Salons prepare to reopen following close contact guidelines

JACKSON, Tenn. — Something a lot of us need right now: a haircut. But before the clippers can touch your head, your barbers are having to make some big changes.

Thursday, Governor Lee put out new guidelines as “close contact services” prepare to open May 6.

“Even before we closed down we had sanitation in place. That we do on a normal basis anyway,” said Xperience Salon owner Jennifer Walker.

For the businesses, they can only let 50% of customers, according to the fire code, inside the building. No walk-ins will be accepted.

“The state has recommended we allow 15 minutes between each customer to make sure we have time to sanitize everything,” Walker said.

Any single use items will have to be thrown away immediately after use, and any services requiring the customer to remove their face coverings are not allowed during Phase 1.

“If I used a comb on your hair, it immediately gets cleaned to remove any kind of debris, and then it goes into the Barbicide which disinfects,” Walker said. “So that’s something we’ve already been doing.”

Walker says these new guidelines could impact her financially.

“On average, I would see anywhere between 30-40 guests in a week. Now, with seeing one person at a time, I hope to see 20,” Walker said.

The guidelines also say to screen both customers and employees before they come in, and to not allow anyone not getting a haircut inside.

“I’m really excited,” Walker said. “I missed people. I miss doing hair. It feels like you’re almost starting careers all over again.”

Other guidelines include having employees wash their hands in between serving each customer, remove all books magazines or other shared materials, and not allow self serve products for customers.

Click here to read Gov. Lee’s guidelines for close contact businesses.