AN independent beauty business is fighting for its life after losing more than 70 per cent of its business after recent government announcements.

Dina Varsani, who runs Devine Hair & Beauty beauty salon in Church Road, Horwich, says she has been left deflated and extremely frustrated by the announcements made by Boris Johnson on Friday, delaying her reopening to August 15 at the earliest.

The beauty business was given less than 24 hours notice for this change, with Dina saying she was taking bookings all the way up to this point, but has since had to cancel them all.

She said: “I’ve had to spend most of my time over the last couple of days cancelling appointments.

“It’s quite depressing preparing for weeks to reopen and take lots of bookings, letting people know we should be opening, just to call up and have to cancel. I just feel really silly doing that.”

Over 70 per cent of Dina’s business is focused on facials, but due to the close contact with the customer's face, and the continuation of restrictions, she has had to cancel more than 60 clients.

She added: “This is a problem now I’ve got for two weeks just sat at home waiting again. The government haven’t given me anymore funding so now I don’t know what to do.

“I’ve got all the PPE, all the cleaning equipment and sanitiser, we are safe. Barbers get very close to people’s faces and trim beards and they are deemed fine to start up again, I just don’t know what to do.”

Beauty businesses are among others, such as casinos and bowling alleys, that have had to delay their opening.

She said: “I spent so much time making bookings and making the salon as safe as possible for facials, but the guidance we’ve got now is so confusing. I can go to my family to give them a booked massage or meet them at a pub but not to just see them, but I can’t do my job at my safe salon, it’s frustrating.

“I feel like we’ve been at the back of the queue for reopening this whole time and now we’ve been put back even further.”