Stag Barber Co. is giving away free haircuts to people who have lost their jobs due to coronavirus in a bid to make them look their best for interviews.
The Edinburgh-based barbers is currently preparing to reopen on July 15, when they will be splitting appointments between the Lady Lawson Street shop and their newly-opening salon on Haymarket Terrace.
In a recent Facebook post, the barbers announced plans to give free haircuts to job seekers, stating: “If you’ve lost your job and need a haircut because you have an interview for a new one please Facebook message or email us.
“Or if your financial circumstances have changed and you’d like a haircut because it'll help you feel good at a time that you’re feeling kind of low - we will sort you out, free of charge.
We’ve been busily preparing for our re-opening date of 15th of July. ⠀ ⠀ There’s a lot of wee changes going in place -...
Posted by Stag Barber Co. on Tuesday, July 7, 2020
During lockdown, owner Murray McRae launched “virtual haircuts” where he guided clients cutting their own hair at home, and launched “Kutz 4 Key Workers” which saw NHS workers allocated free haircuts for every individual attempting to cut their hair during lockdown.
Now, Murray’s plan involves helping out those who have recently lost their jobs. He said: “We realised that because of Covid, so many people are losing their jobs, and we know that when you’re looking for a job you want to feel good because it’s really hard to keep putting yourself out there to be scrutinised.
“Hairdressing is about helping people look and feel good, and that’s one of the most rewarding parts of being a hairdresser.
“We want to be a community-based shop that looks after people, because the community does such a great job of looking after us.”
Upon reopening, the business will need to sterilise and sanitise each station, chair and all hairdressing equipment between appointments.
The National Industry Awards finalists for 'Best Local Salon' will also be cleaning all surfaces in the shop including doorknobs, heat treating the gowns and implementing regular handwashing.
READ MORE: When will hairdressers open in Scotland and will I have to wear a mask?
Murray says lockdown has been “testing” but is looking forward to getting back to business. He said: “We’ve had to completely readjust the way that our structure works and run longer appointment times so that we can clean between every client.
“At the beginning of lockdown our clients were amazing by offering to pay for their next haircut, with some even paying for a year’s worth of haircuts.
“And when we open on the 15th of July we’ll open a second shop too which means we won’t all be crammed into the one place.”
Unlike most hairdressers, Stag Barber Co. charges based on hair length, rather than basing the price on gender.
READ MORE: Let's hail Scotland's hairdressers - their time has finally come
While this won’t change, the Covid-19 restrictions in place means Stag Barber Co. and companies like it will need to trade at reduced capacity and cover additional cleaning costs, causing higher prices for customers.
As a result, Stag Barber Co. will marginally increase its prices in order to accommodate the cost of more equipment, gowns, cleaning supplies and PPE.
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