Ok be honest…who hasn’t said this at least 10 times in the last 2 weeks??? Just FYI- they miss you too. When I called my stylist to ask her if she would be willing to write the following guest post, she told me that this has been the hardest time of her career. She explained to me that for years her days have been spent talking with people and building relationships and then one day it just ended. Abruptly to say the least! They joined the ranks of the unemployed and immediately lost all contact with so many people all at once. So yes…they miss us too.
Which got me wondering how is this going to work going forward. When the restrictions begin to ease and we all head towards our salons at record speed…what does it look like when we get there? The following post from Gina Ortiz, Manager of Hair Junkz in Parker Colorado will tell you just that.
What your salon appointment will look like in the Covid-19 era… – By Gina Ortiz
I know everyone is getting shaggy, your true hair color is starting to sparkle, and everyone is panicking to get to their hairstylist. It’s a small sacrifice for the health and safety of everyone during this time. A little known fact about the beauty industry, i.e., hairstylists, massage therapists, and tattoo artists, those professionals are 60-70% more likely to contract Covid-19 than any industry other than health care workers. This is why all salons were immediately shut down for the health and safety of the public.
Moving forward, you can expect a whole bunch of new safety protocols when you return to your salon. Here are just a few..
- Your stylist will no longer be doing back to back appointments. They will only be servicing one client at a time. Most stylists, when doing a chemical service normally book another appointment during processing time. This will most certainly not happen until it’s safe again to do so. If you are coming with multiple family members, most likely everyone will be be asked to sit in the car and wait their turn to come into the salon. They will no longer be allowed to sit in the lobby. Your salon will most likely be trying to limit the amount of people allowed in at one time. Our salon will have no more than 5 stylists and 5 clients at any given time.
- Your stylist will most likely be wearing a facial mask and gloves. You will also probably be asked to bring and wear a mask during your appointment. I would try to find something that goes around your ears so that we can cut and color properly. Also, during your shampoo, you may be asked not to talk, to just lay back and relax as this is where you will have very close face to face contact. I was able to order a box of disposable masks for our salon but they are hard to come by so I recommend that you bring your own.
- There will be no more magazines, coffee stations, or community water coolers. So bring what you need to your appointment and take it back out when you leave.
- Your salon staff will be doing everything possible to ensure your safety in the salon. Disinfecting and cleaning protocols will be ramped up tenfold. Station chairs, dryer chairs and shampoo bowls will be wiped down after every client. The front desk and point of service will be wiped down after every transaction. All tools and workstations will be disinfected from top to bottom after each client. I want to stress that we will be following all safety protocols we are given by the CDC to stop any spread from stylist to client, and client to client transmissions.
- There is talk that we may not be able to style or blow dry hair due to the spread of droplets in the air. So don’t be surprised or angry if your stylist won’t perform this service. I’m not sure of the validity of this statement but it is a speculation of mine that it could be true.
- If you have tried to cut or color your hair at home while we were closed, please, please, please, inform your stylist that you have done so. This is so important to tell us at the time of booking because every kind of different service requires different timing. I cannot stress this point enough to everyone. We are going to be very busy and we need to have blocked our time out accordingly. We need to know if we will be doing a color correction. I am not condemning anyone for doing what you had to during this time. I’m warning everyone that color corrections take quite a bit of time to perform, and your salon will charge accordingly.
- In conjunction with the above point, with all of these new protocols, your stylists time is a precious commodity. With that being said, please be prompt to your appointment. If your stylist does not have a current cancellation policy, I would advise you to brace yourself as they will most likely be putting one into place. If you no-show your appointment they will probably charge a fee. Some may be requiring a non-refundable deposit to book a large time slot like a color appointment. This would then be deducted from your final bill.
- Since time is a precious commodity, I would expect a slight price increase in your bill as well. Being unable to schedule multiple clients, most stylists will have to charge a premium for one on one appointments, and to cover the cost of the increased safety and cleaning protocols.
- If you are sick, please rebook your appointment for 14 days out.
These are a few changes that will directly affect you as clients. I can only speculate at this time but there are many changes coming for our industry and new rules for all of you. All salons in the USA are governed by their State Board of Cosmetology. Each salon will have to follow their state’s guidelines in order to conduct business safely. The few things I’ve suggested above are rules that will be put in place at my salon on top of any guidelines the State of Colorado and the CDC requires to insure the safety of our guests when we return.
Just remember, walking away from our chairs has been one of the hardest things for us to do! By nature, we want to take care of people, and by walking away we were continuing to take care of our guests by doing so.
When we return, you can help take care of us by following your states/salons new guidelines, and be patient during this time as we will be working twice as hard and longer hours to service you!
Thank you Gina! So now we know what to expect. And… Since we do know…the stampede we were all planning for the moment our salons open is just not acceptable!
The bond between a stylist and his/her client is a strong one. Anyone who thinks that relationship is simply born from a desire for good grooming has the wrong stylist! For most of us, a trip to the salon is much more than that. It’s the very definition of “me” time. It’s a chance to relax with a friend. Someone who listens to your problems, who lets you brag about your kids and tells you the latest news about theirs. We owe it our stylists to help them stay safe by following all the new rules that are critical to everyone’s health and well-being.
Thank you again Gina! I hope I will see you soon!
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Take care everyone!