Dear glamorous professionals,

You've been temporarily closed in the face of this pandemic, but now is the time to start thinking about what your plan is when you open once again. When reopening your salon, you’ll have to adjust to a new normal, at least for a while and Madam Glam is here to support you along the way. 

New normal aside, there’s no reason why your reopening shouldn’t be a GRAND reopening. Your clients are eager to get back to your nail salon or business. 

From supporting your front desk and nail stylists, to communicating your new welcoming and cleaning protocols, we’ll break down what you can be doing now and over the coming weeks to prepare to reopen.  

Nail Salons 

Move, change, or adjust workstations to help workers maintain social distancing of at least 6 feet between each other and customers that they are not servicing. Install transparent shields where social distancing is not an option.  

Physically separate employees from each other and from customers in all other areas of the salon such as break rooms, parking lots, and in entrance/exit areas. Use easy to see floor markings or signs to encourage physical distancing even in common areas, such as break rooms. Remove chairs from the waiting area to make sure people do not sit close together or wait in groups. 

You & Your Staff 

Nail salon employees would likely fall in the medium exposure risk category, since they will have frequent and/or close contact with (within 6 feet) customers. Protect your staff and clients with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Please, educate your employees about steps they can take to protect themselves at work and at home and provide training on the proper way to put on and take off PPE items to minimize contamination, as well as training on methods to clean items that are reusable. 

You should stock up on before reopening your nail salon and always keep your healthy and client’s health in mind! How? Stock up: cleaning supplies, hand sanitizers, toilet paper, face masks. Ask clients to bring their own mask, when they enter the nail salon, provide one for the them and then, offer them another one when they will leave. 

As an employee, you also have the right to refuse work that could put your life in danger or cause serious injury. You can breathe in, accidentally swallow, and/or absorb chemicals through your skin. If you’re using/selling Madam Glam products in your Nail Salon, well, this should be no problem! Not only for the clients, but for your nail techs as well, we would like to mention once again that our gel formula is Vegan, Cruelty-free, Hema-free and 9-free.  

Rethink your retail section (if any) to keep your clients and staff members safe. How? Opt for direct shipping or keeping inventory in the back. 

P.S: It's a good idea to plan for another potential closure (and reopening) at your salon due to the coronavirus. 

Change the way people work. 

Consider doing daily in-person or virtual (phone or video) health checks (like symptom and/or temperature screening) of employees before they enter the nail salon. Ask employees if someone they live with or are close to has symptoms. Stagger shifts, start times, and break times as much as possible to reduce crowding and make sure that at least 6 feet distance can be maintained between employees and clients as much as possible 

Appointments 

We recommend bringing your clients back in a safe way by prohibiting walk-ins, adding waitlists, updating hours and service offerings to your salon. 

You should revaluate your check-in process to eliminate physical contact between your front desk and clients as they arrive for appointments and pay. How? Book appointments early. This will slow down the number of walks-ins and will make sure that the waiting area is not at a full capacity. 

You should send several emails or call your clients and suppliers to communicate your modified offerings, how you plan to constantly clean and disinfect your business, how to book or cancel an appointment. We urge you to be transparent, always speak up and use all the online platforms that you have! Phone calls are a good idea as well!  

If the client reports symptoms, recommend they do not come in for salon services. We recommend placing signs at the entrance asking anyone experiencing symptoms not to enter. 

Keep it Fresh & Clean 

Let in fresh air. Open doors and windows when possible. If the salon has a ventilation system in the ceiling or walls, or a window fan, make sure it works properly. Change filters regularly. 

Use good practices. Close bottles when you are not using them. Put any trash soaked with chemicals (like cotton balls) in a sealed bag before you put it in the trash can. Wash your hands before eating, drinking, or smoking. Also, wash your hands before and after each client and after handling salon chemicals. Do not eat or drink near your workstation! 

Restrooms. Clean and disinfect them regularly, replace paper towels frequently and we recommend you to use the touch-less soap dispensers to minimize the need to touch surfaces during operations. 

Use personal proper protective equipment. Make sure to use the right gloves. Nitrile gloves will protect you from chemicals. Use latex gloves only if you are using acetone for a long period of time. Avoid vinyl gloves. It can be difficult to use a mask properly so wearing the wrong mask or a mask that does not fit can be worse for your health. If you do wear a mask, make sure it covers your nose and mouth. 

Disinfect tools after each client. Wash tools with soap and water. Use a scrub if needed. Rinse in clean water. Dry with a clean cloth or towel. It’s important to dry. Immerse tools in a disinfectant. Soak the tools for 10-30 minutes, depending on manufacturer’s directions. The disinfectant must always be covered. Change the disinfectant at least once a week or whenever it is cloudy or dirty. Make sure you store all disinfected items in a clean, covered place. You can also use a steam sterilizer to sterilize tools.  

Pedicure, foot basins and spa. Clean all the foot basins after each client and at the end of the day. Follow the Board of Barbering & Cosmetology rules (Title 16, California Code of Regulations § 980.1-980.3) for how to clean basins. Always use gloves. Always write down the time and date of each cleaning in a pedicure-cleaning log. 

Not ready to book an appointment? How to Support Your Nail Salon  

Gift Cards & Positive Reviews 

Buy gift cards for future use and purchase items from their website, if they sell them. You can always be kind and leave a positive review on their Facebook page or leave comments on their other Social Media accounts! This will not only help keep the salon visible and in a good standing for new clients, but it will also keep up their morale, good vibes & energy!  

Hey, California & New York! You can show some love to all the efforts for the nail techs and nail salon workers and support by donating. On the West Coast, we got the California Nail Salon Community Care Fund and in New York, you can check out the Nail Salon Worker Resilience Fund and the Nail Salon Accountability Act.  

There may be a lot to get done, but it should be memorable and fun. You'll want to celebrate this new chapter in your beauty business, after all. 

And with that being said, Madam Glam’s team wishes you a lucky, safe and glamorous reopening! If you have questions, need any help or an extra advice, please, do not hesitate to send an email to help@madamglam.com 

Read, COVID-19 Employer Information for Nail Salons 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/organizations/nail-salon-employers.html 

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