AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Gregg Abbott announced on Tuesday, May 5, that hair, tanning, nail and cosmetology salons would be able to reopen starting May 8 with certain guidelines.
The guidelines are as follows:
- There can be only one customer per stylist.
- It's recommended to use an appointment system only instead of walk-ins.
- Additional guests shouldn't come to the appointment, only those needing services.
- If walk-ins are allowed or if people are waiting inside, people must be able to wait six feet away from others. If that is not possible, people will have to wait outside.
- The stations must be six feet apart.
- It's recommended that both customers and stylists wear face masks.
- Retail products should be removed from the shelves.
- Shampoo bowls and chairs should be sanitized after each client.
- Stylists should wear gloves or thoroughly wash hands in between clients.
"We want our clients to feel comfortable here at Ron King, but we will have something different for them to have a check-in sheet. And it's going to be asking some questions like, 'Have you been running a temperature? How have you been feeling, right,'" said Ron King, owner of the salon. "Once they get in, we're just really going to do what we've always been doing. We've always here kept things sanitized and just fall back on barbicide, like we already should have been doing anyway."
Expect nail salons to be following the same protocol.
In northwest Austin at Lavish Nails and Spa, they plan to reopen on May 8 while following their list of safety guidelines.
The owner, Scott Ma, said there will only be a few stylists in as they follow the one customer per stylist rule.
On the front of their building, it usually says walk-ins are welcome, but starting on Friday and going on for a while, they'll be requesting all of their customers make an appointment over the phone.
As soon as you walk through the door you'll notice a waiting area, but if it's needed,l only one person will be allowed in that area and the rest will have to wait outside, so they can enforce social distancing.
A customer's temperature will be checked and they'll be required to wear masks and have to wash their hands before their appointment.
Hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies will be at every available station. Speaking of which, only some stations will be used to enforce social distancing.
Ma also installed barriers to divide the customer from the stylist during the appointment.
"After the customers are done, we will wipe down everything," Ma said. "Staff is going to wear masks and gloves, and then all the customers are going to have to wear masks."
The staff will throw their gloves out after each customer interaction, according to Ma. He also said he'll keep an eye on the cases and monitor how everything goes at the salon.
"We're going to follow the news very closely, the data very closely, to see what's going on," Ma said.
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Additionally, Gov. Abbott announced that public swimming pools would also be able to reopen on May 8 and gyms would be able to reopen with 25% capacity on May 18.
Gov. Abbott's update states that people should continue to avoid visiting bars, massage establishments, tattoo studios, piercing studios, sexually-oriented businesses, or interactive amusement venues such as bowling alleys, video arcades, amusement parks, water parks or splash pads.
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