Hairdressers in Germany back in business

Hairdressers in Germany have been waiting for this day for weeks on end. As of May 4, they are allowed to get back to business and finally start making money again. But there are strict rules to be followed. Keeping your distance will remain a useful guideline.

One of the security precautions that hairdressers and their clients need to observe is to wear face masks. Fewer clients will be let in at any given time than normally as social distancing rules are to be applied as well as possible.

One of the more peculiar rules in place is that clients need to get their hair washed — you can't simply have a dry cut. It's a pseudoscientitfic measure meant to ensure that viruses are killed before the hair is cut. Many argue the water temperature used won't do the trick at all.

Like this man engaged in a DIY experiment, millions of Germans will be glad to finally be able to use the professional skills of hairdressers again. There are well over 80,000 hairdressing shops across the nation, creating an annual turnover of almost €7 billion ($7.7 billion) on average.

According to the Federal Statistics Office (Destatis), a lot more women than men have been joining the hairdressing sector for years. In 2018 for instance, there were 7,100 female newcomers, compared with just 2,500 new male hairdressers. A trend reversal is not in sight.

Hairdressers offer an important service that hardly anyone can do without, but that's not reflected in their wages. Destatis reports that 16% of all hairdressers in Germany have monthly incomes of no more than €450. That's the highest percentage of all approved trades in Europe's economic powerhouse.