In the final minutes before the salon reopened, Diamond Herrera, 22, a stylist, and Desi Orr, 19, a receptionist, tested out the no-touch forehead thermometers. Ms. Bodley reminded them of their new operating procedures. (Everyone wears a mask, and stylists must don the hot pink rubber gloves they previously used for messy jobs like dyeing.) The interior had been rearranged: the seating area eliminated, the counter shifted to the side to allow customers to stand six feet away.
She had made her appointment seven months earlier, and now her strawberry blond hair reached to the middle of her back. “I only get my hair cut twice a year,” Ms. Eldridge said. “I get so excited about my appointments.”
The Blush Beauty Bar customer experience, which can cost $150 or more, is all about pampering. But now there are no more glamour shots with special lighting; no more free beverages; no more chitchat as customers wait for hair dye to set. Then there are adjustments to the hair care itself.
The customers and clients settled into a gentle rhythm. They shared their quarantine stories and updated one another on Netflix shows they had binge-watched at home: “Waco,” “Dance Moms” and “Tiger King,” of course. (There was broad consensus in the salon that Carole Baskin must have killed her previous husband.)
Ms. Bodley’s husband orders beer for a liquor store, which was deemed an essential industry in Colorado, so he continued to work. The dog supply store she owns next to the salon was able to shift to online sales. And she did receive a $2,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan. While the future as uncertain, Ms. Bodley is banking on hair salons staying “recession-proof.”
When her appointment was over, Ms. McFall stretched her arm as far as she could to hand Ms. Herrera her credit card at a proper distance. Ms. Herrera then disinfected the chair, the counter, the hand mirror and the plastic bin that had held Ms. McFall’s personal items. Previously, it would have seemed odd, almost insulting, to take such measures. Not anymore.
This content was originally published here.
