Melbourne’s busiest hair salons have packed their bookings well into the next week, as the city’s frizziest residents rush to secure their first professional trim since Stage 4 coronavirus restrictions shuttered hairdressers at the start of August.
Barely a day after Premier Daniel Andrews‘ announcement that hairdressers can reopen for business, the online booking calendar for Melbourne’s Oscar Oscar salons appeared to fill out – before the online booking system seemed to go offline entirely.
Similarly, bookings at Biba locations across the city have been snapped up, while men’s cuts at King’s Domain barbershop in South Yarra have been secured until Friday afternoon.
Speaking to Nine News on Sunday, award-winning salon owner Joey Scandizzo said he had filled three weeks of bookings in the hours after Andrews’ big news.
Iso hair do’s will become a distant memory from midnight – with salons finally able get their scissors working again. @_StephAnderson #9News pic.twitter.com/suKCCGmwoL
— 9News Melbourne (@9NewsMelb) October 18, 2020
Several salons contacted by PEDESTRIAN.TV on Monday said they were too busy to comment, with one barbershop in Camberwell saying clients were lining up outside the door.
Folks from all over the joint took to social media to celebrate the imminent demise of their lockdown hair, while some called for caution during Melbourne’s gradual pathway out of Stage 4 lockdowns.
there are at least 2 million men going to get haircuts in Melbourne today, maybe wait til tomo
— STYALZ FUEGO (@STYALZFUEGO) October 18, 2020
https://twitter.com/DifficultNerd/status/1317953601482878978
How fast did we all book hair appointments Melbourne? 😂
— Emma (@emmerina) October 18, 2020
Who hasn’t made a hair appointment in Melbourne yet? CAN’T WAIT
— Danielle Galvin (@danigalvin88) October 18, 2020
Hair salons are allowed to reopen here in Melbourne again! YAY!!!! You can bet your butt I immediately booked in a consultation to figure out this ridiculous nest of mess on my head!
— 🦄 Cinder 🦄 (@cinder_tweets) October 18, 2020
https://twitter.com/teacakeofdoom/status/1317791740137512961
How many kilograms of hair will be lopped from human heads in metropolitan Melbourne this week? #COVID19Vic
— Stephen B (@BicycleAdagio) October 18, 2020
https://twitter.com/accessdenied003/status/1317934573787901953
From today, hairdressers and barbershops are permitted to operate while adhering to strict health and safety guidelines.
Hair care professionals have been asked to adhere to COVIDSafe practices, including the use of PPE, the provision of four square metres of floor space per client, and the sanitisation of work stations between jobs.
The move precedes the reopening of retail and personal care services – think beauty parlours – which is slated to occur on November 1.
It’s all very big news, and it’s an exciting time for salon staff who are keen to crack on in a safe environment – and the Melbourne punters who’ve endured not just extreme lockdown restrictions, but months of botched trim jobs executed in front of bathroom mirrors.
Not me, though. I told myself I’d grow my hair for as long as possible, and I’m too attached to its comedic value to give it up. Maybe I’ll reconsider when I have more of a reason to go outside and expose others to my presence, but for the time being, I’ll leave the hair cuts up to everyone else.
