Barry Nub News aims to support our community, promoting shops, businesses, charities, clubs and sports groups.

[H2] We will be profiling some of these businesses and organisations in a feature called 'Up Close in Barry'.

[H2] This week, we visited local hairdresser Zoë Hodgkinson to discuss the impact of the pandemic on her business, and how important hair is for our confidence and wellbeing.

It was a work experience placement that inspired Zoë Hodgkinson's career as a hairdresser.

Coming up through salons in Barry and Penarth, and working as a mobile hairdresser, she had been waiting for the right time to start her own salon.

After experiencing the impact of lockdown while renting space in a local salon, she decided she was ready to go it alone.

"When we were in the first lockdown, I was thinking 'oh my goodness, what am I going to do?'" said Zoë.

"I was seeing lots of other businesses closing and it made me think, actually, I should have something at home, if, if anything happens. At least then I'm here and my overheads are zero to nothing.

"So during the summer time, I tried to find some builders and because it was locked down, they were really, really busy.

"By August, my salon for Hair Design by Zoë was being built and I left the salon I was working at in November, so I wanted it to be finished by then.

"I'd already built up my clients and they just followed me here, which was amazing.

"I opened in November for three weeks, then the December lockdown hit," she said.

Zoë struggled to claim any financial help, as the requirement was that you had been self-employed for a year, when she had only been self-employed for ten months

"To qualify them for grants, they all wanted you to obtain tax returns for 2018 and 2019. But I wasn't self-employed then. So, I literally couldn't get anything," said Zoë.

"And then I think later on in the next lockdown that I was able to get one grant, a Barry Town Council grant, luckily.

"How do the Government expect me to survive? I couldn't get Universal Credit or anything.

"You've just got to plod on and hope to reopen. I'm just in limbo," she said.

Determined to keep her business moving, Zoë continued to sell shampoos and brushes online by using social media to stay connected with her clients.

She also created colour packs for existing customers, so they could touch up their roots at home.

"Those are helping me tick over, but it's nothing compared to what I'm usually doing. But being at the door with customers, and having a little chat is really nice," she said.

"I've also been doing tutorials on Instagram, which leads to people messaging about products like the colour packs.

"People ask for recommendations, and then you can have a good chat and a consultation about what they need for their hair. So that's keeping me busy.

"What I'd love to do is make my own shampoos and brushes – but it's a long way off. That's my goal, by the end of this year. It's something I can keep working on if there is another lockdown," she said.

In the meantime, Zoë is keen to welcome her clients back into the studio for some much-needed TLC.

"I'll have one person in at a time, if people are feeling a bit cautious and worried," Zoë explained.

"So, when they come in, and they actually come straight through the garden gate into the studio, wearing their mask.

"We'd sit down, lots brought their own flasks or books when we were open last.

"I'm not giving out any magazines or anything because it's just not worth the chance.

"Once they leave and I just clean everything down. I leave 15 minutes between each appointment for me to disinfect everything: where they were sat, my tools, everything!

"I've also got COVID forms. So, I'll get the client to fill out a form just to make sure they haven't got any symptoms and I also message them before their appointment to ask.

"I just can't wait to open. When your hair isn't right it can really affect you and your mental health.

"If someone feels like they don't look presentable it can really affect their confidence.

"When they come to a salon, I'm not only doing their hair, but I do feel like I'm a counsellor sometimes.

"They tell me things that they may not tell other people. So, they're there to talk to you as well.

"On Instagram, we've got a local group for hairdressers in the Vale of Glamorgan.

"We're all messaging in there. So, whenever there's announcements, or if anyone's unsure we go in there to talk.

"They always share your posts and vice versa. So that's nice that there's a bit of support for us," she said.

Find out more about Hair Design by Zoë by clicking HERE .