Arizona hair salons can stay open amid COVID-19 outbreak

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - Hair salons in Arizona are allowed to stay open if they take additional sanitation precautions to stop the spread of COVID-19, according to an executive order released by Governor Ducey’s Office Monday. The order prohibits the closure of essential services and hair salons fall into this category as a personal hygiene service.

Some local hair salons in Tucson have taken the initiative to close their doors. Erin Powers, an independent hair dresser at Hand & Heritage Salon, said closing the salon was best for the safety of its hair dressers and clients.

"We genuinely love what we do," Power said. "I'm having a very hard time not seeing my guests everyday."

She said the salon tried staying open, abiding by social distance rules and limiting groups from forming but found it was difficult.

"We could tell our guests not to come too early so that we don't crowd the waiting room and not to bring any friends or family," she said. "We could sit chairs apart but eventually, one by one by one, each decision became so strict."

The salon started seeing clients cancel appointments as concerns over COVID-19 continued.

"Clients started to trickle off and making their own decisions to social distance and stay home or quarantine," she said.

Powers said the hair dressers found it challenging to adhere to recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention because they must work so closely with clients.

"We are so intimate with our clients," she said. "We are literally touching them so it's hard to follow any CDC guidelines while we're doing our services."

Another local Tucson salon, Tullia Salon & Spa, is still open for businesses. Employee Zoe Brant said the salon has stepped up its cleaning procedures and is being exceptionally cautious.

"We're sanitizing everything that our guests are touching, door handles, chairs and underneath the chairs," Brant said. "We've gotten rid of all our magazines just so they're not touching those."

Brant said employees are deep cleaning the salon at the top of every hour and immediately sending home any hair dresser who doesn't feel well.

The Arizona State Board of Cosmetology recommends for salons to follow the requirements of the CDC to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

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