Georgia Salon Pros Discuss Reopening

Ever since Georgia’s Governor Brian Kemp lifted the statewide shelter-in-place in late April and the state’s salons cautiously got back to business, a nation of owners and beauty professionals have been optimistically observing. What new procedures and protocols did the salons put in place? How were they alleviating fear for clients and team members? How did clients respond?

Over the past few weeks, SALON TODAY Conversations has touched base with our friends in Atlanta for some video interviews, check them out:

Harry D. Wood IV, a master stylist at Van Michael Salons and the founder of Six Figure Hairdresser and Back to You, modeled the new standard uniform at the salons, described what it’s like to work with gloves, mask and faces shield, and talked about what it’s like to reunite with clients.

In Canton, Georgia, Jyl and Jason Craven described how they reconfigured the flow of the salon to maintain space between clients, talked about the personal protection measures they have in place for team and clients, and Jyl shared the painful experience of a five-hour corrective service. After the video aired, Jyl and Jason shared some much needed hope for salon owners everywhere. The total sales for their first week were up 3% over last year, despite the fact that guest counts were down by 28% because of social distancing mandates. “Our average ticket was up 50% because the stylist had more time with each guest to upsell, and SGP (service guests purchasing retail) was up 29%.

And Candy Shaw, owner of Jamison Shaw Hairdressers, talked about why she decided to remain closed for the next few weeks, while respecting the decision of others to reopen. She also shared the business boom virtual education is bringing to her product and education company Sunlights Balyage and how connecting with other owners keeps her strong.