Spas Will Reopen 13th July — This Is What Your Appointment Will Look Like

Social distancing will continue in spas and salons across the UK once they get the green light from the government to reopen. In the same way that some hair salons are only allowed to serve a certain number of customers at a time, spas will likely also begin operating with fewer customers for the next few months until it's safer to operate at normal capacity.

Operating with reduced capacity means drastically reducing appointments. "This will mean a loss of 300 available appointment slots per week," said Haylee Benton, beauty entrepreneur and founder of the Silver Fern Group. However, she sees this as a necessary step in keeping both staff and customers safe. She hopes by planning ahead, salons and spas can avoid delayed reopening and the need to increase treatments pricing.

Cecily Spa in Berkhamsted has taken a number of precautions ahead of reopening. All of its staff have undertaken extensive COVID-19 safety training, while social distancing stickers have been installed on the floor with clear signage indicating where customers should stand whilst visiting. In addition to this, appointment times will be staggered and customers will be asked to arrive on time and alone to avoid overcrowding in the waiting or lobby areas.

Due to the nature of spas and salons offering a wide variety of treatments, each service requires different solutions in keeping customers and staff safe. Each treatment room needs to be sanitised more regularly and equipment needs to be easily disinfected or disposed of.

At Cecily Spa, manicures will be carried out with a sneeze guard situated between the therapist and client, gloves will be worn by the manicurist (a measure that many manicurists took before COVID-19), and masks will be worn by both the therapist and customer.

Upon reopening of the spa, couples massages will only be offered to those living in the same household.

To heighten their safety measures, customers' temperatures will be checked before starting treatments and online consultations will be required prior to any appointment, which will also serve as a declaration of COVID-19 history in addition to regular medical questions.

More luxury treatments such as hot stone massages, in particular, might be tricker to navigate. Because the hot stones are porous, they're harder to clean and they're also heated, making it a potential breeding ground for bacteria. If you want to book a beauty treatment but you're unsure what steps the spa or salon is taking to ensure maximum hygiene, don't be afraid to contact them and ask.