It started the minute Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced on Sunday that beauty and nail services can resume operation from June 1 - and it hasn't stopped since.

"Email too," she said.

If Maitland is anything to go, the women of NSW are desperate to get back into the salons after an enforced COVID-19 eight-week break.

"It was too long ... it was becoming a bit crazy," said Miss Dawson, who has two MP Spa and Beauty salons, one in Church Street in the city and the other at Green Hills.

"Salons already have health procedures in place so we could have continued operating in my view.

"We all have personal protection equipment, hospital grade sanitisation and so on. We kept asking, why us and not hairdressers?"

It is a point she raised in emails to Member for Maitland Jenny Aitchison, Federal Member for Paterson Meryl Swanson and Member for Wallsend Sonia Hornery. In the end she wrote directly to the Premier.

As she explains: "I had time on my hands, so why not?"

Related content: How local businesses are adjusting to change

But time on her hands is sure to be in scarce supply come Monday. She's booked to the maximum. And when our photographer caught up with her for this picture she had to break off to take another booking, this one days in advance.

"At first I'll just open the Green Hills store. It's bigger and makes the social distancing that bit easier.

"I'll do the odd treatment in Church Street because I have the equipment there and it's ready to go, so I'll be ducking between the two stores, but I won't be opening the Church Street store as such straight away. We'll ease into it."

In preparing the Green Hills store for reopening, Ms Dawson sent an employee up to there this week to spruce the place up in readiness, and while there she was swamped with calls.

"She told me the phone didn't stop. She finished up knocking off late because of all the calls. It's been crazy."

The big question is whether she was caught off guard by the demand. And the answer is an emphatic no.

"It has been a very stressful time for everybody, but to some people their appearance means a lot," she said. "I'm not talking vanity, but self esteem, especially if they have issues going on in their lives.

"How they present themselves counts. If they look good, they'll feel good.

"Also I'd been getting texts for weeks from people asking when we're reopening, so I had an idea the phone would run hot."

What are the services in biggest demand?

"Eyelid extensions and nails, skincare treatment ... oh yes, and eyebrow waxing. A lot of eyebrow waxing."