EAST Lancashire salon owners have hit out at a European proposal to restrict what hairdressers can wear at work.

Drawn up by EU Coiffure and UNI Europa Hair and Beauty, which represents hairdressing salons and their employees, the new rules would ban stylists from wearing high-heeled shoes, watches and rings.

They may also be encourged to have more ‘gossipy chats’ and limit the number of daily cuts.

If the plans are approved by EU officials they would be binding for all member states, including the UK.

Lancashire County Councillor Tony Winder runs the Anthony and Patricia salon in Rossendale.

He said: “They have gone well over the top on this one. They’re worried about health and safety, but how are you meant to run a salon with this level of buerocracy and red tape?

“They want stylists to have a maximum of four clients a day, and to spend the rest of the time talking to clients and advising them.

"But if we’re only doing four a day, we will need to raise the price of each one to meet the costs of running the business.

“I’ve heard that it’ll take something like five years to come in, but I can’t see it ever happening.”

A spokeswoman for Alan Rene in Church Street, Blackburn, said: “I think it’s over the top. We don’t have any problems at the moment with stylists doing as they are.

“If you do wear jewellery and you do a lot of shampooing, the only thing is that you’ve got to make sure your hands are completely dry afterward, or you could get dermatitis.

“As for high heels – it should be up to the individual – it’s each to their own. If that stylist is getting painful feet or a painful back, then it’s their choice if they want to swap to flat shoes.”

The document is due to be signed on April 29 and will then go before the Council of Ministers.