With nail salons open again, customers head in for pampering
On the day Elle’s Beauty Bar in Cranberry reopened, Sarah Burger, 38, treated herself to a manicure and pedicure with floral nail art.
“I was really excited for the nail techs to go back to work and to be able to support small businesses,” the Cranberry woman said. “It felt really safe, and everybody was compliant. It was a good atmosphere.”
Even better, it reminded her of her mother, Chris Bhandari, of Murrysville.
“My mom passed away in 2015,”
Ms. Burger said. “One of the things that was really important to her was she always had her nails done. After watching her for years, it’s just something you have on all the time to make you smile.”
Temperature checks, signed medical waivers, face masks and mandatory hand sanitizing are the new normal for nail salons across the region. Don’t expect relaxing spa beverages and sweet treats to snack on while being pampered, though. They don’t fit in with safety measures put in place to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Nail salons were permitted to open their doors last week for the first time since mid-March when counties across Western Pennsylvania entered the green phase of coronavirus guidelines. Salons are operating at 50% capacity to allow for social distancing. Most owners have added plastic shields at workstations between nail technicians and clients and have required everyone to wear masks. Having clients wait outside instead of in a waiting room for appointments is another common temporary change.
The changes haven’t stopped clients from clamoring for nail appointments. Many are simply happy to be able to return to their favorite salon.
Kelly Hahn, 37, of Bridgeville is a regular at LaLa’s Salon & Spa’s locations in Monroeville and East Liberty. Her scheduled, standing appointment happened to land on LaLa’s first day back in business.
“They’re really more like my friends at this point,” she said. “The salon on a normal day without this pandemic going on is very clean, so I didn’t have any hesitation at all.”
Salon owners said that most clients have adapted to the new protocols.
“I feel like there are probably 20% that’s a little bit irritated with having to wear a mask,” said Gabrielle Westrom, who owns Elle’s Beauty Bar with her mother, Robin. “The other ones are just happy to be back.”
Meeting the demand for appointments has been a whirlwind.
“I’ve been in the salon industry for 11 years now, and that has been the most stress I have ever felt in this industry,” Ms. Westrom said. “We reached out to probably 400 or 500 people before we opened up online booking. Right now, everyone wants their summer pedicures.”
At LaLa’s two locations, about 500 appointments were booked the first day online booking was activated.
The switch to the green phase — the least restrictive category of Gov. Tom Wolf’s tiered reopening plan — surprised some. “They only gave us like a week to prepare, which was tough,” said LaLa’s owner, Lauren Long. “There was so much we needed to do.”
The average wait period for an appointment depends upon where you go. Some places are trying to reschedule missed appointments first before welcoming newcomers. Others are handling requests online or by phone on a first-come, first-served basis. Most have stopped accepting walk-ins.
“We’ve always been booked up to about six months in advance,” said Stephanie Campbell, who owns Obsidian Nail Studio in South Park. She hired a new entry-level technician who is still accepting clients.
Other customers can expect to wait a couple of weeks for an appointment.
Some are trying new places until their regular nail technician can see them again.
“The funny thing is I drove to Lawrence County the day it went into the green phase,” said 35-year-old Nikki Manilla of Pine.
She went to another salon this week near her home to tide her over until her nail art appointment next week with Ms. Campbell at Obsidian, her regular salon.
Operating at half capacity and scheduling more time between appointments for sanitizing have been challenging for nail studios, especially smaller ones.
“Before, we had four people at the same time. Now, we only have two people working,” said Tu Wade, who owns Miss T’s Beauty Lounge in Shadyside. “Plus, we have to take 15 minutes now between appointments to be able to clean up. We are going to make less money for sure.”
She and many other business owners have increased prices by a few dollars to help make up for the financial hit they’re taking until they can operate at full capacity. Others are using the higher prices to cover the cost of personal protective equipment.
“Gloves and masks are quadruple the price that they were [before COVID19], and it doesn’t seem like it’s coming down anytime soon,” Ms. Campbell said.
But she and other salon owners are determined to rise to the challenges.
“I’ve been knocked down a couple times,” said Ms. Campbell, who underwent brain surgery after she was diagnosed in 2016 with Chiari malformation, which causes severe migraines and hand numbness. Told she’d never be able to do nails again, she persevered and opened her own business in 2018.
“I will not let anything get in the way of what I really love to do.”