TOLEDO, Ohio — Beauty Bar Salon looks a lot different since it re-opened in May. Customers are spaced out more than six feet apart, plastic shields are up at manicure stations and extra cleaning supplies are all around the salon.
Clients have to be booked well in advance because using their 12 styling stations all at once is not an option.
“So you know, up to 50 people on a styling floor at one time, and now probably on a Saturday which would be our busiest day, we might have 15,” said Fry-Izworski.
While Ohio’s state order mandates masks be worn by everyone now, three months ago that was not the case. Only employees were required by the state to wear them, but upon reopening most salons chose to mandate customers wear them as well. Fry-Izworski feels that is a big reason salon managers feel they are still operating safely.
“We’ve mandated masks from the beginning, I mean we are not able to stay 6 feet away from our clients so we need to do everything we can to keep them safe and keep our staff safe,” she said.
Those coming into the salon wait in their car until they are called in. Waiting rooms have been reconfigured with distancing marks on the floor.
When salons first reopened in May, Beauty Bar was busy nonstop.
“People’s roots were like three to four inches long! Appointments had to be lengthened, it was a lot of corrective hair color and corrective hair cutting,” said Fry-Izworski.
Salon managers hope those coming in for a haircut, manicure or any other service understand things are different, but they are doing what they can to stay open and stay safe.