‘We can’t wait’: Horsham salon’s excitement at prospect of reopening

Mandy Masters, partner at Studio 2 in Coltsfoot Drive said staff can’t wait to see their customers again after months of lockdown.

Under plans set out by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, it is hoped hair salons can reopen from April 12.

Mandy, 57, said: “We can’t wait, we’re so excited.

“There will be lots of ordering of product we need, working on team rotas.

“[Normally] we’re open seven days a week. We have late nights as a standard.”

Mandy said the salon has already introduced stringent safety measures in place since reopening last July and these will remain in place to keep staff and customers safe.

She added: “Everything a guest touches – everything has to be sanitised before somebody else [uses it].

“You need to have cleaned down before the next person can sit in that chair.

“It’s really important that we keep our guests and team as safe as possible in the world of Covid-19.”

Mandy slammed ‘disrespectful’ hairdressers who flouted lockdown rules to offer illegal haircuts.

She said: “It puts the exit [from lockdown] at risk.

“The more people break the rules before the more chance we have got of next step not actually happening.

“That’s very important that people don’t break the rules – they have put the stages in for a reason.

“It’s very disrespectful to those of us who are waiting and following the rules.”

Staff at the salon have continued training during lockdown and Mandy said she has completed a mental health first aider course.

And after months of closures and lockdowns she is hoping this reopening is permanent.

Mandy added: “Like the rest of the country we’re hoping this is the last one.

“I believe each time we built on the skills that we have learned so we come out better and stronger.”