Brits flock to get their hair cut for the first time in months as salons reopen after midnight

SHAGGY-HAIRED Brits have flocked to get their hair cut for the first time in months as salons reopened at midnight.

Customers have booked out barbers and hairdressers back-to-back for much-needed trims as lockdown restrictions lift.

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Among the first to open was the Hair & Beauty Gallery in Warwick.

Hairdresser and salon owner Kelly Boad started cutting hair as soon as the clock struck 12 after months of forced closure.

She was pictured styling her first client Sue Butcher's barnet shortly after midnight.

It comes as...

• Boris Johnson urged Brits to behave responsibly as pubs reopened
• Brits flocked to get haircuts for the first time in months as salons reopened
• Here is our ultimate guide to lockdown rules as they are eased today
• Brits have been urged to raise a toast to Prince Philip following the Duke's death on Friday
• Boris Johnson had his personal barber visit Downing Street this morning for a fresh trim

Secret Spa hair stylist Nas Ganev also got to work just after 12 at a house in Balham, south London.

Five housemates desperate for a trim nabbed the night's first appointments.

The pals booked in for haircuts and spray tans through Secret Spa's at-home service.

The company, which offers at-home beauty and wellness services in London, Manchester and Brighton, extended its opening hours after hundreds booked in for treatments.

Secret Spa co-owner Emily Ewart-Perks said there has been even more interest in beauty services this time round compared to the first lockdown last year.

She said bookings for spray tans were up 475 per cent as a result of ";a lack of sunshine over the past five months or sight of holidays abroad".

And bookings for manicures and pedicures increased 163 per cent, waxing 127 per cent, massages 108 per cent and hair 31 per cent.

Emily said: "We are really busy on the 12th, it is so exciting, it has been a long time coming.

"We knew we were going to be busy even before Boris Johnson confirmed on Monday that close contact services could reopen, but after that announcement we saw an even bigger surge in bookings.

"This is like an explosion, there is so much pent-up demand. I think people were waiting for that date to be set in stone."

Keen punters were also seen waiting patiently in line for pubs to open at midnight.

Pent-up demand will see £1.5billion — that’s £2.7million a minute — spent in venues and reopening attractions between 9am and 6pm.

Gyms reopen from 6am today, with some Primark stores opening at 7am and many cafes from 8am.

Work leave requests for today are up almost 20 per cent.

Some bosses will let work-from-home staff pop out for a bargain or beer.

BrightHR, which monitors annual leave at more than 10,000 workplaces, said: “It’s fair to say April 12 is the most requested day off in the last year excluding Christmas, Easter and summer holidays.”