Salons allowed to retail at Level 4 of lockdown

According to government regulations gazetted on 29 April, beauty, nail and hair salons are now allowed to retail specified categories of products, with all treatment services still strictly prohibited until further notice.

Salons who wish to retail during Level 4 of the national COVID-19 lockdown must obtain a CIPC permit. Sole proprietors cannot register with CIPC, but are able to get a letter and copy of the CIPC permit of the company that supplies their products, should they have one. These copies must include the ID number, tax number and tax compliance details. If you wish to obtain a CIPC permit click here.

The salon may choose to retail either online (and deliver the products directly to the client) or in the store. If the latter, the salon must comply with stringent government hygiene & sanitation regulations, and operate with a minimum staff complement. Those salons that are situated within shopping malls or office parks must also adhere to whatever hygiene & sanitation measures the property owners may implement.

To reiterate – no salon, whether it be home-based or based elsewhere, may perform any treatment services during this stage of lockdown. If you do, you are breaking the law and you and the client are liable for heavy fines and possible imprisonment. Furthermore, your indemnity insurance will not kick in if you get caught doing something illegal.

This and other ‘Level 4 do’s and don’ts’ were discussed during an in-depth live webinar hosted by Professional Beauty on 30 April. Panelists included Cherie Ten Hope, chairperson of Dermalogica SA, Twincare International CEO, Stav Dimitriadis, legal consultant Bronwyn Young, Marisa Dimitriadis of The Spa Consultants, and Professional Beauty’s commercial director, Phil Woods.

What categories of products can be sold in salons?

According to the Government Gazette published on 29 April, only the following categories of products may be sold by salons during Level 4: ‘Personal toiletries, including hair care, body, face, hand and foot care products, roll-ons, deodorants, dental care.’

Said Young: “Our interpretation of this is that you while you can sell skin, body, hand and foot care products, you cannot sell make-up (i.e. colour cosmetics) or fragrances as they are enhancement products rather than personal care products.

“If members of your staff are retailing in-store, they will each need a letter of authorisation, which must be carried on them at all times, along with their ID document. It is compulsory for employers to supply cloth masks for their staff. Also, it’s important to educate your staff – if they are experiencing flu-like symptoms, they must not come to work. There are fines and you can go to prison if you contravene government regulations.”

To read the full gazetted government Risk-Adjusted Strategy Regulations document click here.

Aesthetic treatments

During the Professional Beauty live webinar, Phil Woods pointed out that there seems to be some confusion about whether treatments may be performed by aesthetic clinics during Level 4.

Said Woods: “We approached the legal team that works with South African Medical Association and it is their view that the term ‘medical services’ is wide enough to include aesthetic services. However, such services should only be rendered by a registered health care practitioner (in compliance with Ethical Rule 21) and not by beauty therapists. Ethical Rule 21 states that a practitioner must perform, except in an emergency, only a professional act for which he or she is adequately educated, trained and sufficiently experienced; and under appropriate conditions and in appropriate surroundings. It should also be services that are deemed to be ‘medical’ and not experimental or alternative.

“Aesthetic clinics usually are split into two business entities – a medical practice with a health care professional that includes aesthetic services that are performed by experienced aesthetic professionals (i.e. not beauty therapists), and a purely beauty / somatology business. The health care practice is permitted to operate under Alert Level 4, however, the beauty business may not operate under the same Alert Level.

“So, because botulinum toxin anti-ageing injections are categorised as medical, they can be performed, but other aesthetic treatments, including micro-needling and laser treatments, are not considered medical, so are not permitted at the moment.”

For more information about aesthetic treatments click here.

To access more information from the Professional Beauty webinar click here

(Report by Joanna Sterkowicz and Phil Woods)