‘We are going with what we think is right’: How one Northampton hair salon is preparing to reopen

A Northampton hairdressing salon is preparing to reopen by making sure all its staff and clients feel safe.

Daniel Granger Hairdressing in Abington Street is one of the town's most exclusive salons, but like all across the country has been closed for three months due the coronavirus pandemic.

Now it has been confirmed that hair salons can reopen from July 4, as long as they are Covid secure.

However, the owner, Daniel Granger, says he has been preparing for the reopening since the salon closed, by making sure they have all the correct measures in place.

Daniel said: “We’re making our salon look like it has reopened for the first time.

“We’re scrubbing chairs and we’ve got the phone ringing every five minutes. We’re cleaning everything while we have the time and we’re laying down all the rules and regulations.

“We’re trying to make the business more online as well with an online booking system.

“It’s absolutely bonkers.

“The guidelines are not really that clear so we are doing what we want to do which is to make sure our clients and staff feel safe.

“I’ve been preparing to do that from day one as I didn’t know how long this would last.”

When the salon reopens to the public in just under two weeks, clients will have a whole new experience, which Daniel hopes will make them and his team feel safe.

He is able to adapt to the challenges as he has quite a large salon, which he says has bays that are already two metres apart.

Daniel added: “We have another salon downstairs where the bays are three metres apart that are used as VIP so anyone who is particularly anxious about it can go down there.

“We’ll have screens between each wash basin as well.

“We’ve been told we don’t need to wear masks, just visors, but we will wear both and we are going with what we think is right.

“We will also give each client a welcome pack, which will include a refreshment drink as we can’t give them out, as well as their own sealed gown and towel and a mask.

“What we are saying is that the clients used to be walking right on the plane but now they are walking left and we have upgraded our service.

“They will know that they are the only person who will have worn that gown or used that towel.

“We’ve spent a lot of money on it, but it has to be done.

“We could have lost everything, but I made sure that didn’t happen.

“It’s a big deep breath in but there are so many opportunities and so many positives.”

Despite many people and businesses believing the pandemic will have a negative effect, Daniel is determined to use the time as an opportunity.

As well as growing his online presence, he has also taken the chance to employ two new hairdressers to cope with the backlog and extra demand that is expected.

He is also hoping to welcome mobile hairdressers who may not be able to practice from home.

During lockdown, Daniel has been teaching weekly online lessons and webinars for his hairdressers who are training and has taken up motivational speaking so that he can check on his team members and help them to see the pandemic in a more positive light.

But now he is looking forward to seeing his team and his clients once again as he looks ahead to the reopening.

Daniel added: “I have the best team in Northampton. We are all best mates so I always make sure they are alright, even if that means I go without.

“I have to keep them and the positive message and keep their mental health high.

“We love people, that is why we do this job and we are not getting to see people.

“Lets encourage people to come into town, to feel safe and to create a big buzz.

“Everyone has been talking about supporting our local town, now is the time to get behind that and really think about our town.

“People have realised that we need to focus on that now as it could be the livelihood of their neighbour we’re talking about.”

Daniel Granger Hairdressing will reopen to clients on Tuesday July 7 after staff have had two days of training. Appointments should be booked online.

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