‘Finally!’ Calgarians can get their hair cut
With a mix of excitement and nerves, Moe Charanek opened his doors to The Six Barbers shop in downtown Calgary and ran through his appointment list.
Monday was the first day barbers and hair salons were back in business in the city, as a staggered Stage 1 relaunch continued to roll out amid the COVID -19 pandemic.
Normally, Charanek accepts walk-ins only. But with new health precautions and cleaning measures in place, clients are now required to make appointments while Charanek sanitizes the entire shop between haircuts.
Since he is the only one operating the shop, he keeps the door locked between customers and is now wearing a mask and gloves to do his job — the new normal among barbers and hairdressers.
“There are so many precautions we have to do,” he said. “It’s a little different. It’s the first day we have to get used to it, especially wearing masks and shields and gloves.
“You don’t want too many people here at once, but we’re trying to get used to it step by step.”
Some customers, he said, have expressed concerns.
But most are relieved to finally get haircuts for the first time in over two months.
“A lot of people are really happy,” Charanek said. “They’re like, ‘Finally!’ I saw a little kid today that was 12 years old and is used to getting his hair cut every 10 days. He hasn’t gotten a haircut since March.
“It was probably the biggest smile I’d ever seen on his face. He left feeling like he won the lotto, he was so happy to get a haircut.”
Some salon and barbershop operators across the city were choosing to wait a few days to reopen. Redbloom Salon has various locations around Calgary and posted on its website that Monday would be a training day for its staff while the salons would welcome guests back a few days later on May 27.
Recommendations from Alberta Health Services encourage salons and shops to limit the number of people in the salon at any time to 15, while encouraging physical-distancing policies.
At MVP Modern Barbers in Kensington, a full renovation was done while the shop was closed to create seating and to reposition the chairs to allow for proper distancing between clients. The shop also created an outdoor seating area with chairs set up six feet apart.
“We’re very happy that it is a comfortable and safe place for our customers,” said co-owner Dennis Sumara.
He reported all four barbers at the shop were fully booked on Monday, eager to be back cutting hair, considering a percentage of their profits every month is donated to Discovery House, a domestic violence shelter for women.
“Our barbers were excited to be back at work; our customers were happy to be getting their hair cut,” Sumara said. “Our customers are really good and self-monitoring really well. Our barbers are wearing face masks, our clients are asked to come in with face masks, and if they don’t have a face mask, we give them one.”
Heather de Kleyn, a stylist at Salon Bowie, said after the shop’s booking system opened last week, most of the staff got booked through to August.
Due to added cleaning procedures, the approach to booking appointments has changed to allow for more time between clients, she added.
“I’ve been extending appointments or booking breaks between clients to sanitize our station and our tools and the space before we take the next client in,” de Kleyn said.
Gloves are difficult to wear for some of the services offered, like highlights and colouring, so staff are washing and sanitizing their hands before and after each service.
They are also required to wear masks and split their team of eight stylists into two teams of four to reduce traffic and clients in the Ramsay-area salon.
Overall, de Kleyn said there was a feeling of excitement as she and others returned to work.
“The energy in the salon has been really fantastic,” she said. “We’ve had a lot of clients (Monday) and they’ve been really happy for us. We’re open, we’re excited and we’re taking the measures we need to take to make sure everyone is safe. We’re ready to do hair.”