Getting haircuts, manicures will be different when province eases restrictions

Getting a haircut, nails done or having a spa treatment is going to take some planning and patience, and be less social, when hair salons, spas and barber shops reopen in the next few weeks.

According to guidelines sent to members of the Nova Scotia Registered Barbers Association and the Cosmetology Association of Nova Scotia, workers in those trades will have to abide by strict new rules to ensure physical distancing is maintained.

Workers and clients will have to be properly protected COVID-19.

The new measures include:

• only scheduled appointments (walk-ins or double booking are being discouraged).
• pre-screening of employees and clients.
• clients arriving with clean hair for appointments.
• mandatory handwashing or sanitization for clients and employees before each appointment.
• keeping a two-metre space between work stations or chairs.
• closing waiting rooms and limiting reception space.
• limiting beard and mustache trims or face shaves 
• employees and clients will have to wear masks (face shields are an option for employees)

Plexiglas barriers are options in cases where work stations cannot be properly spaced. There will be a mandatory 15-minute gap between clients to allow for cleaning.

Cameron DeBaie, the chair of the Cosmetology Association of Nova Scotia, said the changes are designed to protect workers and clients.

"If these things are being followed there is a very low chance of transmission," he said. "If everybody's wearing the PPE, if clients aren't interacting, if they're in and if they're out.

"If we limit things like cash and and physical touching as much as possible you're at a lower risk."

Big change from mid-March

DeBaie said the the experience of going to the salon or spa will be different than it was two months ago.

"Most certainly it's not going to be the same social hub that it used to be," he said. "There's no more waiting rooms where you could sit and have a chat and things like this.

"It's definitely going to look quite a bit different inside of those salons."

Brian Smith, a barbershop owner in Lower Sackville and president of the Nova Scotia Registered Barbers Association, has mixed feelings about going back to work under these new conditions.

Nervous but excited to resume

'"I'm nervous but I'm also excited to get back to work," he said. "I miss my job, I miss my clients. I miss my co-workers.

"I'm willing to take these chances to get back to work and we're going to try to do it as safely as possible."

Smith said his apprehension stems from not wanting to catch the virus or spread it to his clients or family.

He is also not certain if some barbershops can survive under the restrictions.

"We hope so," he said. "We don't know we've never tested this theory in every possible situation."

"We're not doctors or scientists we're barbers and just trying to do the best we can with what we have to work with and the information we have."

Although Nova Scotia's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Strang has not said when he will lift the order to close, personal service providers have been urged to begin their preparations to reopen.