The New Safety Measures You Can Expect at the Salon During Your Next Visit

Including what you can do to keep yourself, your stylist, and your fellow clients safe.

We’ve learned a lot over the past few months and now, more than ever, it’s important to put these new safe practices to good use whether we’re heading to the grocery store, church, school, or even the salon. While getting back in your stylist’s chair might be something you’ve looked forward to over the past few months of staying at home, there are going to be new protocols and practices that you can anticipate on your arrival. Michael Canalé, celebrity colorist and founder of Canalé hair care line, gave us the details on what his salons are doing to help promote the safest environment possible for their clients, stylists, and community.

Preparing in Advance

Even before you enter the salon, there are things you can do to ensure you’re keeping the salon environment a safe one. “Stay home if you do not feel well or feel sick, come alone—leave pets and kids at home to avoid overcrowding in the salon,” says Canalé. Wearing a mask and being prepared to have your temperature taken as you enter the salon are the new norms and all put in place to help you and everyone around you stay healthy while still enjoying the same professional services you’ve come to expect.

Changing the Experience

Gone are the days (for now) of flipping through magazines, sipping on a cup of coffee, and rubbing elbows with other clients as you wait for your services. Canalé says these amenities have now been replaced with mask stations, hand sanitizer, and sanitizing wipes. Be prepared for a new royal treatment due to a shift in priorities all aimed at keeping you, the salon staff, and fellow clients safe.

Keeping a Safe Distance

How to keep a safe distance while receiving salon services is a case-by-case scenario, though there are universal practices that remain constant. Keeping the recommended physical distancing guidelines in place throughout your visit aside from when you’re receiving your service, possibly checking in via phone and waiting in your car until you’re called in for your appointment, or waiting outside to avoid crowding in the waiting areas are all practices your salon may be implementing for the time being and beyond.

Transferring Payment

Don’t pay with cash if at all possible. You’ll probably be asked to swipe your own credit card, something you’ve hopefully already noticed at many establishments where the transfer of payment is necessary. Between each transaction, staff members should be sanitizing the surfaces and tools used for payment transfer.

Many things are going to stay the same, including your stylist’s baseline safety standards. "Our training and licensing is based on 1,600 hours of learning, how to properly sanitize and maintain a safe, clean, and sterile environment for our clients,” says Canalé. Stylists are already predisposed to keeping a certain level of cleanliness and, while the new standards are certainly elevated in many respects, stylists should be well equipped to take on this added responsibility. Now just make sure you do your part too.

For more Southern Living news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Southern Living.