Are spas open in England? Date treatment centres can reopen as lockdown rules are relaxed

Pubs, restaurants, hairdressers and beauty salons have all now reopened, but have spas reopened their doors to customers?

Here’s what you need to know.

When will spas reopen?

If you’ve been eagerly anticipating being able to treat yourself to a pamper day at the spa, then you don’t have to wait any longer as spas have now reopened.

When did spas close?

Spas closed when the country entered into lockdown on 23 March, but have now reopened – although some treatments are out of bounds for now.

Which treatments are not allowed?

Those eagerly anticipating getting their nails done, or other beauty treatments, at a spa will be able to do so – but some are still not yet allowed.

Some beauty treatments are still not allowed, but following Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement on Friday 17 July, all beauty services will now be able to resume from 1 August.

Although beauty salons are now able to reopen and services such as nail treatments and waxes can resume, no treatments on the face are currently permitted, as this is considered a ‘high-risk zone’.

Treatments in the “high-risk zone” are those carried out directly in front of the client’s face, which put people at higher risk of spreading COVID-19.

These include face waxing and threading, facials, eyelash and eyebrow treatments and microblading.

However, from 1 August the government will, "Enable all close contact services to resume, including any treatments on the face such as eyebrow threading or make-up application, working closely with the sector and public health experts to ensure this can be done as safely as possible and in line with COVID-19 Secure guidelines."

Boris Johnson said: ““From August 1, we will be reopening most remaining leisure settings and we will enable close-contact services [such as] beauticians to resume.”

Will new safety measures be in place?

The government published guidelines on 23 June named ‘Keeping workers and clients safe during COVID19 in close contact services’.

‘Close contact services’ include spas, hairdressing, barbershops, beauty and nail bars, makeup, tattoo and spray tanning studios, sports and massage therapy, well-being and holistic locations, dress fitters, tailors and fashion designers.

This government guidance is also for those who provide mobile close contact services from their homes and in other people’s homes, those in retail environments and the arts, and those studying hair and beauty in vocational training environments.

The document provides guidance on how to open workplaces safely, while also minimising the risk of spreading coronavirus.

This includes:

Minimising contacts around transactions, for example, considering using contactless payments including tips, where possible.

Minimising how frequently equipment is shared between workers, frequently cleaning between use and assigning to an individual where possible.

Using disposable items where possible, for example nail files, and ensuring non-disposable items are cleaned between clients.

Helena Grzesk, UK Spa Association, said: "I am extremely pleased that BEIS has published updated guidelines allowing spas to reopen. Spas can be a complex environment to risk assess and understand, simply because we work across such a wide range of wellness sector disciplines.

"The evidence we provided demonstrated that spas have always operated as semi-clinical environments, and we were happy to work with BEIS to ensure the sector was able to begin to reopen as safely yet swiftly as possible, so that we could get back to helping the nation recover physically, mentally and emotionally post-lockdown.”