'I'm breaking your bullsh*t rules': Irate beautician defies lockdown laws

Sydney beautician and beauty influencer Kristen Fisher has raised eyebrows with a furious rant over NSW’s lockdown laws that culminated in a bold promise to flout the rules and reopen her business.

The founder of Double Bay’s Kristen Fisher Eyebrows has over 40,000 followers on Instagram, where she aired her fury over NSW’s latest lockdown revision yesterday.

Though hairdressers have been allowed to remain open under the coronavirus lockdown rules since the beginning, until Monday beauticians along with hundreds of other businesses were forced to shut up shop in a bid to slow the spread.

Now, businesses like Kristen’s are allowed to sell products in-store but still not provide in-person services in a salon.

Owner says rules ‘don’t make sense’

The beauty entrepreneur is not happy, claiming the rules ‘don’t make sense’ and insisting her salon is more sanitary than visiting individual homes.

She also questions why salons were not given the same guidelines as hairdressers from the beginning.

“I’m having this rant because the health minister has no clue what he’s on about if he is allowing hair salons to trade, and not beauty salons,” she wrote on Instagram.

“If they told me we all had to be closed for six months for the safety of the community, then I would happily do so! If it were fair across the board.”

“However it is not. Hair and beauty come under the exact same classification with the ATO. “

“If the politicians see hair as an essential service, then we should be too,” she continued.

“Hair salons have been given preference over beauty because these men want their weekly barber cut.”

NSW Health told Yahoo Lifestyle that, in fact, beauty salons cannot conduct their service in-store or at home and should only be selling products.

“Spas, nail salons, beauty salons, waxing salons and tanning salons can only stay open to sell their product,” a NSW Government spokesperson says. “This covers any business premise, regardless of whether it operates in a retail outlet or in a private home.”

As for the plan to defy the laws, the department is clear that it is not allowed.

“Any business that wants to provide mobile services must comply with all relevant laws, including work, health and safety and public health laws, as well as local council and planning requirements,” they said.

Fisher says the past six weeks have seen her business slip into debt and lose all income, and now claims she is intending to ignore the rules going forwards.

‘I’m going to start trading’ says Fisher

The beautician also declared she would be defying the laws by reopening her salon for business in a series of furious Instagram stories.

“I’m going to start trading again and fight these a**holes with everything I’ve got because these rules don’t make sense,” she wrote.

She also uploaded an image of NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian with the caption ‘Game on’.

“If I’m arrested could someone please bail me out,” she joked, though with at least one business owner in NSW copping a $5000 fine for similarly flouting rules, the joke may get serious quite quickly.

The business owner claims she is going to reopen her online booking at some point today, though so far the site is still inaccessible with a message pointing to the lockdown laws.

The salon’s phone number also redirects to a message explaining coronavirus measures have forced the business to shut.

The owner claims her premises are sterile, and with the proper protective gear, she will easily be able to maintain the government’s sanitary requirements.

Opening the salon would be in direct defiance of the emergency law.

Kristen Fisher has not responded to requests for comment.

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