Barber Shops & Hair Salons - Please do not open on May 20!

Office of Governor Ned Lamont
State Capitol
210 Capitol Avenue
Hartford, CT 06106

Dear Governor Ned Lamont,

We appreciate the care and energy you have put into the governing of our state of Connecticut and the leadership you have given us. It is a sad, unprecedented time for our state and many of the decisions you have made helped to flatten the curve with the new coronavirus. We applaud the choice to shut down the schools and all non-essential businesses until it is safe to reopen. We are especially grateful that the hair industry was amongst the first to shut down and noted that you thought of the risks with the industry. We are writing to express many pressing, urgent concerns shared by thousands of people in our state right now.

We really feel that the May 20th opening date is not appropriate to reopen ALL salons and barbershops. It is questionable how the beauty industry could be lumped up with the first-to-open businesses in the phased reopening process. The salon services are purely cosmetic and are non-essential for our existence, though while not in a pandemic they are very much desired and encouraged. This industry gives employees no choice but to work in close proximity to clients, sometimes for hours at a time. It is not simply a walk-in and walk-out operation as are stores where you have your mask on, you distance, and you leave. Salons don’t let you stay at far distances. This lack of distance puts people in grave danger of contracting this deadly virus.

Yes, you can implement PPE and offer things such as masks and gloves. But gloves hinder how stylists perform the cutting of hair! Most stylists will not be able to cut hair wearing gloves correctly or easily. Masks can help reduce, but do not eliminate transmission of the virus. Allowing customers to have a cloth mask is something we will have to live with because there is a national shortage of the medical-grade masks, but not requiring an N95 or similar medical-grade mask for the staff is terrible and will not boost the level of protection they should require. It has been shown the cloth masks aren’t nearly as effective in blocking transmission. At this point our state cannot even acquire the proper level of PPE including the medical-grade masks (which should go first to medical workers) we will need to safely operate the salons and so opening for May 20 is unreasonable. We cannot practice the safe distancing in our salons of 6 ft., and a combination of that with cloth masks that simply do not offer the best protection, you are creating a recipe for disaster.

Also, if the virus is spread through contact and stylists have direct contact with the client through the entire appointment, the virus will wind up possibly transferring to the clothing of the stylist, then from the stylist to the next client in the chair. And what is to be said about the hair trimmings that seem to find their way all throughout a salon? The virus is found in oil secretions on the scalp which travels through the hair when combed, the hair literally goes all over the place as it is trimmed.

The smartest course of action is to put a hold on the industries which spread the virus more quickly. Many other countries who prolonged the social distancing measures and limited certain businesses from reopening too quickly have seen the best success in bringing their coronavirus levels all the way down where people start to trust going back into the businesses again without the threat level there. Opening hair salons and barbershops are basically the same as opening the nail salons which were pushed back from opening on May 20. They are not ready and we are not ready either; same risks! We need better contact tracing in order, more testing as well.

Our testing capabilities need to rise quite a bit to improve who we allow into the business. The virus levels need to go significantly lower. We are not there yet based on current reports. Therefore, it may prove to be foolish to open salons and barbers as soon as May 20th. Let us wait until Fairfield County, and our state in general, is no longer a hotspot, let us wait for the numbers of COVID-19 cases to really come down and the hospitalizations as well. We need to be properly stocked with the sanitation supplies and PPE. Salons are non-essential, they are luxury services, and the clients will always return once we are opened back up in a safe environment. A trim of the hair can wait, a color can wait, our health must come first and foremost. Guarding our client’s lives and their families’ lives, as well as guarding the staff and the staff’s families’ lives are essential. Please keep this industry in lock-down until we are further from the peak or we may wind up with more death and more illness.

We appreciate your time and welcome any comments, thank you again for your consideration.

Sincerely Yours,

The Concerned Residents and Hair Care Industry Workers of Connecticut