Irish Hairdresser Creates Innovative Chair To Protect Clients From Coronavirus

A savvy hairdresser who had to shut up shop due to the coronavirus pandemic has come up with a safety solution that she hopes will enable her to start taking on clients soon.

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Jean Mcdonnell, from Drogheda, county Lough, in Ireland, created an innovative chair designed to limit contact during hair consultations, the Mirror reported.

The hairdresser fitted a perspex wall around a normal chair, before adding a gap at the back which allows stylists to cut and treat the hair with minimal contact.

Jean raised her chair creation to Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and Chief Medical Officer Tony Holahan in the hope it would allow hairdressers to see clients before 20 July.

This is the date that was fixed by the Irish government as part of their post-lockdown strategy.

Jean explained she was swamped with messages and calls from worried clients who were anxious to have their hair done.

She said the number of calls only increased after Ireland announced its lockdown exit plan strategy, which stated hairdressers would not reopen before the end of July.

She went on to say how she was determined to come up with a solution that would promote social distancing between hairdressers and their clients - and so the chair, which was accustomed to match her height, was born.

'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,' Jean explained.

Hoping to be able to see clients one-on-one when salons reopen, Jean added she would be wearing a face mask and gloves during each consultation and would use screened basins to rinse hair and colour.

On her salon JeaniMac VIP Hair's Facebook page, Jean has been updating her clientele on the steps she has been taking to make sure customers can be seen safely at the end of the lockdown.

She said she has sanitised her salon and would be asking future clients to wash their hands on arrival before having their temperature taken.

'I will have gloves and masks supplied for all my clients and last but not least for those who want to take extra precautions we have the covid19 hairchair,' wrote Jean.

'Hopefully numbers keep dropping and on the advice of chief medical officer Tony Holahan we see each other soon.'

Leo Varadkar announced a five-stage lockdown exit strategy on May 2, which would see the country resuming to normal life in five stages, happening three weeks apart from another.

The plan, due to start on May 18, was subjected to the condition that coronavirus cases would continue to drop in the Republic of Ireland, and would be halted if spikes of infections increase, he warned.

To date, the Republic of Ireland counts 23,242 cases of coronavirus and 1,488 deaths.

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