Two Lurgan sisters have said they have reluctantly had to make the call to only open their salon half the week due to cost of living pressures.
The O'Hagan sisters run the Pin-up Parlour in the town, with Sinéad opening the salon back in 2009.
Her twin sister Émer told Belfast Live they are looking at the their energy costs quadrupling in the space of just a year.
Read more: Co Armagh café owner speaks out on rising costs after receiving £9,000 monthly electricity bill
"So Sinéad and I sat down and we crunched some figures and looked at the days where we're busier than others," said Émer.
"It just made more sense that we had to close on the quieter days and stay open half the week, but it's sickening that we're forced to make this decision.
"The last thing we want is pity, that's not what this is about - we just want our voice to be heard, we want the voice of local businesses to be heard.
"So it's not about pity, it's about getting change and action and the only way it'll happen is if we have a government."
Émer says their clients are all feeling the pinch as energy and everyday prices skyrocket.
"We're very, very conscious that the people who walk through in our doors are in the same boat as us, they have to save the pennies as well," she added.
"We're so reluctant to put the prices up, we're not greedy, we carry out a service that we love to do.
"Over the years, the clients have become our friends and we want them coming through our doors knowing they're not going to be exploited.
"The people that come into us, day in and day out and they're from all different backgrounds and they don't care about political nonsense.
"They're talking about the cost of living, the likes of the price of uniforms and that and we're in the same boat, we've got families as well."
Emer said the sisters had come to the decision in the hope that it would buy them time to get through the cost of living crisis.
"We are making changes now because we have to be practical - there's no point sticking our heads in the sand and pretending it's not going to happen," she said.
"Sinead and I have come to the conclusion that if we make changes now and make some savings now, that'll see us through the winter months.
"We don't see us doing this as failing as a business, we see this as preparing and planning and surviving as a business.
"Please God though, that these are temporary changes until we get through all this."
The duty to their staff is also paramount for the sisters who have said they are so thankful for their clients and those who work in Pin-up Parlour.
"We've got a good group of girls here and we can't let the girls down," she said.
"Have we ever seen anything like this before? No, not to this magnitude.
"We were very, very lucky to survive Covid, because I know some businesses didn't, but this is now a different magnitude.
"And that's why we've come to this decision, but it's shameful that it's come to this, that the country is in this state, all because the government can't agree."
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