WHAT £30billion business employing thousands of workers has been treated with barely concealed contempt by government decision makers and has been at the back of the queue when it comes to being freed  from lockdown?

The answer is the beauty trade, often dismissed as trivial and self-indulgent by those who don’t really understand the importance of the work carried out by these highly skilled professionals.

It’s well overdue, but salons will be opening in August — and about blinking time too.

Long before masks, gloves, cleansing wipes and gel became part of our everyday lives, beauty technicians were already using them as a matter of course.

More than almost any other industry, beauty was equipped to slide into the post-lockdown protocol with relative ease. 

Instead it remains at the back of a long line, watching pubs, res- taurants and hair salons open. Some beauticians have been forced to shut down altogether, breaking the hearts of owners and staff who worked so hard to build a loyal clientele while providing a vital service. 

Although many salons have reopened in England and Northern Ireland, with Scotland and Wales soon to follow suit, the treatments on offer are severely restricted. Pedicures and manicures are fine, but nothing on the face. Eyebrow threading, upper-lip waxing, eyelash dyes and facials are no-nos.

Bizarrely, men are allowed to have their beards shaped and trimmed at the barber.

It makes no sense. You have to get up close and personal for that sort of treatment. I see no difference between pruning beards and shaping eyebrows. It isn’t fair and is verging on sexism.

For those thinking a trip to the beauty salon is a luxury, consider this.

Women who are undergoing chemotherapy often lose their hair — and not just on their head, which is distressing enough. It disappears every-where, including the eyebrows. And that is where a trained beautician can help, using a technique called microblading.

It is similar to tattooing, in a way, but gradually fades.

It is one way to give women their eyebrows back, restoring their confidence too.

It might not seem a big deal to anyone not going through chemotherapy.

But as a dear friend who is living with cancer told me: “You don’t want to look in the mirror and see a boiled egg where your face used to be.”

She had her eyebrows done in a salon before lockdown and it really boosted her spirits, especially as the staff were so kind and made her feel special. 

BEAUTY BRINGS LIGHT

You can’t put a price on that sort of service, bringing a bit of light to a very dark place. 

Women going through the menopause can also suffer hair loss or, due to their hormones being in turmoil, be plagued with unwanted facial hair.

If you have never had to deal with this, you have no idea how upsetting and debilitating it can be. Excess facial hair can eat away at your self-esteem and make you utterly miserable.

There are things you can do at home with creams and bleaching. 

But it is so much easier to put yourself in the hands of people who know exactly what they are doing.

Then there are trans women who rely on understanding beauticians to help with electrolysis or IPL hair removal to achieve a look that makes them happy.

This is not just a business that generates a huge amount of money for the economy and provides vital jobs.

It also gives clients a sense of self-worth.

So dismissing the work of beauticians with a chortle, a joke and a shrug is not on.

But sadly, that is very much the tone coming from those in charge. 

The professionals who work in the beauty trade — the vast majority of them women who have poured their heart, soul and life savings into their businesses — deserve to be treated with respect.

They know what they are doing and they know how to keep their clients safe.

Right now they are baffled and angry at these inconsistent Government rules.

No-nonsense Anne

DO you remember when French and Saunders used to portray two upper class “countrywomen” with the catchphrase: “Stuff and nonsense”?

They were posh characters in shapeless tweed trousers and jumpers full of holes. When one accidentally chopped off her finger she didn’t miss a beat before throwing the digit to one of her hounds. 

They always rather reminded of me of the rather formidable Princess Anne, who genuinely doesn’t give a monkey’s about her appearance and is never afraid to speak her mind. I might disagree with her on many things, but at a time when public figures are afraid to have strong opinions Anne is a breath of fresh air. She refused titles for her children, efficiently divorced her first husband with no fuss and has always paddled her own canoe. 

She gave a rare interview to mark her 70th birthday next month and you can be sure that if she is forced into having a party, Anne will still be able to get into a frock that first saw the light of day in 1974.

Epstein's ex must see trial

I DON’T envy the person in charge of keeping Ghislaine Maxwell in the land of the living so she can stand trial this time next year.

No one wants her to go the way of her close friend and ex-lover, the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – at least not before her alleged victims have the chance to look her in the eye and give evidence. 

Depending on who you believe, Epstein either took his own life or was murdered to prevent him grassing up a veritable Who’s Who of the rich and famous.

New York’s prison authorities cannot afford to have another high-profile prisoner on remand wind up in a body bag.

Of course, this case might never come to a trial if Maxwell cuts a deal. You can never say never with the US justice system. But that would be an utter travesty and a betrayal of the most important people in this sordid mess: The poor young women who have fought so hard, for so long, to see justice done. 

Maxwell might know where all the bodies are buried, so to speak, but the authorities need to make sure she doesn’t become a corpse herself.

Begum: No easy answer

I FEEL very conflicted over IS bride Shamima Begum, who has won her fight to be allowed back into the UK.

On one hand, I want to show compassion to a young woman who has known nothing but misery in a refugee camp for years, enduring the death of all three of her children.

On the other hand, she made the conscious decision to flee from her home in London to Syria to join IS, where she married a jihadi and sewed terrorists into suicide vests.

She must have been fully aware of the death, misery and destruction that would ensue. 

We must never forget IS caged soldiers it captured and burned them alive, threw men from the roofs of houses to certain death just because they were gay and incited atrocities across Europe, including the Manchester arena bombing in 2017 that killed 22 innocents.

The terrorists haven’t gone anywhere. They are biding their time. 

Dead-eyed Shamima is still only 20. 

If she genuinely, bitterly regrets the choices she made and would agree to be part of the solution by talking to young men and women at risk of being brainwashed and radicalised by manipulative terrorists, then on balance maybe, just maybe, we should show her some compassion.

Otherwise, she will rot in a refugee camp, bringing into the world children nurtured with hatred . . . and the whole hideous circle continues unabated.

Why it's crucial we keep our guard up

THIS weekend I can finally go to see my parents in Scotland.

I’ve developed a fear of flying during this pandemic, so I’m letting the sleeper train take the strain, taking a mask, gloves, hand gel and a good book to read.

I’ve not seem my mum and dad in person since just before the start of lockdown and although we talk on the phone – on FaceTime and WhatsApp – it’s not the same. Dad has been in and out of hospital with a heart condition, unrelated to Covid-19, thankfully, but it’s still a big worry for us all.

The staff at University Hospital Hairmyres in East Kilbride could not have been kinder or more patient with my non-stop phone calls for updates on his condition. 

For all of us, being apart from family and friends is by far the toughest part of this whole lockdown nightmare.

I appreciate that as things ease up, we want to grasp every slender strand of “normality”. But we must still be careful for the most vulnerable members of our family and keep washing our hands, social distancing and being sensible. 

I am optimistic we can swerve a second wave – but only if we don’t let our guard down at this crucial time. Always at the forefront of our minds should be loved ones who are most at risk.

Most read in Opinion

With great reluctance, I will be taking some time off from my daily show. 

 I’d love to thank all of you who watched and have given myself and Dr Hilary such kind, encouraging feedback.

I will be back very soon . . . and as of Monday, the delightful Christine Lampard will be keeping my seat warm.

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