Mates Create Lockdown Haircut Service With Money Going To Barbers And NHS

Many of us have taken lockdown as an opportunity to look as dishevelled as we please, partly because we are hidden away from the public eye, and partly because we can't get a fresh trim from the barbers anyway.

But two mates and business partners from London have decided enough is enough and have created 'Lockdown Haircut', so we can still look our groomed best in isolation if we so wish.

Better still, the service will help support barbers and raise money for the NHS.

Lockdown Haircuts

Dan Silvertown, 27, and Jeroen Sibia, 31, had the idea on Tuesday (14 April) and worked around the clock with 'a lot of coffee and not much sleep' to make the idea a reality in under 48 hours.

To get involved, all you need is WiFi, a webcam, a comb, clippers and £15 ($18.75). This cash will book you a 20 minute remote appointment with a barber who will talk you through the process of self-administering the style of your choice. Alternatively, you can let your lockdown buddy take control of the clippers, safe in the knowledge you're in the hands of your remote barber.

A fiver from your fee will go towards covering costs and VAT, while £7.50 ($9.38) will go to the barber and £2.50 ($3.13) will be donated to NHS Charities Together. The service also operates a salary sacrifice scheme, which gives the independent barbers the choice to donate all or some of their fee to the NHS too.

Dan said: "The reception has been amazing, it shows real community spirit that so far every barber we're working with has offered to donate their wages to the NHS.

"We'd be disastrous at trying to cut someone's hair but we thought we can at least build the technology to help professionals continue doing it."

Jeroen added that the service could play a valuable role, not just in terms of supporting barbers and the NHS, but also in preventing 'DIY haircut disasters' the world over.

He said: "With the rise of video-based dating on Hinge and the relentless rise of Zoom work meetings, there's nowhere to hide if your haircuts go wrong. The lockdown has stopped many things but one thing it hasn't is our hair growing like mad.

"By no means will this replace going to an actual local barber, but for now it's the next best thing. Anything to avoid the dreaded bowl cut from mum.

"We wanted to save the world from DIY haircut disasters."

You can book or your appointment here, or if you're a barber who wants to get involved, email [email protected].

Let's all bring some positivity, support and fun to anyone who might find themselves in isolation as a result of the coronavirus spread. Need some entertainment? Join Isolation Nation: https://www.facebook.com/groups/coronasupport/

Topics: lockdown, Awesome, Daily Ladness, Coronavirus, Haircut, Community

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey