Beauty

Beauty In A Pandemic: How to Trust Hair Salons

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Bex & Co Hair Salon. CREDIT: Caitlin Nemes

With COVID-19 cases rising, here’s how clients can trust hair salons.

When I moved to Boston when the COVID-19 pandemic started gaining traction in the United States, segments of the economy flatlined, leaving many in the beauty industry scrambling. For months, hair stylists, nail salons, and all beauty services had to restructure, build partitions to meet guidelines, enact new reservation protocols, and take temperatures upon check-in. Some stylists even started creating at-home custom hair color kits for their clients with Zoom tutorials.

To say that the beauty industry didn’t adapt and overcome would be doing the countless business owners and stylists a great injustice; they have, and they will continue to rise above these challenges.

While I was home in Austin over the Summer, I got my hair done twice, so as we’ve been adapting and learning to live with this virus, I wanted to write a blog post with questions that my hairstylist, Caitlin Nemes of Bex & Co Salon, answered to put consumers at ease. These are my stylists’ observations and recommendations. Every salon is different, so please refer to your stylists and their policy before your appointments, but use them as a guide.

Q: What are stylists doing to protect people?

A: There’s a health standard right now, where you have to maintain social distancing, so salons are at a reduced capacity, masks are required at all times, temperatures are being taken, and sanitation practices such as Barbicide.

Q: How come salons are making you leave with wet hair?

A: There’s a theory that any blow drying can transmit particles; however, studies show that there’s going to be airflow regardless, so it doesn’t reduce the spread of air flow or change the direction of air flow. Some salons won’t blow dry, but doctors have said otherwise.

Q: What can people do at home?

A: Please don’t cut or color your own hair. Straight up. Or, if you have to, please consult with your stylists about at-home kits where they can create color for the time being, but only for root touch-ups. Please don’t dye or bleach your hair because you will regret it when you have to spend the money to fix it, and growing healthy hair is a long process.

Q: What’s the scariest part about working in a salon right now?

A: Having too many stylists in one place and not knowing where they’ve been. It’s better to have a more one-on-one experience where you can control who’s in the salon and pay attention to safety measures and people’s health, but that’s about it. Fixing quarantine hair is scary, too. But safety is the most important, so stylists just have to trust each other. Don’t come to work just because you need the money. If it isn’t safe or you’re feeling sick, and you transmit Coronavirus, or the flu, or any virus, it ends up costing everyone more in the long run.

This year has been a challenging time for people around the world. With record unemployment, a contracted economy, and plenty of uncertainty on the horizon, it’s created a consumer environment with plenty to be concerned about. Moreover, with events canceled or scaled-down, the need for vanity services has been reduced, but as Caitlin said, the cost to correct at-home mistakes might not be worth the risk, as it can take years to regrow healthy hair.

From experience, spacing in the salons where my stylist did my hair wasn’t an issue. While there was light foot traffic, everyone was wearing masks, temperatures were taken, and we trusted each other. What’s more, she trusted her co-workers and the sanitation practices, which is significant, considering she’s a new mom.

If we had an end date for this pandemic, perhaps it would be easier to plan for the return to normal. But with experts suggesting this could go into the Spring or Summer, if finances aren’t an issue, hair salons should be safe if stylists and owners adhere to regulations. Again, make sure you’re asking your stylists health-related questions to calm your nerves and be prepared to sit for a while with your mask on. If finances are an issue or your location prohibits you from seeing your stylist, I’ve linked a few products below that have worked for me.