It’s been a long couple of months of at-home haircuts, botched dye jobs and DIY gel manicures. But finally, starting next week, we can all stop playing hairdresser and nail tech: Miami-Dade County is reopening its salons, barbershops and other personal-care facilities on Monday, May 18. Spas aren’t included in the order and what exactly will be reopening is still up to the 34 cities within the county to decide, but we’re certainly one step closer to polished fingernails and lustrous locks once again.
Mayor Giménez shared the detailed guidelines for reopening in a 184-page document that runs through everything operators, clients and staff will need to know before anyone can go back to their pre-lockdown locks. It’s a long list of recommendations and requirements that will totally alter the salon experience for the foreseeable future.
Expect to see fewer people, be it staff or clients, as businesses in phase one will reopen at 25-percent capacity. This means skeleton crews tending to fewer appointments, even in larger salons. For instance, stylists at Atma Beauty in Sunset Harbour will work in shifts and the salon will begin operating seven days a week for longer hours than usual. "We need to give everyone the opportunity to work, it’s been so hard on them," says founder Ana Lessa. She’s also redistributed stations in the 7,000-square-foot, bi-level space, moving some to private rooms and into areas previously unused for services to accommodate for social distancing. "Our lofty, high ceilings have come in quite handy during these times," she says. And if someone really doesn’t feel comfortable coming in, Lessa is willing to offer at-home services.
Visiting your hairdresser may not be the relaxing escape it once was. For starters, no books or magazines will be allowed inside, so you’ll need to rely on Instagram and Pinterest for inspiration while you’re sitting in the chair. Waiting rooms will become obsolete (at least for the time being) as clients are asked to wait in their cars before they’re seen. At Hair Healers, a salon on Coral Way, clients will need to call or text the stylist one they’ve arrived before being allowed inside. That’s because lingering won’t be allowed either under the new rules. In fact, appointments will be the norm now everywhere, even at places that previously allowed walk-ins. “We decided to limit our walk-ins and have everyone pre-book in phase one,” says Fatima Lalani, who owns Face. Brow & Beauty Bar in Brickell. “We’re trying to eliminate as much cross-contamination as possible and limit interaction between clients while keeping it a nice, focused experience,” she adds.
Of course, cleanliness is paramount in this early phase of reopening and that includes increasing the frequency that spaces are cleaned. “Whatever a client touches will be wiped and disinfected—every surface, the floor, the cabinets,” says local esthetician Vanessa DaSilva, who’s allowing for more time between appointments to follow the new rule. “I’m confident that we took the right measures and, if both sides follow the guidelines, it will be completely safe and without any risks,” she adds.
Whereas Lalani cleaned surfaces once a day in the past, she’ll be doing so every hour moving forward. “We’ve already worked at a high standard, so now it’s paying attention to little things, like eliminating having clients use the bathroom so we can mitigate that traffic at least for the first few weeks,” she says.
More single-use items will also be introduced across all personal care services, from nails and waxing to cuts and coloring. If it’s porous (like a pumice stone) or can come into contact with more than one person (like an apron or gloves), it’ll have to be disposable. Lalani will even provide disposable robes to clients getting a facial and will allow folks to take home other one-time-use items like headbands and masks, which she plans to provide or sell for a nominal fee. Sadly, keeping spaces clean is also creating added waste. “It’s an unfortunate side effect of all the masks and such but I think safety trumps that for now,” says Lalani.
Still, no matter the hurdles or new inconveniences that go along with personal care, every salon owner and expert we spoke with says their clients are elated to have them back. Hours after announcing their reopening, Atma’s Daniele Valentini was booked solid for the next two months. “People have been messaging us on Instagram and calling our salon line before we even made an announcement—they’re excited and appreciative,” says Lalani. “I think people just want to feel presentable.”
