Arkansas-side stylists, barbers once again seating customers
Hair stylists and barbers working in Texarkana, Ark., are happy to be open and having customers in their chairs, though new precautions are in place amidst the pandemic.
When you enter Smart Style Family Hair Salon at the Arkansas-side WalMart, a stylist will be at the ready to see if you have an appointment, then produce a device to check your vitals to make sure you show no signs of being sick.
And as an added measure, you will have to don a mask, either one you brought or one you can buy there for $2.
All this is to comply with requirements for barbers and stylists to be able to go back into business at this time, as the state of Arkansas opens up, post-COVID.
“The April shutdown was shocking,” said Angela Duson, manager. “We didn’t expect that, as we were under the impression we could continue operating with additional sanitation requirements. Frankly, the shutdown surprised us.”
Duson and her staff rode out the shutdown, staying at home and complying with COVID guidelines, such as social distancing and the like. Duson says God was in charge, so she was not too worried.
“Whatever God’s will is, I was riding with Him,” she said. She said that is the case with her and her coworkers back at the salon. But her staff is professional and they are sticking to high standards, which she says they always have practiced.
“Think about it, we are strict on safety and procedures,” she said. “This is to both protect the staff and customers.”
“The first day was pretty good,” she said. “Our customers adjusting to scheduling appointments online rather than just walking in have been nice and understanding, making it easy for us.”
Stephen Brown, owner of Hairy Armadillo, has also resumed cutting duties at his one-chair shop. Recalling
March 24, the day they shut down, he was concerned from that day forward.
“I contend there were and are Constitutional considerations at play in this,” he said. “Also, it is strange to have barbers and hair stylists under this set of restriction when we are a profession that has to go through a series of qualifications and exercise a whole series of sanitation practices to keep our customers safe as a matter of course.”
In his opinion, big business and corporations, were given undue advantage during the crisis, while small businesses and sole proprietorships were on the receiving end of undue harshness.
“This was not an equitable situation for us, when barbers and stylists had to jump through the hoops that they did, while you have to (go) through a crowd at a big box grocery store,” he said.
Things at the Hairy Armadillo seem to be going well as Brown gets things up to speed.
“Business is going well and we are adjusting to PPE requirements,” he said. “And as I understand, restrictions will be loosened fairly quickly. We are experiencing some supply issues, however. Things we need like barbicide are difficult to get right now. We need that as it is a key corona killer.”
At the Southern Edge Barber Shop, located at 4041 Jefferson Ave., owner Matt Brown and his wife Megan continue on, as they have done for five years.
“We did pretty well, getting through COVID,” said Megan Brown. “We took good care of things. It was rougher on some of our customers. Current circumstances and restrictions aren’t ideal, but we are making it work.”
Megan Brown says she and her husband are glad to be open once again and have no problem complying with current guidelines, operating with appointments only, screening and the like.”
“We just want to get back to normal, but we are glad to be open and serving our community,” she said.