GREENFIELD — Gone are the days of arriving to the hair salon early, grabbing a magazine and hanging out until a stylist is ready for you — at least for now.
As of Monday, hair salons can reopen by appointment only, according to Gov. Charlie Baker’s four-phase plan for reopening the state. But with a number of new guidelines in place, hair salon owners in Greenfield are adjusting to a “new normal” now that Massachusetts has lifted restrictions that closed salon doors in March to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“I’m pretty anxious, but I’m excited,” said Jessica Shippee, owner of Lavish The Salon, which reopened Tuesday on Chapman Street. “I’m excited to get back to somewhat of a normal life. It’s a lot of new guidelines and things to follow, so it’ll definitely be a big change.”
As part of the new guidelines, hair salons are limited to hair cuts, color, blow dry and treatments. Facial treatments, such as eyebrows, beard trimming or lip waxing, are not yet permitted.
Shippee said clients can expect a different experience from what they were used to at the salon on Chapman Street.
When clients arrive, they will receive a text or call to notify them that the salon is ready for them to enter, she explained. Upon entering, they will be directed to the restroom to wash their hands.
Everyone in the salon will be required to wear a mask, and for clients who don’t have one, a mask can be provided. Stations will be cleaned before and after every client leaves the chair.
“I’m asking my clients, if they can, to please skip the blow dries, just so we can get people in and out in the quickest, most efficient way possible,” Shippee said. “Most people have been understanding in going forward with that.”
In addition to obtaining a Barbicide Certification for Lavish, both Shippee and employee Mackenzie Kilgour took classes during the closure to become Barbicide COVID-19 certified, according to Shippee. The new certification goes into greater detail about how to use disinfectant to effectively clean the surfaces of each station to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Shippee, who spent the last week rebooking clients whose appointments were canceled because of the closure, said a majority of them felt comfortable returning to the salon.
“When I went and rebooked people, I asked if they would like to book now or extend their appointment out further. … I didn’t want people to feel like they had to come in,” she said. “I wanted them to feel safe and comfortable.”
One of the first few clients to walk through the salon’s door on Tuesday was Ashley Braziel, 29, of Shelburne Falls.
“I was a little nervous at first, but Jessica was really clear … about the process,” she said. “I knew all the precautions she was taking.”
Braziel had booked an appointment prior to the closure but opted to reschedule to a later date, as she wasn’t feeling well on the day of her appointment in March.
She said Shippee communicated well through email, phone and social media about what was expected of clients, as well as what they could expect from her.
“I was pretty confident about coming back in here,” she said, noting that Shippee is sanitizing door handles and anything else a person touches when they enter the salon.
“Because it’s a smaller space, it takes a lot of the stress out of it … especially being able to sanitize it,” Shippee said Tuesday.
Ange Menard, who owns Unique Hair Salon on the Mohawk Trail, said although she is ready to be back, she was surprised to see hair salons included in the first phase of the governor’s plan.
“I figured it would be a couple more weeks because we can’t keep 6 feet from our clients,” she said.
Menard said the new guidelines — masks, social distancing, extra attention to sanitation before and after clients — add a new layer of stress to the job. At Unique, she said, employees’ schedules are designed to make sure there aren’t too many people in the salon at once.
“It makes things a little more difficult and time-consuming,” Menard said. “And we’re working a few more hours to be able to get everybody in.”
She said the salon doesn’t plan to double book, at least to start, but so far the desire of clients to return to the salon is a mixed bag.
“I have some (clients) that are eager and couldn’t wait to get back, and I have others who are saying they’ll wait til phase one is over,” she said. “It’s half and half.”
Nearby, Tranquility Hair Salon on Federal Street isn’t expected to open until June 1.
“We thought taking that extra week would give us that little bit of extra time to get our ducks in a row … and be able to comply with what the state was asking of us,” said stylist Jessica Niedbala, adding that she and her partner at the salon, Jamie Bennett, are mothers of young children, so details for child care needed to be worked out, too.
At Tranquility, the “new normal” for clients will be similar to that of Lavish and Unique — clients will wait in their vehicles until called in for their appointment, masks will be required of employees and clients, and stations will be washed thoroughly and regularly.
Niedbala said at no point will there be more than one stylist in the salon at a time. Rather, they’ve staggered stylists’ hours so there are never more than three people in the salon at once — one stylist, and up to two clients.
She said stations are now separated by a partition as an added precaution in a situation where there are two clients booked at one time.
Niedbala said she expects the first week back to be a long one — even with the reduced number of clients — as she adjusts to all the changes. But after a week of rebooking nearly all of her canceled appointments, she is ready to get back to work.
“I’m just excited to get the ball rolling,” she said. “I kind of feel like we need to figure out what this new normal is. It’s going to be a learning curve. I think knowing my clientele, they know to roll with the punches at this time.”
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 263. Twitter: @MaryEByrne