Last week, hair salons across Mississippi were allowed to reopen for the first time in seven weeks. Cindy Holmes, owner of Need A Haircut salon in Ripley, has taken extensive steps to keep the public safe while in her shop.
“Following guidelines issued by the state is so important right now,” Cindy states, “…It will help us to get through this tough time as quickly and easily as possible.”
Upon arrival, clients are instructed to call their stylist. Clients then wait in their car until the stylist is ready to begin their appointment. All stylists AND clients are required to wear a mask for the duration of their visit. Before entering the shop, clients are asked a short series of questions regarding possible COVID-19 signs or symptoms in the last 24 hours, and given a quick pump of hand sanitizer.
Before, stylist aprons and capes were reusable. Need A Haircut is now implementing disposable capes for clients, and disposable aprons for the stylists. These get discarded after each client.
Chairs and hair washing sinks are disinfected after each and every use. Doorknobs and pens are regularly wiped down throughout the day, and for now, each stylist is only seeing one client at a time to reduce the number of people in the salon as much as possible.
Cindy has even begun gathering the items herself to create “toiletry packs” containing all-disposable items for clients to use if they require the restroom during their visit. These packs even include single-serve cups of hand soap.
To further reach out to the community, Cindy has requested a “blessing box” to be placed at her salon. These boxes are popping up all over Tippah County, and are built by Mary Lee Robinson of Ripley. With so many going through hard times right now, Cindy wanted a box placed at her shop to extend a helping hand. This blessing box will be stocked with canned goods and other necessities, and will be available to those in need.
Need A Haircut is going above and beyond to make sure their clients feel not only comfortable and welcome while in the salon, but also safe.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
