Hair and nail salons got the green light to reopen on Saturday - with some safety measures in place. LaDiDa Beauty on Longley Lane in Reno has been closed since mid-March, but that doesn't mean owner Laura Garcia got a break.
"I'm doing is stuff I wouldn't have to do before," she said. "I've spent that time learning about the Paycheck Protection Program, the EIDL, watching Zoom training, applying for programs, creating new sanitation guidelines, communicating with our clients, updating our website - these are things that are all new."
The salon looks a little different these days.
"We had to space our stations a little more so we could fit in our partitions," Garcia said. "We moved one of our stations to our bridal suite and we now have these plexiglass dividers, we have signage everywhere. We ask people not to touch product, we're getting it all for them. Everything is more sterile, there's no waiting room or processing area, so it looks a little more sterile."
The experience is a little different as well. Stylists meet clients at the door, where they take their temperatures and have them sign a waiver. Everyone is wearing masks.
"We're also taking staff temperatures every day, so we're doing everything we can to be above board. It's not required, but it's those extra steps to make
sure we're keeping everyone as safe as possible."
The salon isn't offering blow drying services right now, and only the hair and nail side of the business is allowed - no makeup, eyelashes or brows.
"There are more than 60,000 cosmetologists, barbers and aestheticians in the state of Nevada and it felt like a really big win when the Governor opened up hair and nails," Garcia said. "But we're sad for the other artists that are not able to open. I myself am a makeup and microblading artist, so while I'm excited the salon is open, I'm not able to offer my services yet. So what we're doing to try to help the rest of our industry is just to open as safely and properly as we can, so the Governor will take us seriously, see we're being responsible, and allow the rest of the industry to join us."
Right now it's a day-by-day process, and Garcia hopes the phased reopenings will continue.
"I'm looking forward to reopening to the point where, maybe in a month or two I can actually take a vacation," she said. "A few days to maybe go off-grid."
For appointments: https://www.ladidabeauty.com/
