From June 2026 we will be moving to a policy of mask wearing in the salon at the request of clients or staff, as opposed to all of the time. This means we will no longer be requesting that our staff and clients wear face masks by default. Instead we will distribute Type 2 disposable face masks to everyone in the salon when this is asked of us. Requests can be made at any time, or in advance through our booking system or by email at openouthair@gmail.com
Why have we made this decision?
- Most clients who require mask wearing in the salon contact us in advance, expressing this request as an access need, and we always ensure to meet this request.
- The majority of our clients wear face masks at every appointment out of respect for our policy, but many express that they don’t feel the need to take these precautions for themselves.
- All of our staff have been consulted on mask wearing and while they remain concerned about the safety of the team and clients, they will experience more physical comfort at work not wearing face masks all day. All current staff have expressed that they are very happy to wear a face mask on request.
- The default supply of face masks from us results in a high amount of waste, with up to 50 non-recyclable disposable masks per day going into landfill.
- The cost of providing lateral flow tests, disposable face masks and gloves to staff and clients last year was £522.00
- We continue to have a COVID-19 safety plan in place which includes running a large air purifier at all time. The full safety plan can be viewed here.
We have therefore concluded that mask wearing on request is a more sustainable approach to COVID safety and have decided to bring in this change.
Thank you for adhering to our mask wearing policy for the past 6 years, in doing so you have helped to make Open Out a safe space for many of our clients and help keep contamination levels down. We appreciate your continued cooperation with our updated policy going forward.