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This year has surely been a doozy with the global pandemic and lockdown happening our lives have changed in a big way. While the lockdown has slowly lifted many of us continue to adjust to our new normal for the time being. One aspect I know many of us girls have majorly missed out on in the process was our precious salon appointments. Our waxing, threading and haircut appointments were sorely missed during quarantine with many of us taking things into our own hands. Some were met with success while others were disasters. Remember everyone cutting their own bangs? Yikes! We had a few horror stories there with those. So I’m sure it has been a sigh of relief as salons cautiously open up and we get to see our favourite hairstylists again.
However, with the return of salons also come up a few concerning questions on how to have a safe appointment and if to have them at all. Of course, the obvious answer is to avoid it if you really don’t need to get certain things done, especially if you’re in a high-risk group. It can be a struggle to decide if it’s really worth getting that trim, root-touch up or even threading your eyebrows. As parlours begin to adhere to rules and enforcing restrictions in a promise to keep us safe and sanitised it pays to do your own research. It’s not the time to take your health and the others around you for granted. We’ve listed a handful of necessary questions you should consider to ask the staff before booking your salon appointment.
Keep scrolling and note down these questions before your next beauty appointment:
1. What guidelines and safety measures are being followed?
It’s essential the salon your visiting is adhering to strict precautions like checking temperatures and requiring that every customer and staff members are wearing masks. If masks are only suggested and or if you feel they aren’t taking it seriously that’s a major red flag and you should avoid the particular location. Moreover, don’t be afraid to ask any number of questions as it’s regarding your safety. These questions can range from; How much space is between each station or how many clients your nail tech, hairstylist, or other beauty professional is seeing in one day. Plus how are they ensuring the staff is checked or tested frequently ensuring they are safe to work on clients.
2. How many bookings or clients are they allowing at a time?
While restrictions can be different in each state and city, there’s no fixed capacity percentage yet. This also depends on the size of the salon and what they have planned out. You need to know how many clients they’re taking during the time-slots at one time and if they’re taking any walk-ins. If the salon is holding at 100 per cent or operating as they were before it might be a risky option especially if you have immune issues. In this case, it’s best to find another establishment or avoid the salon altogether.
3. What are there sanitation practices between appointments?
Your safety and hygiene are a priority as the staff use the same products and items for every client. So it’s crucial that regular sanitisation of the equipment is taking place along with cleaning between clients appointments and/or services. This works not just to protect the clients but also all staff members present that work on so many people throughout the day.
4. Are there any updates on the service menu?
Over the month’s many changes have happened and this can include some major differences to the menu and its pricing. You might find the certain implementation of new methods, alterations or services complete removal from the menu for the time being. In this case, it’s best to know before you go in how services like facials and massages are being performed. And also, how comfortable you are with it.
5. Are there contactless payment options?
The less you need to interact and touch things the better. So in this digital age, it’s best to use every option to our advantage if available. Check with the salon if they have a touchless payment or prepaid appointment options to keep clients and staff safe from touching the check out counter that encounters a lot of traffic.
While the salons will be doing their part, here are a few precautions you should follow yourself:
- Always call ahead to make an appointment.
- Take your personal hand sanitiser.
- Wear a mask whenever possible at all times during your beauty appointment.
- Make sure your hairstylist and staff around you are also keeping their hands clean and wearing a mask and gloves.
- Most importantly, if you feel like the business is not thoroughly following rules and regulations set in place you should leave!
Have you visited the salon lately? What’s your experience been like? Let us know in the comments below.
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