Do I Have to Wear a Mask When I go to the Salon?
After a handful of months in lockdown, people are itching to get back to their lives as they once knew them…
Many lines of work have been permitted to return, including the beauty industry, but under new safety procedure guidelines. There’s the beauty industry, and then there’s us nail techs. There are some areas where authorities are allowing hair salons to open for example, but not nail salons. That doesn’t seem fair, does it? Well, let’s look at it.
When providing a nail service, nail technicians are in particularly close face-to-face contact with their customers. Whereas hairstylists are mostly situated behind us during an appointment. Occasionally veering, but most hairdressers utilize their mirror for their front view.
Medical authorities now say that the longer we have direct face-to-face contact while indoors, the more exposure and risk we face.
During a nail appointment, the client sits directly in front of the technician who is constantly touching their hands for anywhere from 1-3 hours, depending on the design. There’s no way to get around facing each other or physical contact. Compared to a 30 minute haircut, when the stylist is mainly behind the client is quite a difference. Even if your hair appointment is longer, say you’re getting highlights, the stylist often leaves for half an hour to let your hair process. Even less exposure.
Most salons are already very strict about cleanliness. It’s always been a part of our jobs to understand and execute proper sanitization and hygiene. So when we were asked to clean, our industry was like, “OK, we do it anyways!” But now we’re being even more diligent in our cleaning PLUS… we’ve placed designated COVID distancing lines on the floor, spaced the seating further apart (or are having clients wait in their car), cleaned the washroom after every client and made sure that our clients wash their hands before their appointment.
When a service provider, providing a service during a global pandemic, asks you to wear a mask, they are NOT suggesting there’s anything wrong with you.
What they’re doing is implementing necessary safety procedures. If you still want your service during a time like this, you must adhere to the safety protocols. For everyone involved. It is not a personal or political decision. It is a safety issue. This is for now, the new standard to interacting and doing business.
So, if you arrive at your salon for a service, remember, all you had to do was show up, wash your hands and wear a mask. The service providers- from nails and hair all the way to your favourite restaurant or cafe- they’re the ones who had to do all the extra work to make your service, meal or coffee even possible.
