Getting a haircut has been a big problem for many people during the Coronavirus lockdown, leading many to either go long and wild or risk a bodged do-it-yourself job. And then there’s the problem of the rapidly returning grey locks.
Now help is at hand. Hairdresser Jean McDonnell from Drogheda in Ireland has developed a chair designed to keep customers safe while they get their hair styled. She rose to the challenge after being inundated with inquiries from customers desperate for a quick solution to the problem of styling and colouring their hair.
The need is quite urgent because the Irish government has said that hairdresser shops can’t open until 20 July.
Jean’s innovative chair was created with the help of her husband Alan who’s a carpenter. It comprises of a perspex- covered seat that protects the customer at the front and the hairdresser at the back.
Jean told the Irish Mirror: “Customers were ringing me regularly really anxious on how they were going to manage their hair or keep their grey covered but the calls increased after the exit plan was announced and they discovered they may not get to a hairdressers before July 20th.”
“I know the thinking behind it is that hairdressers and clients are not socially distanced but I thought there must be something I could do, so I talked to my husband Alan who is a carpenter and we came up with this chair.
“It is custom made for my height so the perspex at the back ends at my chin and I can reach in, wearing gloves to style the customers hair. The customer themselves are surrounded by perspex which leaves them protected.
“I will also be wearing a mask and protective personal equipment and the basins to wash hair are also being screened off.”
Jean hopes the chair will persuade Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to let her reopen her business before the schedule date on 20 July.
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