At-home beauty companies are starting to offer and expand their services again, as New York City enters Phase 2 of reopening.
On Tuesday, Sally Hershberger salons started offering at-home on-demand services via a company called Supreme Head Agency. It operates in NYC, the Hamptons and Los Angeles, which are in the early stages of reopening. Supreme Head Agency will offer blowouts, haircuts and hair color; Sally Hershberger’s one salon in Los Angeles is currently open, and its three New York locations reopened on Monday. Meanwhile, Glamsquad resumed services in southern Florida on May 19, and it’s now offering hairstyling in all of its markets (including NYC, the Hamptons, D.C., Boston, Los Angeles and Orange County) except for San Francisco.
“It’s inevitable that a lot of women and men will not want to come into the salon. If they have the option to have someone come to them during this pandemic, they will seize that opportunity,” said Sally Hershberger, founder of her namesake salons and Supreme Head Agency.
Hershberger said that creating Supreme Head Agency affords both her salons and stylists professional protection. Supreme Head helps to prevent illegitimate at-home services from profiting off the Sally Hershberger name or an individual stylist’s association with the salon, as it has been reported that stylists felt compelled to take on risky appointments during the early onset of quarantine. Plus, it allows stylists to maintain a professional presence through the company while salons are closed. Stylists don’t have to handle bookings and payments, for example. During appointments, both Supreme Head’s staff and clients are required to wear masks, gloves, gowns and visors, which are provided, and the staff sanitizes tools in between appointments. It is a cashless service, and stylists have their temperature taken before each appointment. Traditionally, Sally Hershberger salons require clients to provide notice of 48 hours when canceling an appointment, or they’ll be charged. That fee is waived if a customer cancels due to exhibiting Covid-19 symptoms. Approximately 100 stylists and colorists are available through Supreme Head.
The expansion of at-home beauty services comes as 23 states are experiencing a rise in coronavirus cases compared to last week, according to CNN citing data from Johns Hopkins University. The reopening of salons in Atlanta painted a mixed picture of how stylists and business owners felt about reopening, and pointed to a new, no-frills approach to operating a salon. Given this information, customers could be influenced to choose at-home beauty services more often.
New York City-based MySpa2Go requires both stylists and clients to wear masks, while stylists must also wear disposable gloves and sanitize tools between appointments for lash extensions, blowouts and haircuts. Lori Traub, MySpa2Go founder, said the company will not resume most normal activity until Phase 3. At that point, it will expand its offerings to include massages and nail services, but waxing and facial services will remain on hold.
For now, Glamsquad is only offering its nail services in Los Angeles and Florida. However. Glamsquad added haircuts to its service menu in May, due to coronavirus-related demand.
“Given our enhanced safety and hygiene protocols, and required personal protective equipment (PPE), we offer a safer alternative to salons and blow-dry bars,” said Amy Shecter, Glamsquad CEO.
