Salon Today

Taking a Stand

July marks the midpoint of 2020, and while we’re still at the beginning of a new decade, we’ve already made a remarkable contribution to the history our children and theirs will study in the future.

The international COVID-19 pandemic literally changed the way we live our lives—shuttering salons and spas and forcing their owners to seek financial aid while their team members and clients sheltered at home for months. In the midst of this crisis, both peaceful protest and dangerous riots broke out as a reaction to the death of George Floyd.

As a media company, our reaction to each differed. With the coronavirus pandemic, we rushed to develop resource centers, produced multiple webinars and conducted daily video interviews with owners—all with the goal of providing as much helpful information to salon owners and managers as timely as possible. In response to the national calls for racial equality, we listened, observed, honored, conversed, then acted.

In an address to the professional salon industry, Brian O’Rourke, president of Bobit Beauty, Health and Wellness, made the following commitment to the communities for SALON TODAY, MODERN SALON and NAILS:

• We have never, and will never, condone racism in any form.
• We have never, and will never, condone sexism, exclusion, belittlement, or purposeful alienation.
• We will continue to be allies to ALL those in our industry who provide exceptional customer service, produce awe-inspiring artistry, and elevate and mentor those professionals who are new or emerging within our industry.
• We will continue to celebrate the innate talents of ALL salon industry professionals, regardless of their race, creed, nationality, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
• We will continue to commit to even more proportionate coverage of varying hair types, techniques, and ethnicities of models represented within our media.
• We will further solicit, acknowledge, and ACT on feedback from ALL members of our community through surveys, focus groups, and editorial interviews, sharing the resulting information with our greater industry at large.
• We will form a diverse editorial advisory board and integrate their feedback for the continued improvement of our media vehicles.
• We will continue to serve YOU, the salon professional, no matter what your race, background, or socioeconomic standing, recognizing that ALL humans are worthy of accolade based on their proven capabilities.

As 2020 marches on, the team at SALON TODAY will do everything in its power to help salon owners rebuild and grow their businesses, inspire their teams and engage their customers. And, we’re committed to seeing, hearing, serving and telling the stories of successful beauty professionals, regardless of race, religious affiliation or sexual orientation.