Hundreds of hair salons, hairdressers and tattoo shops across the state are reopening in violation of statewide health orders, exactly five months after they were forced to close on March 17.
The companies plan to reopen for indoor services on Monday, and remain open for as long as they can, according to a lawyer for salon owners and an owner who is organizing the reopening.
In the state, salons and barber shops in counties are on the governor’s list of supervision – which currently includes all nine Bay Area counties – allowed to offer open services. However, those public services do not include shampooing or coloring, and some counties, including San Francisco, are not allowed to reopen businesses.
“Even if we could work outside, no one wants to get a Brazilian on the street in San Francisco,” said Shayana Flick, who has two growing salons in San Francisco.
Flick is the organizer behind Open Safe California, a Facebook group with thousands of members who re-coordinated Monday. Originally, she planned to open her own salon, reWAXation, on Monday, but after seeing reports of troubled salons on social media, she joined the group to connect with those looking for a way to rejuvenate. to make.
Hundreds of salons, hairdressers and tattoo shops signed up to a statement promising to reopen Monday. But it is unclear how many companies eventually reopened for service within. None of the eight stores that were randomly named Monday afternoon were open.
“I think the situation is terrible, but tell mom or dad ‘F you, I’m still going to the party’ – I will never win, ‘said Dave Diggs, owner of The Barbers Inc in San Jose.
Fred Jones, legal attorney for the Professional Beauty Federation of California, estimates that the true number of salons is once again stretching into the thousands.
“We believe a good percentage is clandestinely open – through the back door, as it were,” Jones said. “Now, we’ll see more for their front door opening.”
Since March, one of those clandestine salons has been James Griffiths’ Salon Blu. Rather than shut down, Griffiths smashed the windows of his San Jose downtown salon and began bringing his customers in through the back door.
On Monday, Griffiths reopened the front of his salon.
“I want to be transparent about what we do,” he said.
Up in San Francisco, Flick says she did not want to hide her business.
“We’re proud of our establishment, proud of our profession,” Flick said. “To feel like we have to draw curtains and sneak clients through backdoors to survive did not feel right.”
However, salon owners keep the list of participating companies private for fear of consequences. The state board of Barbering & Cosmetology said in a statement that it “will pursue action against its license” for salons and barber shops that “endanger public health and safety by not following the order.”
“The council encourages establishments not to fight public health institutions,” the board added.
Reopening companies are also facing consequences at the provincial level. In five Bay Area counties – Santa Clara, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Marin and Napa – health care companies can now be subject to fines, along with steeper fines such as crime costs and jail time for non-compliant business owners.
Jones says the Professional Beauty Federation of California will provide legal support for the salons against “whoever comes to her,” from the state board to public health departments.
“As an association, we do not support the opposition, but we are ready to defend the salons who decide they have no other choice but to reopen,” Jones said.
After five months, many salon owners say, their sector has no other choice. Laure Chicoine, owner of the Nirvana Aveda Concept Salon in Los Gatos, plans to reopen on Tuesday. She spent Monday building her outhouse, after it was damaged in this weekend’s thunder.
“I can not work outside until I can rebuild the space and even with this heat it is impossible and dangerous,” Chicoine said.
And on Monday, Flick welcomed its first customer back to reWAXation.
“It’s strange to say that everyone’s so excited to get back to work because it’s work, but it’s reported to be five months off,” Flick said. ‘We’ve had stylists dealing with depression. To be able to go back and get back to work, not have to worry about having enough money to pay for hair or food – having that first client walk through the door was really exciting. ”
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