Behind the scenes at a Northampton hair salon as it prepares to reopen with new safety features

A hairdressers in Northampton that is planning to reopen in less than two weeks has released a video to show clients what the salon will look like.

CC Hair Salon in Weston Favell Shopping Centre has been shut for three months, but has now implemented a number of new safety measures to make sure it is Covid-safe and can reopen in July.

Despite all the changes, owner William Diggins is hopeful that the experience can still be an enjoyable one for his clients.

William told Chronicle & Echo: “Initially I had this plan to try to reconfigure the salon to make it friendly for when we could receive clients again.

“I thought about how we could make it safe for everybody and I came up with the idea to make each individual section into a cubicle.

“We had to work out what will be safe for staff as well as clients.”

As part of creating ‘pods’ within the salon, William reduced the number of stylist stations from 18 to 13.

Each member of staff will be assigned to a specific pod, which all have numbers, and the clients will be told which number pod they have to visit, where they will only be dealt with by one stylist.

The pods are not the only differences that clients will notice as William believes the whole experience will be completely different.

He added: “Clients will be greeted outside the salon in the mall where they will be told what pod they are going to, once it is empty and has been cleaned.

“They will all have to register with us so we know their times and have their details in case there are issues with test and trace.

“Then when their appointment is over there will be a screen up where they pay and they will leave through a separate exit to where they arrived.

“It will be a different experience as we won’t be able to give out refreshments either.

“Clients will be given a bottle of water, which they can take away with them, or if they want to they can bring their own drink.

“All staff will be wearing a visor and we’ll have disposable gowns and towels for clients.

“We’re doing as best we can to keep the virus at bay and the shipping centre has been really good for helping with that as they control who is coming in and going out.

“We have really worked hard and are trying to offer a good service that is safe and also as enjoyable as it used to be.”

Prior to the pandemic CC Hair was a walk-in salon, however they have now moved to an appointment-only system.

William added: “We’re now taking appointments and we’ve got a lot for July 6.

“We are going to be extremely busy.

“We did think about opening earlier and closing later but we’re going to stick to the same hours and if it becomes an issue we will change it.

“Staff are rota and will be coming in at different times and taking their lunch at different times.”

The team at the salon is undertaking training days before they reopen as they discuss the ‘new norm’ and despite some anxious feelings, William says his staff members are very excited to reopen and they are all ‘positive about the future’.

Search CC Hair Salon on Facebook to find out how to book an appointment for once the salon opens on Monday July 6.

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