A leading Aberdeen barber was swamped with almost 600 bookings in three hours after Nicola Sturgeon confirmed the industry could resume next month.
Sovereign Grooming, on Union Street, opened its online booking systems at 9am this morning to allow clients to book their first post-lockdown trim on July 15.
By lunchtime, 570 appointments had been snapped-up, leaving much of July and early August fully booked.
The salon’s owner, Kyle Ross, a previous winner of Best Barber UK, saw all of his July appointments snapped up within just seven minutes, by 9.07am.
He said: “I was expecting there to be demand, but the surge at 9am was incredible – it was like concert tickets going on sale.
“My phone has been red hot since Nicola Sturgeon made her announcement in parliament and I think many men are desperate to get a professional cut.
“It’s great to have a date to work towards and preparations are underway – we can’t wait to welcome our clients back and undo the damage done by three months of home haircuts.”
The salon is extending opening hours to counter reduced capacity as it adapts to the two-metre social distancing rule.
These guidelines have been reduced to ‘one metre plus’ in England – and should Scotland follow suit, Sovereign will be able to release an additional 300 appointments for July alone.
Kyle added: “I think many in the hair and beauty sector will be keeping an eye on England to see how the reduced restrictions work.
“We will be guided by what health officials here think is safe and are prepared for both scenarios.
“Barbers are also awaiting further guidance on whether beard treatments – such as hot towel shaves – can resume on July 15.
“We are not taking bookings for these services at present – however, this may change in the coming weeks as we get fuller guidance from the Scottish Government.”
Sovereign’s barbers have undergone additional Covid-19 hygiene training and will be dressed in personal protective equipment (PPE) when operations resume.
Clients will have to wear a face-covering inside the salon and have been instructed to re-arrange their appointment if they or anyone in their household is feeling unwell.
Visits to the salon will be by appointment only for the foreseeable future to regulate the number of people in the building.