Back to normal: how do craftsmen work after the easing of quarantine?

We asked the craftsmen about how they work during this difficult period.

Alexey Baluev, art director of LONG & SHORT beauty salon and co-founder of LONG & SHORT hair academy, as well as winner in the “Colorist” category of the International Stella Prize

What we have been waiting for so long has finally happened! Two months of isolation - and beauty salons were allowed to operate in compliance with special standards. Our salon has taken a very responsible approach to providing safe conditions for our technicians to work and for visiting clients.

I can honestly say that we didn’t have to change much due to post-quarantine measures. Instruments were always properly sterilized. The only thing is that they added quartzing with special lamps and disposable masks/gloves/robes and protective screens, in which every master must work.

Many clients joke that the beauty salon now looks like an operating room. Indeed, this is true. But it's necessary. And it’s better than sitting at home and not working.

Of course, it is not easy to work in such uniforms. It's hard to breathe in a mask. Over the course of a whole day, you can breathe so much that your head hurts. But despite all this, I am happy that we have the opportunity to work and meet with our favorite guests.

Cleaning of all interior surfaces has also been added every two hours: washing the floor, wiping the shelves with special saline solutions. We didn't have this before.

Customer service has always been carried out by appointment, so this point is not new to us. The only thing that has changed for clients is that they must also visit the salon wearing masks, and if the client does not have one, we kindly provide a mask at the entrance to the salon.

The administrator makes sure to measure the temperature not only of clients, but also of all employees to make sure that there are no sick people among us. For this purpose, a separate log is kept for employees and separately for visitors to the salon.

What has also changed is that you cannot visit the salon with accompanying persons. An exception is minor children, who can come to the salon with one of their parents. Unfortunately, if the client comes with her husband or boyfriend, he will no longer be able to wait in the waiting area. We will be forced to refuse them this.

For me personally, the most painful thing was that there are certain restrictions. If previously there were five foremen per shift, now, following all the rules and regulations, we are reducing it to three foremen per shift. Despite the fact that the salon area allows us to accommodate more craftsmen, in order to comply with all rules and regulations, we cannot allow more craftsmen to go to work. Because of this, we cannot serve everyone who wants to in a short time, and therefore a fairly dense record is being formed.

Yuri Tsarev, hairdresser; author of the philosophy of reincarnation; consultant on harmonious image change; beauty coach; mentor

Starting from May 12, we returned to work and are working in accordance with all requirements for the safety and health of both clients and craftsmen. All masters work in masks, and additional disinfection is carried out every two hours. We also quartz the room, naturally, when there are no clients in the salon. We work through the chair, freeing up space for a safe distance between clients. We did not write any additional markings or instructions in order not to increase the already heightened anxiety of clients regarding the safety of procedures, and so that our results would bring at least some joy in today’s environment.

Naturally, at each workplace in front of the chair, we placed printed step-by-step instructions for sterilization, which we carry out in the salon and which the masters carry out with instruments every time before seeing the next client. What else are we doing? We constantly remind you that there are rules for visiting the salon, and we ask our clients to adhere to these rules. Yes, we train clients to be served in new conditions. Immediately upon entering the salon, he receives a mask, gloves, temperature is taken, and there is hand sanitizer in every corner of the salon.

Preparing for quarantine. We made a large purchase of products during the quarantine period, in case of supply interruption. We began to prepare for the opening. To be honest, opening after quarantine was more difficult than opening a salon from scratch, because it was necessary to assume and anticipate a large number of situations that had never been encountered before.

We conducted sales analytics over the past six months and purchased only the most popular products, as well as professional consumables, such as paints, in large quantities in order to be able to easily serve the first stream of customers after quarantine.

We also familiarized all clients with the conditions of service in the salon after the easing of quarantine. They warned that the service would only be provided by appointment. We have also expanded the scope of the salon's work hours: now clients can sign up for an early appointment or stay in the salon a little longer WITHOUT additional payment, as was the case before.

We have kept prices unchanged despite the deplorable economic situation today. We also introduced a hygiene fee for customers, following the experience of our European colleagues. I looked at the statistics on the opening of salons in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and more than 70% of salons introduced a hygiene fee of 5 to 10 euros. Of course, we cannot enter such amounts, but our salon has introduced a fee of 50 UAH per check. We spent enormous amounts of money on purchasing disinfectants, gloves, masks, and so on. Since we don't know exactly how long it will last, we have to constantly renew our supplies.

Unfortunately, such a large flow of customers after the opening did not happen as we expected. Or rather, it only happened in the first week. Why did it happen? First: not everyone can still go out; many are afraid to go to beauty salons until the quarantine is completely lifted. Second: colossal financial dehydration for everyone, everywhere. Many businesses are still not open, and clients are financially unable to receive services in the salon. Since beauty boxes were introduced during the quarantine period, which we sent to clients - dyes and coloring formulas, some clients still continue to dye their hair this way at home. Customer return after opening – 50%.

How do craftsmen work? Here, unfortunately, I can’t say anything nice. I am a master myself and I work. I had to reduce the amount of working time: I accept 1-2 clients, working no more than 5 hours in the salon, because working in a mask makes the task extremely difficult. Dizziness, headaches, nausea, fatigue - these are the results of the work of the masters wearing masks, since we also have to talk and stand near the chair for several hours. Irritation on the face and enormous efforts for a good result and the mood of the clients.

I really hope that in the near future we will be able to take off the masks, because working in this mode with the constant smell of disinfectants, with constant operation of hoods, and the inability to breathe through a mask is extremely difficult. We try to book clients for longer periods of time because technicians work slower.

What will happen next is unknown. Now we are working with the idea that the quarantine may repeat in September. Therefore, all we can do now is to accumulate consumables, reduce the amount of consumables in order to somehow balance the economic situation and develop a “cushion” if the quarantine suddenly happens again.

The good news is that during quarantine and now none of the team members got sick. We pay special attention to the health of our team and quartzing the staff room. We also drew up a schedule for staff staying in this room. Well, and the distance in the cabin, of course. Concentrated around the perimeter of the cabin.

In general, despite the fact that Ukraine has already experienced many difficult periods, this is one of the most difficult. And to be completely honest, I would never want to go through work in such unpleasant conditions as now. But we continue to work and give joy with the hope that the quarantine issue will be resolved in the near future. I wish everyone health, good luck, success and patience!

Maxim Stifler, owner of The Sketch barbershop chain

In fact, nothing much has changed dramatically except that we have to wear masks.

We disinfect tools and surfaces in the same way as before, only 2-3 times more often. We have a large barbershop, but we assign no more than three barbers per shift and meet all guests strictly by appointment so that they do not create queues in the barbershop. But, of course, sometimes it happens that someone is delayed and you still have to wait. However, I repeat that we have a large room and many waiting areas, so this is not a big problem.

We have disinfectants throughout the barbershop, everywhere you look, and this is all for the safety of clients and barbers. The room is regularly ventilated, we have a powerful exhaust hood, and whenever possible we open the windows. As for drinks, we also serve coffee, beer, rum and whiskey, and children - juice, but this is only from disposable tableware.

If we talk about the workload of the barbershop, the first two weeks were very busy. We were mainly visited by those who work and live nearby, as well as those who have personal transport. As soon as public transport works more efficiently, all our other guests will also be able to get to our barbershop.

As for the craftsmen, it is a great pleasure to return to work. Many clients have grown gorgeous hair during quarantine, and we are happy to cut their long haircuts. And there were also those who cut their hair at home, and they needed emergency help, if you know what I mean...)