Impact of COVID-19 procedures on local salons

It has been just over two months since Governor Tate Reeves allowed hair and nail salons to reopen.

When Governor Tate Reeves finally allowed hair and nail salons to reopen back in May, Salon Bella in Ocean Springs was catching up from months of being shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Salon Bella Co-Owner Janice Owens said, “When we first opened it was gangbusters. You know, people rushing in the door, of course because we had been closed for seven or eight weeks.”

Two months later, business is steady. However, it’s not back to normal. Stylists are still unable to stack clients, meaning they can’t schedule a haircut while other client’s hair color is processing. “That definitely still impacts everybody’s income, because they’re not able to take as many clients as they could before. In some cases, sometimes it even cuts their income in half. So that’s difficult.”

For Owens, who does eyelash extensions, some of the COVID regulations have required her to alter the way she performs her service. “You know, it’s tough to kinda get in there, such a tiny little area. But I’ve adjusted. I’ve learned to deal with that and to work with that and now I have no problems. You can do anything that you have to do.”

In addition to their already extensive regulations for COVID-19, Salon Bella offers additional time slots for those at higher risk of developing severe illness from the virus. “We schedule them like early, early in the morning when the salon is not busy or late in the afternoon. You know, just kinda work around to make them more comfortable. We want everybody to be more comfortable and beautiful.”

The only service Salon Bella is not offering at this time due to virus-related concerns is spray tans. “You have to wear a mask and you’re getting a spray tan, you’re going to be white through here and who wants that?”