Coronavirus Closures: Hair Maintenance Is Growing Problem With Salons Shuttered During Outbreak
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The newly extended stay-at-home order has the potential to change the way people look.
Groceries and pharmacies may be open, but the only hair styling happening right now is for dogs in the pet stores.
So, can anything be done about the shaggy, color-changing hair on the horizon?
While our lives have been turned down to idle, our hair is still growing.
"It's like when you look better, you feel better," Julie Vari, a stylist at Macabre Rose Salon, said.
Vari's independent shop inside Sola in the Strip District is closed along with everyone else in the hair care business.
KDKA's John Shumway: "Have you had customers say, 'Well, you can come to my house.'"
Vari: "Yeah, yes, yes."
But going into someone's home means ignoring social distancing because you can't do hair six feet away. So, with hairdressers on the shelf, what do you do. Cut it yourself?
"I would say, don't do it, just hang in there, we got this. It's better for you to grow them out for a little while," said Vari.
A minimal trim by a trusted companion might be okay, but keep it minimal.
"I would say leave it to the professional, so we don't have to fix it when you get back," she said.
Color is another issue.
Vari says many of her clients need touchups every three weeks.
So, she's taking the color to her clients. Custom mixed for each client with instructions. She gets a little income, and clients like Michele Rowland get enough for two touchups.
"It means a lot she's taking time out of her day and coming over here and just helping me maintain looking good," Rowland, of Mt. Lebanon, said.
If you're used to box coloring your hair from the drug store, you know what to do.
But Vari says, "If you've been getting your hair professionally colored, don't in an emergency, decide to box color your hair.
There are alternatives
"Root spray or a hat. To get you by," she said.
