‘Can’t move forward.’ Idaho hair salons could reopen next weekend — unless they’re in Boise
Idahoans are starting to wonder when they’ll next be able to get haircuts — and stylists, at least in Boise, are wondering the same.
Under a state order, salons may be able to open as soon as Saturday, May 16, the tentative date Gov. Brad Little set to move into the second stage of the state’s plan to emerge from the coronavirus lockdown. But Boise’s order requires that people stay 6 feet apart from each other until the order expires May 30. That means no haircuts, no nail polishing and no tattoos.
Unless it doesn’t. McLean left the door cracked for an earlier relaxation of the restrictions on such businesses.
In an email Friday, McLean told the Idaho Statesman that the decision is an attempt to balance public health with reopening the economy.
“We fully anticipate that businesses offering close-contact services, such as salons, barbershops and tattoo parlors, will be able to open by June 1, possibly sooner, if we are able to safely move to the state’s second stage,” McLean said.
She said she will amend the order if data shows close-contact businesses can reopen before June 1. (The mayor’s office later acknowledged that McLean’s 30-day order took effect May 1, which means it would actually end at the end of the day May 30.)
For those who handle hair, the confusion is creating a headache.
Kayla Morris, owner of Boise salon The Collab, 3118 S. Bown Way, said in a phone interview that she wants to mayor to set a firm date for salons to reopen instead of being “wishy-washy.”
“I’ve had to reschedule hundreds of appointments already,” Morris said. “I can’t move forward if I don’t know when I can reopen my business, and that hurts me and my employees and our relationships with our clients.”
Some of those clients may take their business to nearby cities where hair salons will be allowed to reopen, she said.
Kim Denton, owner of Boise’s Undone Salon, 738 N. Benjamin Lane, said that clients are “desperate to get their hair done” and often aren’t willing to wait for their usual salon to reopen.
“They may not ever come back to our salon, or if they do, it’ll be six more weeks to get that client back in the chair,” Denton said.
In an industry that depends heavily on personal relationships, Denton said even a two-week delay from when other cities are able to reopen could cost her business thousands of dollars in the long run.
Both Morris and Denton said they’ve heard from employees who are worried about paying their bills. Stimulus checks, which came for many Americans last month, ran out quickly, Morris said. Denton said some of her employees have had a hard time securing unemployment benefits from the state, which has been overwhelmed as tens of thousands of Idahoans have been filing claims.
Denton argued that hair salons should be able to open as she thinks they are cleaner than retail stores, in part because of existing cleanliness standards for salons. Morris said she has ordered hundreds of masks as well as thermometers to make sure both clients and employees are protected.
“I don’t want anyone to get the virus. I really do not want it,” Morris said. “But stay on the same page for Idaho, especially for cities that aren’t far apart but have a different message. My business needs that.”
This story was originally published May 8, 2020 at 12:40 PM.
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