As the world begins to return to normal, businesses have slowly begun to open their doors to customers. Since our industry requires us to be literally in the face of our customers, many lash salons have had to remain closed for the past year and a half. However, with the lifting of pandemic restrictions in some places, we can now start welcoming lash clients back to our salons.
To help you reopen and keep everyone safe, we’ve put together some things to consider before doing so.
We are all itching to be done with Covid, but some are rushing to deal with it without considering what is happening around us. If your area is letting businesses open, check to see what limits are still in place (eg, how many people can be in an enclosed space at one time).
Your safety and the safety of your client should always be the first priority. If for any reason you think it might not be safe to fully open yet, wait. Or, if you have a few loyal customers who you know have been safe (and may even have been vaccinated), consider a soft opening where you only take on existing customers you can trust.
Any salon, be it hair, makeup or lashes, should always be immaculately clean, pandemic or not. But, for the peace of mind of your loyal customers and fellow artists, going one step further certainly won’t hurt.
Wipe down your lash beds after each session, sterilize all tools that need to be sterilized, and make sure you have sanitizer at the entrance and anywhere else in the salon where you think it might make sense. However, try to keep a balance and don’t overdo it. Sometimes too much attention can backfire and create more resistant bacteria.
Find guidelines in your area about keeping things clean but not overly sterile:
See our complete guide on how to disinfect your lash curler.
Even if things are getting better, we have to keep our distance from each other. If you have several lash beds in your living room, can you move them so that they are at least two feet apart? If not, you may need to remove one.
You will also need to create a barrier between reception and customers, and this may also include increasing the space. If you have eyelash products for sale in the salon, move them to the back and only bring them out when you plan to sell them to a customer.
It’s a bit of a pain, but you also don’t want everyone touching everything in the living room when they’re just browsing. And, needless to say, no tester is excluded,
Check your inventory and see if anything has expired since you last opened your doors. Eyelash glue that has passed its use-by date will not be of any use to you. Think of it as a fresh start, like opening your lash salon for the first time.
Reorder anything you think you might need, but keep it in smaller quantities than usual. Since some places may still have the possibility of a next wave, you don’t want to rearrange a bunch of stuff and then have to temporarily close again.
Check out 10+ different types of eyelash extension glue from BL Lashes
Read more about: Mask use causes poor retention / How cleaning product can affect glue drying speed
Reopening is great, but if your customers don’t know about it, you won’t get much traffic anyway. Be sure to advertise your reopening on your social media accounts and storefront. Send a snapshot of your mail to your current customers and maybe give them a discount for their first time back.
Tours are still risky, so set up a reservation system where customers can only come if they have an appointment, and make sure you have a waiting list as well. If you need to adjust your hours, please do so and update.
To conclude…
We all need a little pampering after this crazy year and a half and there’s nothing more pampering than a new set of lashes! As you plan to reopen, consider the above pointers.
With the current situation, people are looking to do the things they love but stay safe in the meantime. If you offer it to them, your lash salon will be buzzing once again.
Good luck, and happy lashes!
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