Salford has been named as the hair and beauty capital of the UK in a new study.
A study conducted by Nicely Polished looked at beauty salons across 73 towns and cities in the UK and Salford claimed gold.
With 170 hair salons, 36 hair removal salons, 33 nail salons, 25 tanning salons and 165 total beauty venues, Salford is the place to be to keep on top of your beauty regime.
The total number of beauty salons per square mile in Salford is 32.59, the highest in the UK, leaving us spoiled for choice.
With 4.07 nail salons per square mile, breaking a nail and booking an emergency appointment hours before your big night out is almost never a problem.
In Greater Manchester, Oldham was the only other city to place in the top 10, ranking in third place. Salford has 20.99 hair salons per square mile, with Oldham coming second across the UK with 14.64.
Other cities in the top 10 include Blackburn, Burnley, Watford, Blackpool, St Albans, Portsmouth, Bournemouth and Birkenhead.
Our neighbouring towns and cities didn’t rank so high. Manchester came in 27th place, Bolton in 28th, Bury in 29th and Rochdale placed 50th.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, beauty salons all over the world have had to rearrange how they operate. Salons have adapted to a new style of work, in line with government guidelines.
Avesta Hair & Beauty Salon in Salford, say the customer experience has depreciated due to the pandemic and this may affect their salons ranking in future UK beauty capital studies.
“Given the protective measures and confusing guidelines, I can confirm that the client experience is not as glamorous as it was before the pandemic. We can no longer serve beverages unless we use paper cups, which is another extra overhead added to our already struggling sector.
“The use of protective equipment such as masks, disposable gowns and disinfecting measures are not easy for clients, however necessary. Communication between the customer and stylist is made difficult with all of the protective equipment.” says Amin Ramshini, account manager at Avesta.
Regardless of Salford being named the no.1 hair and beauty capital in the UK, Amin feels the pandemic has majorly affected Avesta in a negative way.
“The overheads for the businesses have gone through the roof as a result of installing, purchasing and maintaining the PPE. There is always the element of risk involved for Avesta’s staff. We have lost some of our finest stylists as they couldn’t come back to work and some had to self isolate.
“Our customers are more cautious and they are limiting their visits.
“Overall, I suspect that given the current circumstances, we will see the impact of the pandemic on the beauty industry in near future. It will definitely shrink the industry and change the way we do things in the future”.
The Beauty Guru at Media City, say the level of service the industry provides has diminished, as salons have had to wave goodbye to some of the perks we all love so much. No more fancy coffees, sweet treats and fluffy towels to add that extra sparkle to our visit.
“I think customers are just grateful to have our salon back.
“If they are satisfied with the service it is because their expectations are lower. They know we can’t operate in the same way as we did before the pandemic. Clients know it has taken a long time to get back up and running delivering treatments” says Sam Marshall, owner of The Beauty Guru.
For more information on the hair and beauty hot spots of the UK, visit: https://nicelypolished.co.uk/beauty-capitals/index.html
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