As Healdsburg hair salons start getting used to reopening, many are trying to strike a balance between rescheduling the mass list of clients who had appointments scheduled when the county’s shelter-in-place order was issued, and meeting or exceeding the guidelines set forth by the county and the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology.
The county gave the green light for local salons to open earlier this month, on June 6, and while some salons chose to open up right away, others decided to wait awhile.
Jennifer Cadd, owner of Vanity Salon, opened up on June 6. She said that she had spent a good portion of the three-month salon closure trying to procure additional cleaning supplies and other reopening-related provisions.
“I feel pretty safe,” she said, “We have so many new cleaning procedures and who mandates us is (the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology). They’re looking for safety. They’re like the health department for restaurants.”
Emma Moore-Hughes, who co-owns Brush Salon with her wife Danielle, chose to open up a shop a week later, on July 12, to allow for increased staff training.
“I decided to wait to really give my team the ability to feel that we’re ready to open,” Moore-Hughes said. “I did a two-day extensive training with them that included our new protocols as well as practicing on each other what those new protocols would be.”
Moore-Hughes also said that one major component they had to nail down before reopening was getting the shop’s appointment books sorted — a process that involved rescheduling hundreds of appointments and letting everyone know about the shop’s appointment protocols.
Though salons have found that most clients are eager to be seen, many are having to explain their impacted books, where appointments may be booked out a month or more. Not only are they trying to fit in people who had appointments canceled due to the shutdown, they’re also trying to adapt to an elongated appointment schedule, with additional time added in for a health questionnaire, temperature check and additional sanitization.
“Currently due to the restrictions put on us through the different governing agencies, our scheduling is at about half capacity,” said Tracy Pelleriti, owner of Guys & Dolls Hair Salon. “It is nearly impossible to schedule every guest in a reasonable amount of time, and we realize everyone has waited very patiently to see us again. The disappointment of waiting so long for an appointment is hard on us too.”
Where they would usually be able to see multiple clients at once — having one person sitting in hair dye while another is in the chair getting a trim, for example — barbers and hairdressers now can only see one person at a time, and the additional cleaning protocol takes more time as well.
“Normally a haircut takes 40 to 50 minutes and now it takes an hour and 10 minutes with the new procedures,” Cadd said. In order to fit more people in, she said that she’s been working 11-hour days, where she only sees 10 clients.
All three of the shops reported having full books out to the near future and said that their reopenings had gone smoothly.
For Vanity and Brush, however, there’s still some uncertainty about group events.
Prior to the start of the pandemic, Vanity had been hosting monthly “ladies’ nights out” events where Cadd brought in vendors and held a gathering for clients. The shop has also served as a space where local artists can showcase and sell their works. Due to social distancing guidelines, she isn’t sure when, or if, those monthly events can continue. She also said that the shop has seen a dramatic decrease in people purchasing product from them, since clients are no longer able to sit in the shop’s waiting area.
In addition to offering normal hair cutting, coloring and styling services, Brush also offers wedding services. While they average about 150 weddings per year, the halt to group gatherings and postponement of many weddings has added another layer to trying to rebook clients.
“Obviously with the shelter-in-place order, around 90% of them (the brides) just chose to reschedule to next year so they just rebooked with us,” Moore-Hughes said. “We have had brides that have chosen to push it back because in April and May it was still early on, and we were still navigating all of this. We had some push it back to this fall, and now they’re coming back and saying that (they’re rescheduling to next year).”
One silver lining that she has seen, however, is an increase in people inquiring about their bridal services because instead of having a big family wedding in a different place, people are looking to have intimate destination weddings in Sonoma County. Moore-Hughes said that people have called to try and plan a wedding for themselves, rather than one for their family.
“This is a big shift for us, and during COVID, more than anything, I felt that you have to work with these brides,” she said. “You have to make them feel that they’re taken care of because they’re moving their entire date. Just making them feel good and letting them know it’s out of control and they should enjoy their day.”
That means that in addition to figuring out how to navigate social distancing and protocol for the actual salon, Brush is also trying to work with brides to figure out the safest way to work before their big day. One key, she said, is having increased conversations with them to make sure they feel comfortable.
Moore-Hughes noted that the first wedding Brush is working on post-reopening is scheduled for July 24, and the bride had already decided to shift around her photography plans as well as where the bridal party is getting ready in order to make sure everyone feels safe.
Pelleriti said that, while she wants to see clients, the shop’s main concern going forward is safety.
“I worry about another potential SIP (shelter-in-place order) with the spread of the virus continuing to grow,” she said.
“I am so thankful for the residents of this town. I appreciate their support, understanding and encouragement. There is not a person that hasn’t been impacted by this pandemic. We are all in this together,” Pelleriti said.
Moore-Hughes said that one of her primary requests for folks going in to any salon is for them to follow the protocol outlined by the state and the salon they’re visiting.
“We had a guest that wore her mask in and didn’t want to wear it anymore. I immediately had to go to her and told her that she needed to wear her mask,” she said. “It’s one of those things that every small business, if it’s mandated for us to do, it’s so we can stay open for business. We ask people to really be mindful of the guidelines that we’re giving people. They’re there for a reason.”
