Gov. Mike DeWine announced last week that personal care services including barbershops, hair salons, nail salons and day spas are allowed to reopen Friday as long as they follow state guidelines designed to limit exposure amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to DeWine’s Responsible RestartOhio plan, guidelines include ensuring a minimum of six feet between employees, requiring all employees to wear facial coverings, allowing customers to use facial coverings, cleaning high-touch items after each use, wearing gloves and disposing of gloves in between tasks in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention glove removal guidance and maintaining accurate appointment and walk-in records including date and time of service, name of client and contact information.
Missi Byas, owner of Bombshell Beauty Parlor on West Columbia Street said, “We have always practiced being safe and sanitary, so this is just a little extra we have to do.”
At Bombshell Beauty Parlor, clients will be required to disinfect their hands at a sanitizing station when they walk through the door.
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Other safety procedures include asking clients to not come in if they’re symptomatic, having clients text their stylist when they arrive and not using the front desk as a checkout, Byas explained.
Alex Robinson, owner of Robinson Corner Cutz on South Yellow Springs Street said the guidelines were not much of a change, except for him having to wear a face covering.
“I’m already in the mindset and I have been for the most part,” Robinson said. “It’s easy to fall into the guidelines.”
Robinson said people have different opinions about the pandemic and governor’s orders — some are taking it seriously and others are not. He said he will work on balancing that out at his barbershop.
“My main concern is for my customers to feel comfortable,” Robinson said.
Studio B Salon and Spa will require clients to wear masks, Rodgers said.
She explained that when clients are getting a haircut, the stylist will have them hold the mask against their face —with gloves if they would like.
“Most of our stylists are master stylists. They can do a cut and style in 30 minutes,” Rodgers said. “For very few minutes the client will hold the mask against their face.”
At Studio B Salon and Spa, Rodgers said they offer manicures and pedicures in addition to hair services. The owner, TaBetha Biggs, purchased new pedicure units for the salon.
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“Because they are new and the way they are built, it gives more space between them,” Rodgers said. “It is still not six feet, so we have decided to stagger our appointments.”
This means there will only be one client per service provider doing manicures or pedicures.
Studio B Salon and Spa will not offer dip powder for the time being. Rodgers said the only way to do dip powder is to have individual packets for each client. The salon will continue to offer gel polish and regular polish.
“Before we even do the gel manicures or basic manicures the hands have already been cleansed and sanitized on both the client and the stylist,” Rodgers said. “So those polishes do not get contaminated.”
Rodgers added that clients will be instructed to not touch the polishes when picking out a color as an additional safety precaution.
As soon as DeWine announced that barbershops and salons could reopen, all three professionals said their phones “blew up.”
“The biggest hurdle that I’m going to have to try to do is being able to satisfy the customers and get them all in,” Robinson said. “I can’t cut everyone at the same time.”
Byas said, “Hopefully by the end of summer we will be caught back up and everyone will be beautiful again.”
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