THIS last year has proved particularly challenging for workers and businesses in the hair and beauty industry, as the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns in Britain have left many unable to work and forced others to close their businesses.

The lack of financial governmental support for this industry has overwhelmingly affected women. A National Hair and Beauty Federation (NHBF) poll shows that of 29,200 salon owners and managers in the UK hair and beauty sector, 82 per cent are female.

Members of the citizen-led organisation, UBI Lab Womxn interviewed women in the hair and beauty industry about their experiences during the Covid pandemic, giving a voice to women who feel as though they have been “forgotten” and disregarded by the government.

All those interviewed in the UBI Lab Womxn study spoke on condition of anonymity to protect their identity as many disclosed emotional and vulnerable stories.

A young woman working as a beautician in the Midlands spoke to UBI Lab Womxn about the impact not being able to work had on her and her business. This struggle was made difficult due to the uncertainty of receiving financial support from the Conservative government.

“I opened my own salon in March and two weeks later the first national lockdown happened and straight away we had to close our doors, not knowing whether we’d get any support or any income," she said.

“The first grant that my business got was in June. So we’d gone quite a long time before having any money financially but still having a rent to pay on a premise.

“We got £10,000 to begin with, which sounds like a lot of money, but when you are running a business that £10,000 was gone in a matter of two months.

“With us opening in March, we paid our business rates a week before lockdown, so we’re really lucky because if we hadn’t paid them, we wouldn’t have received a penny.”

The Midlands beautician found herself ineligible for self-employed grants and universal credit, so within weeks her income had been compromised.

“I own the salon under one business but I’m also self-employed and a sole trader for beauty and I haven’t had any income whatsoever,” she said.

“I applied for grants but I wasn’t entitled to any because I hadn’t got books from 2018/19 because I only went self-employed from July 2019.

“I applied for things like universal credit but I wasn’t entitled to that. I finally got onto jobseeker’s [allowance] and I was only entitled to £50 a week. So I got £50 a week, as well as trying to run a business and I still had bills to pay.”

Many beauticians were left unemployed for months and despite hairdressers being able to reopen on July 4, beauty salons remained closed.

NHBF condemned the decision, saying that allowing “hair salons to open, but not beauty, showed a lack of understanding of their practical operations and management.”

After a government review, beauty salons were then able to reopen in Britain on July 13. However, new Covid guidelines announced four days before banned services on facial areas due to the higher risks of Covid transmission.

Despite the changed guidelines affecting the quantity of work which many beauticians were permitted to do, no financial compensation was offered to protect their losses. And since the beauty salons were legally open, owners weren’t able to claim unemployment benefits.

“There was no financial help in place once we could open from the 13th,” said the young beautician.

“I couldn’t claim anything because I was still at work.”

She said she could only conduct 20 per cent of her work as facial treatments made up 80 per cent of her services. This meant she was restricted to earning a limited 20 per cent of her usual income.

“Also my bills were costing more because we were actually in the salon at the time. The lights were on, the electricity was on, so bills were getting more expensive again.

“We were supposed to be allowed to start face treatments again from August 1 and then less than 24 hours before, when we’d booked all clients in, we got told that we weren’t allowed.

“I remember walking out in reception and everyone that I worked with was crying. I just broke down. It was awful.

“People could go out drinking and I couldn’t even do a facial. It didn’t add up, it just seemed like they had something in for the beauty industry.”

During this time period, the government also made the inconsistent decision to permit practices of male beard trimming while still restricting female-oriented facial treatments such as eyelashes and eyebrows.

“It makes me very angry that a man can go and sit to have his hair done and beard trimmed but I can’t do somebody’s eyelashes with full PPE and with my client having a mask on," said the beautician.

“You can’t wear a mask for a beard trim.

“I feel like we have been treated like a laughing stock. As if we don’t really matter.”

A makeup artist working in Cardiff also expressed outrage at the government’s decision.

“It is apparent that we are governed by an egocentric, male-dominated association and that we as individuals aren’t taken seriously.”

She was infuriated by a video clip posted on Twitter by Conservative MP William Wragg last July showing him, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other male MPs in the House of Commons ridiculing the urgency of reopening beauty salons.

Both Wragg and Johnson joke about their desire to visit Lush Beauty, a beauty salon in Romiley, which is met with amusement by the majority male attendees.

The blatant disrespect of beauticians in this clip contributes to the stigma which devalues these women as workers and insults their profession.

The young makeup artist from Cardiff said: “We already aren’t taken seriously so when a politician highlights this, it can be really degrading and demoralising.

“What appears to be lost on many people is people such as myself, contrary to popular belief, are often well educated, hold many academic qualifications, have undertaken extensive and rigorous training and have chosen this business as a serious and considered career path.”

Additionally, the government’s negligence in supporting women in this industry has meant that many have resorted to alternative sources of income.

One interviewee has started to sell clothes and sweets to earn an income.

“I’ve had clearouts and sold a top today for £1.50,” she said. “I’m happy because I’m going to have £1.50 put in my bank. Money is money.”

Another interviewee has found herself in a vulnerable position since struggling to pay off a loan.

“I had to apply for the bounce back loan, and live off that for the year, but I will be paying that off for the next 10 years and it’s all gone now. I am now working in a different industry just to make ends meet.”

The desperation to earn an income puts these women at higher risk of working in exploitative and low-paid jobs. Their independence and freedoms have been undermined.

Many of these women are now finding themselves exhausted, demotivated and struggling with their mental wellbeing.

One interviewee commented: “My mental health has been negatively impacted during this time. I absolutely love my job for many reasons. Not having that has been hard.”

Another interviewee spoke of increased anxiety: “Before the pandemic, I wouldn’t really say I’m much of an anxious person. But I’ve since had days where I couldn’t get out of bed. I feel like my whole purpose of life has just stopped.”

Another interviewee said: “I think the longer this goes on the more unappreciated and forgotten people like me feel. And it’s not a good feeling. It’s a sadness and a sense of having to cope on your own. And being like that stray dog at the side of the road that everyone looks at but no-one helps.”

UBI Lab Womxn campaign for a universal basic income as a potential solution to relieve some of the gender inequalities perpetuated by the current welfare system.

The group is holding a virtual event on February 17 at 6pm to raise awareness of the impact Covid has had on women working in the hair and beauty industry.

UBI Lab Womxn will also be speaking on behalf of a universal basic income as an emancipatory solution which could provide financial independence, particularly to women whose incomes and liberties have been largely disregarded during the pandemic.

For more on UBI Lab Womxn, visit the website (ubilabnetwork.org) or find them on Twitter (@UBILabWomxn) or Instagram (UBILabWomxn).

Georgina Trace is a freelance journalist. She can be found on Twitter here: @GinaTrace