“What do you need? How can we help? How are you coping?” When MC Salon and Spa in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio temporarily closed its doors as part of the COVID-19 shutdown on March 16, owner Marcy Cona and team swiftly let guests and the entire Cleveland community--including medical personnel and other front-line responders-- know their salon community would still be there to support them, even from a distance.

First, they converted website mchair.cominto MC Community, an interactive platform to connect guests and everyone in the greater Cleveland area with a message of “friendship, kindness and collective energy,” and asked, “How can we serve you through this time?”

Online visitors are prompted to complete a quick form on mchair.com, then digital team members Leah Marino and Meg Dyer sift through all inquiries. They connect requests to the right MC stylist or team member, set up virtual consultations or “connects,” arrange free delivery of hair care and self-care products, and much more. Since MC Salon launched MC Community on March 23, hundreds of people have registered a request for support, asked a question or left a comment.

“We created MC Community because our roots go deeper than the hair color and care services we proudly provide when we are able to be open,” Cona says. “We realize our guests are hurting and believe it’s important to continue showing up to meet their needs in all the ways we can. This online resource is a meaningful way to stay in touch and serve our community.”

Serving is a natural part of the salon team’s culture. When the MC team learned from a regular guest who is a hospital nurse that, due to the virus, those on the front lines are required to shower and shampoo hair more often than usual, they decided to act: MC Hair would do more than offer the nurse a recommendation for a moisturizing daily shampoo, they would let nurses and first responders know the world cares about them, with a useful, soothing gift.

“Our team came up with the bigger idea of doing something for our local front line responders,” Cona says. So, she made a call to product partner Innersense Organic Beauty, and founder Greg Starkman agreed right away to provide complimentary full-size shampoo and conditioner to health care professionals via hospitals in the Cleveland area.

“It is a small action, but one that hopefully delivers a moment of comfort and self-care. The minutes those on the front line take to wash their hair may be the only time of solitude and replenishment they have in a day. Serving them in that moment is our privilege.”

Another guest who is a working mom wrote into MC Community and asked if her stylist could do a Zoom session and coach her daughter in trimming her bangs until she can come back to the salon when businesses reopen.

“Of course, we said yes and set up the virtual connect,” Cona explains. “Because that’s what our guest needed to feel better in that moment.”

Cona says she hopes people across the country are realizing that salons and other small businesses are the pulse at the heart of its community. “Our relationship with our guests is not just transactional. It’s how we help them feel and look their best. The service we offer goes beyond the appointment, product and gift card sales, and comes to life through all the ways we continue to support and connect with them.

Putting our energy and focus around MC Community and doing the right thing helped us turn the corner from feeling helpless to being helpful. We are doing our part to tell the world, “never underestimate the connection between a salon and its community.”

Visit mchair.com and follow MC Salon and Spa on Facebook and on Instagram @mcsalonandspa

ABOUT MC SALON + SPA

For 37 years, MC Salon and Spa has served the Cuyahoga Falls and greater Cleveland area with a customized, community-first commitment to beauty and care services. Owned by master colorist and leading beauty industry consultant Marcy Cona, MC Salon and Spa includes two locations on Portage Trail, with a Studio to accommodate private events, bridal parties and more unique experiences.

Services and specialization: While specializing in hair color and a “clean beauty approach,” the full-service salon offers guests support to enhance their total look and lifestyle. Services include hair color, cutting, styling, blowouts, brow care, waxing, grooming, skin care, body care, nail care and more.

Brand partners: Offering guests a carefully curated assortment of quality products to extend salon services and support the salon experience at home is a priority for the MC Salon and Spa team. Retail products are available for online order at mchair.com and include Innersense Organic Beauty, Cult + King, Overtone, Iles Formula, Hemp Luxe, Wella, Sebastian, Nioxin and more.

ABOUT MARCY CONA

Marcy is the owner and leader of MC Salon and Spa, and has lifelong roots in Ohio and with the Cuyahoga Falls and Greater Cleveland community. A leading hair color authority, Cona also serves as Sr. Director of Technical Creative and Innovation for Coty, Inc. She is a media spokesperson, celebrity hair colorist and has been featured in more than 150 editorial and global advertising photo and video shoots.