Re-opening May 20, 2020!!

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It is acknowledged that all services within the Professional Beauty Industry (Cosmetology, Barbering) carry some risk in this viral environment due to the nature of the services provided and the inability to maintain social distancing. With that said, licensed professionals have been trained to mitigate these risks significantly through the use of proper infection control standards required by the state regulatory licensing rules and regulations.

The following procedures, therefore, are enhancements to those existing rules and they address the unique scenario presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the professional beauty educational curriculum, students are taught the definition of Universal Precautions. Therefore, in this environment we are going to follow Universal Precautions and assume that everyone is COVID-19 positive and take all the precautions necessary to mitigate the risk of the spread while still performing services. 

Please understand to ensure the safety of you, your family, our team, their families, and other clients we have put specific guidelines in place without exception. Please note if you are unable to follow the A2 Salon guidelines, we will not be able to provide you any service and will kindly refer you to other salons in the area that may better suit your personal needs. 

A2 Salon has spent a lot of time and  money to stay in compliance, buying everything from client care kits and  employee care kits, to personal protection and sanitizing equipment. We only expect to conduct half of our normal business which will just keep the business afloat. 

To start:

Our team will all undergo the initial training as well as weekly refreshers on our policies and procedures, as updates will be instituted by OSHA, CDC, DECD, state and local health departments regularly.  We will be screening our team daily with temperature checks and a health check list . We also hope to be able to test ourselves directly for Covid19 when such testing becomes readily available to us. Our team will be wearing masks and gloves at all times. When providing services, our professionals will also be wearing face shields. 

Every area of our salon will be cleaned hourly/in between each client using disinfectants that kill the coronavirus, including the reception area, bathroom, door handles, chairs, head rests, sinks, stations, shears, combs, brushes, tweezers, razors, clippers, styling tools, and all countertops. We will be changing out gloves and washing our hands in between each client. Though our salon has a central air unit and proper ventilation, we will be opening doors as often as possible for extra air flow. Each team member including our receptionist/assistants are Barbicide and Covid19 Barbicide certified. 

We will utilize a barrier cover at the front desk. We ask you only to approach the desk when making your payment AFTER your services are complete. We will call you to re-book your next appointment to avoid any gatherings at the desk.

Safeguards: (These safeguards will gradually loosen when progress is seen on a defined set of public health metrics. This is expected to occur over the coming months through September 2020.) 

• Our max capacity is 20 people and we are mandated 50% of that (so no more than 10 people—which includes us).
• Those in high risk health groups or are 65+ should continue to stay home.
• Face masks need to remain on at all times.
• No beard trims that involve removing masks.
• No blow dries.  We understand the frustration this will bring—believe me you are not alone. However, we are about ensuring safety and health. Being the first tier of non essential business to open, while neglecting the social distancing 6ft rule due to our high contact profession, for now this portion of service will be on hold indefinitely. We are truly sorry for any inconvenience!  
• No keratin treatments.
• No Brazilian treatments.
• No formal styles (unless you come in with clean dry hair).
• No lip, chin, nose, cheek waxing. 
• No beverages will be provided. 
• Limited verbal communication. This is probably going to be the hardest one to follow!!
• No Public coffee or water stations.
• No Magazines/books/ newspapers.
• No product testers/samples.

Please understand if we risk not following these guidelines, A2 Salon is at risk of being temporarily or permanently shut down as well as our staff is at risk of losing their professional cosmetology or barbering license. So if you want to continue looking and feeling good, please, please, please work with us! 

What will we need from you?

Client care package—As we mentioned earlier, A2 Salon will be conducting half the business it used to and just stay afloat. To help offset the extreme costs of business operations we will be adding a care cost to each ticket of $5.00. This cost covers a disposable face mask which will be supplied to each guest as well as sanitizers and disinfectants used in between each guest visit.

If you have a cough or runny nose (even due to allergies) you need to cancel your appointment. Otherwise, you will be kindly asked to reschedule your appointment. This is SO important, the last thing we want is to feel uncomfortable or at risk. Please be mindful of our team and other clients. 

Please come to your appointment by yourself, with only your phone, and form of payment. No laptops (permitted if kept on lap at ALL times) no purses, bags, or coats. 

Please call the salon upon arrival. We ask you to arrive 5 minutes early. This time will allow for you to look over and sign the consent form and accept your client care package before entering! Our receptionist will take your temperature before you are escorted to your stylist/barber chair. 

Minors that need to be accompanied by an adult are recommended to schedule appointments for the end of their stylist/barber shift. 

We will not be accepting cash as a form of payment.  If you generally leave your stylist/barber cash tips (which they greatly appreciate) our new way to accept similar payments will be via venmo. Each stylist/barber will have their own venmo account. 

We plan to start calling and scheduling appointments on Monday, May 18. Please be patient and understanding with us as we are working on a long list of clients going back to March 17th.  We will not be holding any spots—appointments will be set in stone and not tentative (please refer to our cancellation policy).  This will allow for better accommodation and less confusion all around.