Hairdressers, barbers and beauty salons could reopen in line with non-essential retail in the next two weeks - according to reports.

Since lockdown began, all non-essential retail was forced to drop their shutters indefinitely as only a handful of businesses were allowed to trade.

Last month, the UK government announced that all non-essential retail including clothing and electrical stores would be able to reopen from June 15.

Car dealerships, which were also among the first to close in March, reopened to customers earlier this week.

But the Prime Minister Boris Johnson is reportedly considering plans to reopen hairdressers, barbers and beauty salons in England this month.

However, it remains unclear when they will reopen across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

According to The Telegraph, ministers are said to be in 'discussions' about bringing the date forward for such retail to reopen.

The report said the PM was looking to bring the date forward in a desperate bid to boost the economy, following months of closure.

Currently, hairdressers, barbers, beauty and nail salons, including piercing and tattoo parlours are banned from trading.

The Department for Business has reportedly drawn up guidance that could see such businesses given ‘dentist-style’ Personal Protective Equipment.

One source told The Telegraph that the reopening of salons would be treated under "similar rules" to dentists.

But the claims have been met with criticism from the National Hair & Beauty Federation, which has urged salons and barbershop owners not to be 'overly influenced' by reports.

It said it had not yet 'seen' draft government guidelines regarding the reopening of the trade as it said it needed to be clear about what PPE would be required.

It said: "We are asking the government to urgently complete the development of the guidelines and release them as soon as possible so business owners know exactly what is required of them to reopen and operate safely."

Dental pratices set to reopen on June 8

It comes as dental practices in England are set to reopen their doors on June 8 after they were given the go-ahead to resume treatment.

In a letter to all dental practices in the country, Sara Hurley, chief dental officer, said face-to-face care in practices can resume next Monday.

Adding that all practices will need to have the correct personal protective equipment (PPE), necessary infection prevention and control requirements.

In the joint letter with Matt Neligan, NHS England director of primary care and system transformation, Ms Hurley said: "We support the full resumption of routine dental care, in a way that is safe, operationally deliverable and allows dental practices flexibility to do what is best for patients and their teams."