Dingwall beautician urging for ease of COVID-19 restrictions

A Ross-Shire businesswoman says COVID-19 restrictions on the beauty sector must be eased.

Janie Macaskill, from Dingwall, says current restrictions mean she can only take on brow and eyelash treatments, which make up for only 10% of her total business.

The Perfection by Janie owner says she is "stuck between a rock and a hard place" as clients are keen to receive treatment.

She said: "People don't have the choice to come and see somebody like me to take their mask off for a minimum amount of time, to have a treatment performed when I'm in full PPE.

"You can go to the pub and take your mask off there, should I start doing facials and fillers in the corner of a pub where you can take a mask off?

"In supermarkets, you don't get tracked and traced there, we send our children to school they're mixing with umpteen other households during the day.

"We're in level one up here, we should be able to do facials, fillers and these types of treatments in a clinical setting where we're one of the most hygienic industries in business.

Janie's started a petition to help ease restrictions for her sector, as she says several other beauticians in the area are also suffering.

She added: "I started the petition to raise awareness not just for myself but for others in the industry as well who are really struggling.

"The Government say we (beauticians) can work with masks on, which leaves me at 10% capacity of what I can actually do.

"That doesn't put food on the table, it doesn't pay the bills.

"We're between a rock and a hard place, we need some leeway on this, some easing of restriction, especially since we're in level one.

"We need to be trusted that we're professionals and able to put safety precautions in place so that we're keeping everyone safe"

Janie was reported to Environmental Health by a member of the public for not adhering to guidelines. However, she says her interpretation of the guidelines at the time allowed her to remove a client's mask with their permission.

Highland Council say guidance states customers cannot be asked to remove their face covering to undertake a treatment.

Alan Yates, Environmental Health Manager said: "Our Environmental Health team have dealt with several enquiries relating to close contact services, including beauticians, and are aware of a number of concerns surrounding the interpretation of the Scot Govt Covid advice for this business sector.

"In response to these concerns, the Scot Gov published a frequently asked questions for Close Contact Services, and it this guidance that our officers use when advising businesses about what treatments are permitted or not.

“The guidance makes it clear that that operators cannot ask a client/customer to remove their face covering to undertake a treatment.

"This means that treatments requiring the removal of a face covering should not be offered or carried out, even if the client is exempt from wearing a face covering and the area is exposed.

"Whilst beauty therapists are able to operate, the current professional advice is that, for safety reasons, close contact services should not be performed where face-coverings cannot be worn.

"The Council published a link to the Scottish Government advice on its social media pages on the 19th October and have provided similar advice to other businesses within the Close Contact Services sector.

"Our Service fully appreciate the impact that this guidance will have on this type of businesses but this is the current Scottish Government advice that we require to enforce and advise upon in response to any enquiries or concerns.

"We would urge all businesses to follow the Scottish Government advice in order to tackle the spread of Coronavirus in the community.”