Need a haircut? High demand, new rules at reopened Modesto-area salons, barbershops
Want a haircut? Get ready to be patient.
In Stanislaus County — despite the state allowing Central Valley hair salons and barbershops to reopen this week — expect waits and packed schedules as stylists get back to work. Customers and their long locks are flocking to shops after more than two months of shutdowns to slow the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
So as hair studios return with new safety measures — which include wearing masks and reducing the number of stations to allow for social distancing — you could find it difficult to squeeze in an appointment right away.
As soon as word came down this past Tuesday that they could immediately reopen, salon owners across the region saw their phones blow up with messages and calls for appointments.
“Everybody wants a haircut tomorrow. People are calling and asking, ‘Can I get a haircut today? Are you open right now?’ It’s already like we have a line out the door and people are like, ‘Let’s go!’ ” said Michelle Rau, owner of Modesto’s Bella Vagos Salon on McHenry Avenue which reopens Monday. “I think the month of June will be making up for lost time. All of our girls will be working long days and long hours.”
Unlike area restaurants which largely remained open for takeout and delivery before being allowed to reopen their dining rooms last week, hair studios and barbershops had to shut all the way down these past 10-plus weeks. That means opening back up for them is more complicated, and comes with new guidelines.
Hair salons taking their time to reopen safely
A few smaller shops in the region have opened already, but many others including larger shops are waiting until this weekend or the start of next week to ensure their stylists are trained and safety protocols are in place.
That includes having stylists and clients wear masks during appointments, sanitizing and providing new hair drapes between each customer, spacing stations out 6 feet from one another and limiting the number of people in waiting areas.
Volume Salon on 15th Street in downtown Modesto will reopen on Saturday, and begin regular service next week. Since it closed mid-March the shop has been boarded up with encouragement spray-painted on planks over the windows saying they were helping to “flattening the curve.” The boards symbolically came down Tuesday after Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement.
Owner Cheryl Avina said her phone lit up with 47 messages right after the salon reopening news broke. Since then she has been balancing pent-up demand with a desire to open safely and with procedures in place.
Her shop typically has nine stylists working at seven stations. With social distancing rules there will be five stations operating with a maximum of five stylists in the salon at a time. They’ve also closed their lobby area and are asking customers to wait outside or in their cars until their appointment starts, per the state guidance.
That means no extra family members or friends can come to wait and hang out, in an effort to reduce the number of people inside shops at one time. Her stylists will also be opening and closing doors for customers, to cut back on communal touch areas.
Even with various restrictions, her salon is booked for at least two weeks solid. She expects she and her stylists will be putting in 12-hour days to get through the backlog, especially with the limited seating.
But she said she also understand the reasons for the new rules and restrictions.
“This is about making everyone feel safe,” Avina said. “I don’t want to be the one in the newspaper that there was an outbreak at Volume Salon. How horrible would that be?”
As an additional safety measure, she plans to open her shop every-other Sunday for special appointment times for seniors or other at-risk populations who want to be seen in a less crowded environment. She will only have one or two stylists working at a time then, starting June 7.
And it’s not just the ladies excited to get their locks trimmed. Men have been anxious to get back to the barbershop as well, including Modesto resident Scott McKee, who was among the first to get a trim at Trevino’s Barber Shop & Shaving Parlor.
“As soon as I heard the news they were opening back up I went online and booked my appointment,” he said. “It just feels really good now to have it cut again.”
Most rolling with new salon safety procedures
The downtown Modesto shop reopened Thursday morning, but with three stations instead of its normal five. Owner Tony Trevino said he was excited to get back to work, and grateful for his customers returning so quickly. They’re only providing haircuts currently, and not shaving services.
His appointments are full until mid-next week, and customers must complete both an online health check and then another one upon entering the shop, where their temperature is also taken. Masks are required for both barbers and customers (disposables provided to those without face coverings), and then people are asked to use hand sanitizer before sitting down.
“People have been good, one person had some issues but we convinced him pretty quickly to wear a mask,” Trevino said. “Our clients are used to coming in every other week or even weekly, so it’s been a long wait for these guys. A lot of them are just saying they want to feel like they’re back on a normal schedule again, and we just want to keep everyone safe.”
At Ceres’ Hair Dynamix on Mitchell Road, customers like Tiffany Helms were relieved to get their first haircuts in months. While she saw other people give themselves self-quarantine haircuts to various degrees of success, she said the wait was worth it to see her regular stylist Humbelina Oliver, who wore a mask and a face shield to cut her hair.
“My hairstylist Humbelina is amazing and so is their whole staff, definitely when I found out they were first opened up, I made the first phone call and got an appointment,” she said.
She said the spacing and other procedures made her feel comfortable and safe inside the shop.
The long and stressful wait to reopen for salons and shops meant no income was coming in for most in the profession, despite continued bills to pay. At Tangled T’s Hair Studio, owner Tiffany Rose De La Cruz said unemployment benefits for her and her stylists didn’t kick in until earlier this month, more than six weeks after they closed their doors.
De La Cruz said she plans to pay next month’s rent for the space as a thank you to all her stylists, who work as independent contractors. Eight of her 10 hairdressers will be coming back on Monday, when the shop on Downey Avenue just off downtown Modesto reopens. But shifts will be staggered so only four or five can be in the shop at a time.
“The biggest challenge is going to be retraining ourselves and how we do things, and training our clients and what they’re allowed to do,” she said. “When they come in, they can’t touch stuff. We gotta stick to our guns, follow the rules. There will be a lot of cracking down, but it’s for the greater good.”
Bee staff writer Julian A. Lopez contributed to this report.
