The Northern Ireland beauty industry has been praised for how businesses have fought to remain successful since Covid hit.
Salon owners have explained how they have adapted to survive since the start of the pandemic, being labelled as "champions" for what they have achieved.
Paul Stafford, co-owner of Stafford Hair with wife Leisa, said businesses deserve to be recognised and should give themselves 'a pat on the back' for how far they have come.
It comes in the run up to the NI Beauty Excellence Awards, a 'celebration of excellence and achievement across the entire Aesthetics, Beauty and Hair Industries'.
The awards are proudly sponsored by West Coast Cooler and media partnered by Daily Mirror and Belfast Live.
Speaking as his salon shut for another week after staff came down with Covid, Mr Stafford told Be that the last two years "have been absolutely a war for the hair and beauty industry."
Paul, who is one of the judges at the awards, told Be : "Unlike the hospitality industry, [the hair and beauty industry] has been one of the unsung victims of all this. The industry itself didn't get the same loans and grants that hospitality got, maybe as it is seen as not as vital to the economy as hospitality.
"We have definitely suffered from that perspective. This situation we are in now, the world is kind of telling us that this thing is on the way out and the tide is turning, yet businesses are having to close down with no way of counteracting - this is one of the sad scars of Covid.
"We as employers have to think differently about how we employ people and how people want to work."
The salon owner explained how a lot of those working in the industry decided to work from home or else find alternative employment.
He said: "The biggest thing our industry faced was how to bring people back from the lockdowns, many salons would agree that it was so difficult to get staff back into the workplaces.
"They may have found alternative methods of employment and alternative ways to work.
"Covid has changed the industry dramatically and has also changed how we, salon owners, view our businesses. We have learned how to work more efficiently, we have recognised that loyalty, skill and talent within our industries have to be rewarded and acknowledged.
"We are much more aware of what our clients' expectations are when they come to the salon.
"Hairdressing salons were those pillars of the high street, a little safe haven where people went to escape, to relax. A blow dry was a piece of therapy but it was taken for granted - by hairdressers too as much as the clients, whereas, now both realise this is a vital component of the high street.
"Salons are not just somewhere that people go to get their hair done, they indulge, escape and remove themselves from the everyday life that we all get caught up in. It's therapy.
"It's all about connection and for a lot of people, actually getting back into a place where there was a buzz, laughter, conversation and social interaction was really, really important."
He continued: "We as salon owners started to view it as important as the quality of work we were putting out.
"After the last lockdown there was a significant tidal change in the staff we have, what they have bought into and what they want to be part of.
"We have made them realise that we rely on them, we love them, they are important to us, we want to mentor and nourish them so that they can have a fulfilling career within a salon and feel rewarded for their commitment and hard work.
"We have reduced hours, we have made people realise they are a cog in this team machine that has been designed and built to create a feel good factor for everyone."
Paul added how his business is looking to open its doors to different markets, improving skillsets.
"The lockdowns over the last two years made me very aware of what we were lacking," he said.
Mr Stafford explained how his staff will continue to wear masks, encouraging clients to wear them too if they can for the foreseeable future - but is making sure that going to the hairdressers feels more of a "luxury experience" again.
"The one thing I would say on behalf of the NI Beauty Excellence Awards is that this is a great year for people to look at their business and how they actually managed to come through the last couple of years - to realise just how wonderful they are at running their businesses, how quickly they were able to adapt, to pivot and change, so that the business they have spent years building up, will not only exist, but will flourish to be a better version of itself.
"For me personally, I've got a smaller team, I've got a tighter operation.
"It's about patting ourselves on the back and saying, 'we've got through this' and I think people out there should be acknowledged for that.
"If they look at their business and see what they have got through, maybe they will realise that they are champions. They really are leaders, team builders and entrepreneurs who absolutely deserve to be recognised."
Laura Murray, training and sales manager of The Beauty School in Warrenpoint, who are sponsoring the NI Beauty Excellence Awards, said some changes Covid caused 'were for the better'.
She told Be: "Initially with Covid, we were shut down, but thanks to the wonders of online technology, we were able to continue to reach out to our customers, old, new and present and started up our training online.
"We were able to deliver the training online, they would have completed all their theory and had a more in-depth knowledge, then later coming for their practical training.
"It meant they got more out of their training. In a way, it was maybe a bonus for us and our students and it is one positive thing we can take.
"We will keep that going, it works so well and it is the way we are continuing on. Some are now fully accredited online courses - you only need online training for them, which is brilliant."
Laura noticed a large increase in people wanting to get into beauty since the beginning of the pandemic.
She said: "People who always had an interest in it, male and female, Covid maybe woke some people up and made them go for it and say 'life's too short, let's just go and do it'.
"People were sitting at home and didn't know what to be up to either, so thought, 'why not divulge into this interest that I have and see where it takes me?' A lot of home salons have started up as well, there has been a huge increase.
"It's really great to see the industry bouncing back again."
Helen Alcorn-Hayes, owner of Urban Beauty & Skincare Centre in Dundonald, won 2019 Beauty & Skincare Salon at the awards.
She said: "From 2018 I started to see there was a shift in the industry as more people started to do nails etc from home, which increased massively from lockdown."
Many of the treatments her centre provided were affected, even when it reopened in between lockdowns.
"You couldn't massage necessarily, you couldn't perform facials with the blankets, towels, all the things that make it luxury.
"We were able to perform online consultations with people, as people did have that time. A lot of people started to invest as they wanted to know about good skincare routines, products to use that are going to make a difference.
"It was less about pampering... and a lot more clinical. We were able to open and perform our treatments on more of a clinical level.
"Because we have a big premises, I was able to split the team into two and have bubbles," Helen added.
The entrepreneur said she made sure to keep in contact with clients during lockdowns, and how the staff personally phoned their own clientele lists upon reopening as they knew people 'would be nervous'.
Helen said: "You could literally split it. 33% of business was dying to come back, then there was 33% who were on edge and just needed a bit of reassurance that they were coming in somewhere that was completely safe, and then there was the 33% who had somebody shielding, they were shielding, or didn't feel comfortable."
The business owner said she is proud at how she was able to adapt and added: "We are finding that we are getting more clientele with facials etc..
"There is not a sense of relief yet, it is hard work. We were fully booked all the time and we are not fully booked now. It's constantly having to keep in contact with people through social media and making sure that our standards are up."
The 2022 NI Beauty Excellence Awards will be hosted by TV personality Pamela Ballantine and will take place at the Crowne Plaza Belfast on Sunday 15th May 2022. The closing date for entries is fast approaching, Friday 4 th March 2022. For more information on categories and criteria, please visit www.nibeautyexcellence.com.
The Awards are proudly supported by title sponsor West Coast Cooler , media partners Daily Mirror and Belfast Live and event partners, Luxury Tanning Brand, Bellamianta; leading skincare brand, Epionce; influencer app, Fetch Ireland; vegan and cruelty-free cosmetic beauty brand, Pearl Beauty; award-winning training academy, The Beauty School, technical event production specialists, Sparq, Med FX, supplier for all Aesthetics and Skin Rejuvenation product needs and Shop Beautiful, a supplier of premium, professional grade beauty brands.
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