BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Fridaythat the wait is over for a haircut. Salons and barbershops are allowed to welcome back customers starting Monday, but not without some modifications.
Hair Fusion salon owner Jennifer Cecero said while she can’t wait to see her clients again, there are still many challenges to face.
She said her business really won’t make any money this year. She did qualify for the Paid Protection Program, but after being closed for several months and now having to work long days while minimizing the number of clients in the salon, she said her business is facing a difficult financial situation.
Cecero said she has complete faith in her salons to survive this, but even now as they are reopening, she’s still seeing COVID-19’s impact.
“I think the most challenging part has been the employees because now they have to teach school with their children and they’re not available like they were, so scheduling has been very difficult on the bring back, but our clients are with us and I sure appreciate them," said Cecero.
Dayvid Henry Salon owner Dayvid Henry Martinez said he’s glad the uncertainty of when this reopening would happen is finally over. He is hopeful that his business will remain open from now on, no matter what may happen with the pandemic.
Still, Martinez said there will be challenges, He wants his wife to return to the salon as a manicurist, and with state guidelines, he’ll have to minimize how many clients he sees each day.
"I can only do one client at a time, so when I’m done with them, they leave and the next person comes in, so there’s not a lot of people in here at once. It’s just the one person. Where before I could do three, four people at a time. So my days are longer, which is fine," Martinez said.
The state has created a checklist to help salons implement their COVID-19 prevention plan and they are asked to hang it up for customers to see as well. Face masks must be worn at all times during hair appointments and each salon is required to complete risk assessments of all work areas, and screen employees for symptoms at the beginning of each shift.
There are several other modifications salons must implement, like frequent sanitizing of work areas and staggering appointments to minimize the number of people inside at any time. You can find the full list of modifications here.
