Hairstylists, barbershop owners plead for permission to reopen businesses
LANSDALE » As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt life in Montgomery County, hairstylists and barbers are burdened by closed shops and no clients.
“Gov. Tom Wolf’s insistence on keeping salons, barber shops and nail salons closed has caused thousands of hairdressers, barbers, and nail techs to go rogue, take to the road, and make several house calls per day,” said Anthoni Troilo, a co-owner of Citrus Salon & Spa on Dekalb Pike in Blue Bell. Troilo took to social media to express his frustrations on the matter.
State Rep. Steve Malagari (D53rd Dist.) joined a coalition of
Pennsylvania lawmakers in a signed letter urging Wolf to allow restaurants, hair salons and barbershops to operate once Montgomery County’s status turns from red phase to yellow.
Wolf noted the legislators’ request. While the state eased restrictions on restaurants allowing outdoor dining on June 5, facilities like hair salons will stay closed, according to the state’s COVID-19 resources webpage.
Wolf closed numerous nonessential businesses in March to mitigate the spread of the SARS-CoV-2, a virus that causes the coronavirus disease 2019.
According to a statement from Wolf’s office, all remaining red phase counties will move to the yellow phase on June 5. The state’s COVID-19 resource page stipulates that the shutdown continues for “personal care services including gyms, spas, hair salons, nail salons, and other entities that provide massage therapy.”
Still, Malagari implored the Wolf to reconsider a revision for hair salons and barbershops.
“They’re part of our small business,” Malagari said. “They’re part of our local economies, and they’re individuals in our community that also need to get back to work.”
While hair salons across Montgomery County are barred from opening, Troilo beseeched elected leaders to reduce these restrictions, arguing that barbers and hairstylists are trained in preventing infection.
“Our salon and employees have been barbicide certified and have advanced training in proper disinfection and sanitation,” Troilo said in a Facebook post. “Gov. Wolf refuses to acknowledge the fact that after the medical industry, our industry is one of the
most highly trained in infection and disease prevention.”
Salvatore Giannone, owner of Sal’s Barbershop, a collection of franchised locations across the greater Philadelphia area, said he’s feeling frustrated by the continued shutdown.
“There’s a million things we can do to open in the yellow phase,” Giannone said. “I’m sorry. If you can go get a water ice right now, and listen, I love water ice … but you can’t tell me that a 15-year-old that’s making your gelati has more experience with infectious disease [than] a barber who studied for a whole year doing this.”
In order to receive a license, Giannone said that barbers need to complete a rigorous program involving 1,250 hours of training dealing with infectious diseases, disinfecting and sanitizing. He added that barbers also need to pass two state tests.
“We feel slighted because for all of the things we had to do to get a license to not be able to perform in a time like this,” Giannone said.
Proprietors of hair salons and barbershops across Montgomery County have also taken a proactive approach to provide personal protective equipment, adequate
sanitizing materials and proper distancing techniques. Triolo added that these new health and safety policies aim to comply with recommendations from state and federal agencies.
Giannone agreed. “We’re licensed professionals. We studied this. We do this for a living, and we’re as clean as you possibly can be,” he said.
Giannone also emphasized the importance of adhering to social distancing guidelines and wearing masks while in the workplace.
“Our industry has to adapt and it’s the time. The time is now to do it. If other barbershop owners and ... nail salons and hair salons weren’t already practicing some of these [measures], they all should be practicing it now,” Giannone said. “It’s time to set an example for other industries by showing our professionalism.”
Other owners added that barbers and hairstylists connected to discuss the industry’s situation as the doors of salons and barbershops remain closed.
As of Thursday afternoon, the lights are still off and the doors are locked as many hairstylists wait
for the call to pick up their scissors and clippers and get back to work.
“It can be done. There’s ways to do this safely without getting the community
sick or anything like that. That’s … the last thing we want to happen,” Giannone said. “We just want to make people feel good about themselves again.”