'Mixed feelings'
Marina Peterson wanted to be proactive. The owner of Native Roots Salon didn’t want to just sit around and let others make decisions about her livelihood without having some input.
Because of that, Peterson contacted Lawton Mayor Stan Booker to inform him she had a plan to be able to reopen her salon and keep it safe for her staff and the customers.
“I had shared something on Facebook, and I asked the mayor, ‘Are we having any considerations for salon opening?’” Peterson said. “He messaged me and told me to just make up a plan, send it to him, and he had a meeting with the governor. So, I don’t really know what happened with the information past my message to him.”
Like all salons and barbershops in Lawton, Native Roots has been closed since Booker shut down all nonessential businesses due to the spread of COVID-19.
While Peterson has yet to hear back from Mayor Booker, she knows what guidelines her salon will be following once she is allowed to reopen. They include having disinfectant wipes and the continued use of Barbicide, which she says kills everything.
“When I heard about the virus, I told the girls that they had to use new capes for every client, which...increased their laundry usage,” Peterson said. “And, I made them spray [disinfectant] after every client.
“The hardest thing was keeping clients [from] bringing in their whole family when they stopped letting kids go to school. That was the biggest issue. Being one person instead of one and your three kids or whatever. The mask thing wasn’t pushed just yet. So, that would be something that we’d add if we had the opportunity to go back sooner than later.” Peterson is also considering taking the temperatures of everyone who steps into the salon.
“I don’t know how big of a violation of people’s privacy that would be,” Peterson said. “I know a lot of places that were doing that. But, I mean, I don’t know how much we could enforce that. We would definitely stick to you can’t have extra guests with you. We would continue to spray down the entire station as each client left. We would heighten cleaning so much, versus the lax environment that you can usually have in a salon.”
Tiffany Claborn is also expecting to see strict guidelines put in place when she is able to return to Teeze Total Salon. “I think there needs to be sanitation and proper gear discussions,” Claborn said. “I’ve taken several classes during this time since I’ve been off. One was a disease and infection control class.”
In those classes Claborn said she learned some techniques and awareness that will help in battling the spread of COVID-19. Yet, she also doesn’t want to make the mistake of coming back too soon.
“I am on the fence with that. I wouldn’t mind going back May 1 and taking extra safety and sanitation precautions, such as wearing gloves whenever I’m doing any service. And changing them after every client,” Claborn said. “But my question would be are there enough gloves and masks to go around to do it safely. Or are they just wanting to go back because they aren’t collecting a paycheck at this time.”
Peterson also has worries about reopening salons too early and doesn’t want to see another outbreak. However, from the business side, she has concerns for her staff and herself. “I have mixed feelings because, of course, I want to be a solution in stopping the spread. But on the other hand, I don’t know how long economically our businesses will be able to hold out, especially only having a business for a year and a half,” Peterson said. “It’s not like I have 10 years of net income stored up. I’ll be strict with my girls. They know this is your choice. You either abide by the rules that are put forward, or you don’t have a place to work because I do have my own family to protect. It isn’t even solely about them.”
Peterson would like to see every salon in the state has to follow the same safety guidelines. “I feel if we’re on the same page, it makes it a whole lot easier,” Peterson said. “When we’re all divided and trying to figure out, if they put out a list of these things have to be done, if we come in, and they’re not done, you get shut down. I mean, I think that’s a whole lot easier than letting everybody do whatever they think is right.”