After becoming one of the worst-hit COVID-19 countries in Europe, Spain has been one of the quickest to re-open, in an attempt to face up to the economic consequences of the health crisis. On April 28, President Sanchez presented a 4-stage roadmap to a return to normality. The first stage allowed all Spanish businesses below 400sqm to open as early as Monday May 4th, after 50 days of lockdown, and that includes the majority of hair salons.

The Stanpa Association, which brings together the largest companies in the hairdressing industry, therefore immediately presented its health and hygiene recommendations for hairdressing salons, with the support of many important players, associations and companies from the industry. 

The final word came from the BOE (Spanish State Official Bulletin), published on Sunday 3 May, confirming salon re-openings could take place from May 4th. It was so sudden that not all hairdressers were ready to re-open immediately as many of the health and hygiene measures necessary required a significant amount of reorganisation to put in place. Nevertheless, the first week saw the re-opening of about 50% of Spanish salons -  including all the major franchise chains -  a significant test for the hairdressing business.

For those who re-opened, the first day of activity turn into something of a media frenzy,  with TV stations and news outlets covering the event and some reports even making the front page.  

The euphoria felt by customers was almost palpable, while hairdressers we able to set about working their way through the long lists of cancelled hair appointments which were getting ever-longer as the lockdown endured. In Spain, as well as in many other countries, hairdressers and salon owners have been worried that some general safety might bring serious problems to their business. Concerns over these limitations in business practice are centred around the fact that too stringent restrictions over too long a period of time may result in some salon being even able to turn a profit. However, judging from these first few days, we can see a huge desire to return to the salon experiences they love so much, both  from hair professional and clients alike.  This impression is confirmed by the numbers – many salons reporting that they’re  now fully-booked up for at least the next three weeks!