ROSSFORD, Ohio — As May 1 inches closer many restaurants, gyms and other businesses are starting to brainstorm how to open back up. But salons, spas and barbershops say they haven't received any guidance from the government about how or when they can reopen.
"We really don't know when we'll re-open and what stipulations will be put into effect," The Future Wave salon manager Toni Leitch said.
In fact, many workers in the beauty industry feel as if they have been overlooked throughout this pandemic. If you remember when social distancing orders began being a few weeks back, salons spas and barbershops were some of the last type of business to be ordered to close in both Ohio and Michigan.
Right now, salons and spas are not mentioned in President Donald Trump's Opening up America plan. Gov. Mike DeWine says he is working with the Ohio State Cosmetology Board but does not fully understand the best way for the industry to reopen.
WTOL11 reached out to representatives with the board about the plan to guide salons to open up safely. No one was unable to comment, but many salon managers have started preparing despite not knowing the future.
"It's a matter of figuring out what's the best way to work and keep everyone safe," Leitch said.
Local salon managers and owners said when it does come time to reopen, they want it done right which means having the necessary protection something in short supply right now.
"We were talking about PPE and we're going to have to have that as much as a dentist office," Gallery Salon and Spa owner Vanessa Thomas said.
Additionally, workers in the industry pointed out social distancing guidelines that may work in a restaurant or at a gym don't work for them.
"t's different when someone walks into a restaurant and you hand them a bag and they leave. It's something totally different when they're sitting in the chair for 2 hours getting a balayage done," Gallery Salon and Spa Operations Manager Carley Rochester-Cobb said.
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