure they operate in a safe and secure way so that the industry doesn’t face any more closures.”
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have updated their ‘Safer workplaces’ guidelines to include these latest announcements.
These rules apply to all beauty practitioners in England, including those working in salon spaces as well as freelancers, eyebrow and eyelash professionals, mobile operators, retail and session makeup artists.
The new guidance doesn’t apply to businesses currently in local lockdown who should check with their local authorities on when these services can reopen.
What are Type II face masks?
Medical face masks are classified into two types: Type I and Type II according to their Bacterial Filtration Efficiency (BFE). The BFE determines the amount of infective agent retained by the facemask and therefore directly relates to the amount of bacteria released through the mask and into the environment.
Type II masks are further divided according to their Splash Resistance Pressure which determines the mask’s resistance level to potentially contaminated fluid splashes.
A Type IIR mask is splash resistant, the letter ‘R’ signifies splash resistance.
A Type II mask is not splash resistant.
Splash resistance is required in clinical settings to protect the wearer against splashes of blood or bodily fluids.