Carole Rickaby cuts customer Sandra Jacobs’ hair at Tusk Hair stylists in Camden just after midnight on 4 July.
Carole Rickaby cuts customer Sandra Jacobs’ hair at Tusk Hair stylists in Camden just after midnight on 4 July. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

Whether it’s getting a haircut or getting married, a small sense of normality has returned to England just after midnight, with hair salons and wedding venues reopening.

Sandra Jacobs was among the first people through the door at Tusk Hair in Camden on Saturday morning when the north London business opened its doors just after midnight for the first time in three and a half months.

Despite the abundance of masks, aprons and faceshields serving as a reminder of the new normal of post-Covid society, Jacobs said she was just relieved to be sitting in owner Carole Rickaby’s salon chair again.

“It’s such a relief, I can’t tell you,” she said. “My hair was everywhere. I’d been wearing hats to hide it.

“It was nice to feel a bit like normal again.”

Louise Arnold-Wilson (right) and Jennifer (left) were married at Runcorn Town Hall Registry Office at one minute past midnight
Pinterest
Louise Arnold-Wilson (right) and Jennifer (left) were married at Runcorn Town Hall registry office at one minute past midnight. Photograph: Halton Borough Council/PA

Rickaby was also relishing the opportunity to pick up the scissors again but she said working with the added protective gear will take some getting used to.

“We’re being very cautious with aprons and facemasks, but it can be a bit of a problem. I wear glasses, so wearing a mask as well made my glasses steam up whenever I tried to talk.

Things are only set to get busier for Rickaby, with bookings flooding in over the last few days.

“I’m just happy to be able to come back to work,” she said. “Getting a haircut is a big boost for mental health and that’s exactly what people need right now.”



source https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jul/04/bit-like-normal-again-hair-salons-and-wedding-venues-reopen-in-england