Hair Salons Reopening During COVID-19
Hair Salons Reopening During COVID-19: Will it Cause More Harm Than Good?
COVID-19 has robbed people of so many things already. These include moments with friends and family, opportunities at school and work, and even mundane tasks such as hair care. Being the crowning glory of everyone’s head, hair’s upkeep is important. What better one-stop-shop for it than hair salons, right? But when the pandemic hit, we, unfortunately, had to say a temporary goodbye to hair salons.
Now, after being deprived of hair salons for a long time, they are coming back! People can now once again flock to their favourite hair care stations and have their hair done anew. However, with COVID-19 continuing to threaten everyone’s health, is this such a good idea? Would the reopening of salons cause more harm than good?
The Reopening of Hair Salons in Toronto
A frenzy of hair salons reopening during COVID-19 has taken the news by storm. One good example comes from Aziz (2021) who reports that hair salons across Toronto and Ontario opened in the last week of June 2021. Several citizens, just like Jennifer Lake from Toronto, are excited about the reopenings. Along with others, she quickly booked a date in her go-to salon to gain control of her hair again.
Being such a big part of self-care, the re-opening of hair salons in Canada truly sparked joy in the hearts of women like Jennifer Lake. However, with personal care services being a pillar in the self-care industry, its closure also brought positive effects to its afflicted customers. They learned how to do self-care, even in the comfort of their own homes.
Why Hair Gets Bad Even Indoors
One of the things we need to mention regarding hair salons reopening is that clients have had a hard time maintaining their hair while in quarantine. With hair salons closed all over, there was no other way of professionally taking care of their hair. However, they had to make do with the need to stay indoors to prevent getting sick with COVID-19. Why does hair get bad even if you just stay indoors, anyway?
Hair Loss
One of the main problems that COVID-19 has caused among all individuals is stress. Due to this stress, many people have also complained about hair loss. Combined with the lack of Vitamin D often stimulated by going outdoors, people experience thinning of their hair. Without the help of salon treatments, it may get worse as time passes.
Frizzy Hair
Frizzy hair is yet another common problem among people. This issue is usually resolved through hair salons’ keratin treatment offerings. However, being stuck indoors and not having resources such as keratin treatments can cause frizzy hair. In addition, the air inside the house may not be suitable for your hair. Without the help of hair salons, shiny and silky tresses may become a difficult goal to achieve.
Benefits of the Hair Salons Re-opening
With the reopening of hair salons on the horizon, hair care enthusiasts rejoice along with the workers in the hair salon industry. But what exactly are the benefits of hair salons reopening?
Going Back to Looking Good
Being able to get your hair professionally done means you can look your best again. You don’t have to worry about frizzy hair or looking unkempt anymore. One quick trip to the salon helps you look and feel nice again.
Expertise in Your Midst
Quarantine left you having to make do with homemade self-care treatments for your hair. Maybe even none, as hair care is quite daunting to accomplish. However, with salons reopening, you can once again gain expert care for your hair.
The people that would be handling your hair have been trained in their field for years. They would know what compliments you and what would help boost your appearance. Hair salons also have the resources to work well with your hair type and other needs.
Stress Relief
Being stuck in lockdown has taken a toll on our stress levels. Hair salons are usually places with a nice ambience and relaxing services. With hair salons reopening, you would feel rejuvenated and relaxed in no time.
Positive Experience
Finally, being in a hair salon is an area of physical relaxation. This positive experience would generate happy hormones! It also helps that people at the salon are usually optimistic and would provide you with a lot of compliments. Wouldn’t that be a nice boost to one’s confidence?
Harms of the Hair Salons Re-opening
Considering that there is a global pandemic amidst us, there continue to be several risks to the reopening of hair salons. Here are some of them:
COVID-19 Contagion
Of course, we can’t forget the fact that there is still a global pandemic ongoing. With that, the risk of contagion is still highly possible. Being a place with high contact with one another, clients and workers alike are put at risk for their health.
Slippery or Wet Floors
With the need to constantly disinfect surfaces, clients and workers may be in danger of slipping on floors. This could lead to injuries from their falls or slips, such as cuts and punctures or scrapes.
Other Common Occupational Hazards in Hair Salons
Apart from risks to the health of the clients and workers alike, there are also common hazards to think about that pose a threat to physical health and safety. These include getting injuries from hot styling tools, scissors, or razors. Apart from this, there is also the risk of getting sick from the chemical vapors from the materials used on the clients’ hairs.
Hair Salons: Should They Reopen Already or Not?
There are both several positive and negative consequences to the reopening of hair salons. However, with the magnitude of seriousness that COVID-19 poses to the health of people and its newness, reopening major contact places should not be taken lightly. There is also the risk of being exposed to more contaminated surfaces since many items are frequently exchanged in hair salons.
Bottom line is, hair salons are needed by now as lockdown has already gone on for too long. Our verdict is that hair salons may reopen already, provided that the protective steps are followed. Ensure that the area of the salon is safe enough for reopening and ensure that proper social distancing and sanitization measures are followed.
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