What Beachers can expect when returning to hair salons and nail spas during Stage 2 reopening

Erin Horrocks-Pope June 25, 2020

Toronto has finally entered Stage 2 of reopening after a provincial COVID-19 emergency order meant temporary closures for many businesses.

On Monday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford made the announcement that Toronto could move ahead with reopening after a visible decrease of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the region since initial closures over three months ago.

Some of the long-awaited services that returned with Stage 2 are restaurants with outdoor dining spaces, shopping malls, public pools, and perhaps the most exciting comeback for many people… personal care services.

That’s right!

You can finally kiss your quarantine haircuts and DIY manicures “good-bye”.

Knowing that some clients might be hesitant about returning with concerns about COVID, owners and staff have been working hard to get everything ready to provide continuously safe service.

Tina Nguyen, the owner of TNA Nails at 2094 Queen Street East, spent full days and long nights since Monday’s announcement prepping her nail salon for reopening yesterday.

TNA Nails, 2094 Queen St. E, is all set up with barriers between customers and staff. - Photo submitted by Tina Nguyen.

“Yesterday and the night before I only slept two hours,” Nguyen said. “I had to stay awake to prepare many things in the store and online. We have been working very hard.”

Appointments came in quickly once Nguyen announced that TNA Nails would be opening again, and she now has a waitlist of over two weeks.

Though some spa services, like hand or foot massages, hot towels and facial services, which were offered pre-COVID-19 are temporarily unavailable, it hasn't seemed to stop loyal customers from coming back.

A customer is separated from her nail tech while receiving a pedicure at TNA Nails on Thursday, June 24, 2020. - Photo submitted by Tina Nguyen.

Customers who visit TNA Nails, like other nail salons, will need to book in advance and wear a mask during appointments. Nguyen and her team will be selling masks for one dollar to clients who arrive without one.

In addition to employees and clients wearing masks during, the staff at nail salons will prioritize using single-use, disposable tools per client.

People visiting personal care salons can likely expect to see small increases in fees due to the extra costs of adhering to strict public health policies, like disposable tools, PPE and the sanitizing equipment which is used between each client.

Single-use tools are used for a manicure at TNA Nails on Thursday, June 24, 2020. - Photo submitted by Tina Nguyen.

“For now, we are charging five dollars extra for each visit,” Nguyen said. “This helps to cover the fees for safety equipment and nail supplies.”

Though personal care services across the city have been waiting to reopen in Stage 2 and doing everything possible to make sure they were ready for yesterday when their time finally came, some salons have decided to hold off or take a bit more time preparing to welcome back customers.

Crown of Jewels owner, Karly Dolmer, made the choice to hold off on reopening her hair salon until Friday morning so she could make sure all that needed to be done to ensure a safe return for clients was done well and done right.

Dolmer is taking physical distancing and sanitization guidelines very seriously for the clients and employees who are ready to come back to the salon at 1230 Kingston Road.

Crown of Jewels owner, Karly Dolmer, preparing her salon to welcome back her clients starting Friday at 8 a.m. - Photo submitted by Karly Dolmer.

“Some people aren’t ready to return and that’s totally fine. It’s so individual and personal to how you feel and your safety level,” Dolmer said. “We know we’ll be safe here and everything will be clean top to bottom constantly. But some people’s comfort levels are just not quite there yet so they’re a little apprehensive.”

Only two hairdressers will be in the salon at a time, with one client each. No guests are permitted to enter salons and those waiting for an appointment must do so outside.

Clients at Crown of Jewels, like other salons, will need to wear a mask, sanitize their hands and fill out a form signing off that they do not have COVID-19 or have been in contact with anyone who does before they can sit for their appointment.

Sign-in forms, acknowledgments, policies and sanitizing stations will be a regular sight at Crown of Jewels like all other personal care businesses. - Photo submitted by Karly Dolmer.

Masks will be available for two dollars for Crown of Jewels clients who don’t have one when they arrive.

After each appointment, staff will wipe and disinfect everything that was used for the client and everywhere the client sat or touched before allowing for the next customer to be allowed in.

Customers who can’t wear masks due to pre-existing health conditions will need to be booked at the very end of store hours, along with customers looking for blowouts when Dolmer and her team start using the blow-dryers again.

“Public Health is really on the fence about (blow-drying),” Dolmer said. “So, we’re not going to do it for the first two weeks and we’re limiting it to the last client of the day if people are only coming for a blowout.”

Posted public health policies will be visible to all customers before and after entering personal care services. - Photo submitted by Karly Dolmer.

For now, Public Health is recommending barbers and hairstylists avoid the use of blow dryers due to concerns of the virus circulating in the air and becoming airborne, though no definitive research on the subject has been done.

Businesses like TNA Nails and Crown of Jewels are ready and eager to welcome back their long-missed customers and confident in their provision of safe environments.

Though appointment books at spas and salons have filled up quickly, a recent Beach Beat Instagram poll showed only 62 percent of locals feel confident in the region's ability to handle Stage 2 reopening without seeing a spike in cases.