The impact the coronavirus outbreak has had on the beauty industry

Like many other industries, the beauty world has been extremely affected by the Coronavirus Covid-19 outbreak. With Governments across the world imposing strict quarantine guidelines many salons, health and beauty stores and freelancers are left with no choice other than to close and stop working due to the close nature of the services we provide. This has resulted in beauty workers facing some unpredictable challenges to keep their businesses afloat. It's becoming increasingly clear that the pandemic will leave a lasting impact on the billion-dollar industry.

I started doing a lot of reading into the coronavirus back in February because I had booked a trip to China and I received emails about my flights being cancelled due to the Outbreak there. This really made me think about the seriousness of the outbreak and how quickly it was spreading, but it felt as though most people weren't as aware of it as I was. I continued treating clients but I increased my levels of hygiene by wearing PPE during the full services I provided. However, by the start of March, the outbreak had now spread to the UK. I started to question whether I was doing the right thing by continuing my close contact services from house to house. I made the conscious decision to close that week and it then occurred to me...what do I do now? How do I now pay my bills? How will everyone get through this?

A lot of beauty professionals are adapting to the new rules by offering digital online classes and selling their own range of products to make an income during these uncertain times. I spoke to Makeup Artist Charlotte from @charlottewadleymakeup who said:

"Makeup is largely reliant on clients having an occasion to have their makeup done for. As we aren't able to conduct work safely yet, our business has had a huge impact. We are lucky that we have a small range of lash products alongside the services that we offer so we are still able to earn through the revenue our products generate however, we are still feeling the impact like many other independent businesses."

With closed salons and beauty stores, social distancing and quarantine are pushing people to get creative and experiment with their look. People who have been reliant on going to the salon for decades are now trying to replicate their stylists and artists work using at-home hair, gel nails and even lash kits. However, with this being said people miss looking and feeling great as well as the sense of normality. So I have no doubts that people will be rushing to salons to make them feel better after these sad and scary times.

Since closing, It's been actually quite beneficial. I have been able to really think about what I want from my business, and work on the growth and future that I want to build for my business as well as adapting my business by creating my own press on nail line to gain revenue. I personally have positive feelings too, that once we can get back to normality, the beauty industry will flourish majorly and beauty workers will be busier than ever before.

I hope you have enjoyed my post, I would like to give a big thanks to Charlotte for contributing to my post and it would be interesting to see what your thoughts are, so comment below and I look forward to the next one!

Until next time,

Eloise :)