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A Q&A… with our CEO Karen Betts!

A Q&A… with our CEO Karen Betts!
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A Q&A… with our CEO Karen Betts!

A Q&A… with our CEO Karen Betts!

As well as being known as the CEO of Nouveau HD Beauty Group, you may have read a little bit about my story and how I started out over 20 years ago in permanent makeup. I’m an artist at heart – someone who loves dealing with clients on a daily basis and changing lives through permanent makeup.

Over the last few months, I’ll admit that I’ve felt uncertain at times. Things changed overnight for us… but the way that we have shown resilience, adapted to change and stayed positive throughout is a testament to our industry and everyone who is a part of it. The biggest piece of advice I can give anyone, whether you’re just starting your journey in brows, lashes or permanent makeup, or you’ve been doing it for years is continue to educate yourself. Draw on your knowledge as a business owner to navigate through these new circumstances, such as implementing enhanced hygiene measures, organising one-way systems or reducing the number of clients you can see per day. No matter what, stay focused, positive and believe in yourself and your capabilities.

That being said, understandably many of you have questions. I’ve decided to answer some I’ve been asked myself; if it helps just one person, then I’m happy!

90% of permanent make-up artsis are ready to return to work

I asked on Instagram if my fellow permanent makeup artists were ready to restart and get back to work… 90% of you said yes which is amazing and exactly what I want to see! Some people are feeling more confident than others about returning to work, but we must embrace change in order to reassure and instil confidence in our clients, as well as ourselves.

A few people have told me that they were excited to reopen their salons but were worried about NHS Test and Trace:

After reopening, if a client tested positive for COVID-19 (and NHS Test and Trace notify us) will we have to close for 14 days and self-isolate?

According to official government advice, if NHS Test and Trace contact you asking for an information request, this does not always mean you must close. It depends on the circumstance and when the infected person visited. NHS Test and Trace could ask you or your staff (for salon owners) to get tested for COVID-19, take extra care when social distancing or self-isolate in “some circumstances”. For more information on NHS Test and Trace, head to GOV.UK.

Karen Betts in PPE

Let’s discuss PPE, which I get asked about a lot. This is something one lovely beauty professional sent my way:

The guidelines in my salon are that as long as we wear a mask as well as a visor, our clients won’t have to wear a mask. What are your thoughts on this? Do you think we should be extra careful and ask our clients to wear a disposable mask as well?

The most recent close contact guidelines recommend a full face visor is worn in conjunction with your usual PPE, and if you follow this then it is not compulsory for your client to wear a mask. As a business, you must make informed decisions on when to wear certain types of PPE (based on your own risk assessment) before returning to work. I personally will be providing masks for my permanent makeup for brows and eyes clients to wear during treatment. I’ve been trying to help and support people as much as possible, working with my team to provide information on the different types of PPE that is available. We’ve even created a free Back To Beauty COVID-19: Hygiene & Safety Course, to boost your confidence, if you haven’t completed already! I’m passionate about hygiene and safety; I’ve always practiced high standards in my clinics. My team and I have done extensive research on the different types of PPE and we’ve provided you with as much information as possible to help you decide what’s best for you – you can also watch demonstration videos on how to put on PPE correctly in our course.

Covid safety course KB Pro

The question we’ve all been asking… has finally been answered!

The UK Government confirmed today Friday 17th July all remaining close contact beauty services in England can return to work on 1 August, in a COVID secure way.. Whether you’re raring to go or not quite ready, use this time wisely before you reopen. Make sure you have everything in place to reassure your clients as much as possible that you are committed to maintaining a safe, hygienic treatment environment.

I hope you’ve found this useful in some way… I love hearing from you all! As I mentioned, we need to keep educating ourselves on how to keep our working environments safe and hygienic. Let’s focus our energy on the things we can control. We’ve been posting assets across our social media channels, which will help you communicate those all-important changes and processes to your client. You can always revisit your training manuals and our COVID-19: Hygiene & Safety Course for an extra confidence boost.

Let’s restart the beauty industry together!