Futura Hair Wins New Industry Hygiene Award

A rebranded Exeter hair salon has become the city’s first to be awarded a 5-star rating for its standards of hygiene by the industry’s newly formed Salon Standards Agency.

Futura Hair, in Exeter’s South Street, has emerged from the latest national lockdown with a new passion and vision for the future that has seen an upsurge of new clients.

Founded and run by Nadia Barlaba, Futura Hair (formerly The LXS @ Centre Stage) was created during the pandemic with a deep desire to prepare for and rise above the challenges that a post-COVID world might present. Nadia said:

We knew the impact the pandemic would have on the business and the community immediately and so we had to do everything we could to get us through. It was about protecting what we could and being honest at every stage. With staff on furlough, we made sure we were keeping everyone’s spirits up and in constant, clear communication with them.

With the emergence of news of the vaccine, there was a renewal of hope – but also a new consideration for the salon. Nadia said:

After Christmas, we embarked on some deep reflection around what we wanted to offer after everything that Covid had left us with. We figured that whatever expanded vision we were going to establish for the future, an integral part of this would have to be standards of hygiene that would remain post-pandemic.

The team’s contemplations clearly paid off resulting in their flagship hygiene rating.

In addition to adhering to the strictest and most hygienic processes, we are also introducing a virtual payment system, where customers can choose to pre-pay for their service to avoid the risk of cross-contamination from using a card terminal. From start to finish the process eliminates a lot of risks.

With the new mood of the public so focused on health and wellbeing, the salon has committed to providing the best level of protection and raise their service standards even further as a premium hair salon. Nadia adds:

It’s going to be so reassuring for both the team and clients that our practices have been recognised as amongst the best in the country. We have been so focused on being protective against Covid, and a select number of those practices will remain so that clients will continue to feel safe. We have transcended just offering a welcoming and relaxing experience – we are offering a new level of safety and hygiene consideration and therefore, a new future for the salon industry.