South Carolina salons busy, cautious on first day back open

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Several close-contact businesses, like salons, could reopen on Monday per Governor Henry McMaster’s orders.

Owners at Lava Salon, which have locations in Avondale and Park Circle, said they were glad to open their doors but have put several protocols in place to protect staff and guests.

“We do feel a little vulnerable right now because everything is such an unknown,” co-owner of Lava Salon Geoffrey Richardson said. “We hope everyone will be understanding about these guidelines.”

All Lava Salon employees and customers will have their temperatures checked at the door and if your temperature is above 99.6 degrees you will be asked to reschedule.

Everyone must also wear a mask while inside the salon.

If you arrive early, you will be asked to wait outside or in your car and will get a call when your stylist is ready. Customers are also asked to not bring anything inside the salon that you can’t keep in your pockets. This will keep items like purses, umbrellas and drinks from getting set on surfaces that could spread germs.

“It’s going to take some time," Richardson said about getting used to this new normal. “How do you fit eight weeks of clients into three weeks? You don’t, so we’re going to do the best we can to prioritize everyone and get them in.”

The salon is also asking its clients to sign a consent form before getting a service done. The form says Lava Salon and its employees are not liable for illnesses incurred after service.

“We really want to make sure our liability is as protected as possible," he said. “We’ve discussed with our lawyer all of the things we need to do so we’re not being negligent or grossly negligent in our duties and that means sticking to the guidelines.”

Members of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce recently spoke about the need for businesses to protect themselves from lawsuits if they are following proper procedures.

All stylists at Lava Salon were also recently certified in COVID-19 cleaning procedures through Barbicide Disinfectant, which is a product used for EPA registered, hospital grade disinfection in salons, barber shops and spas.

On Monday, there was a steady flow of customers in the salon though each station was sanitized before another customer could enter the building.

“I got a little shaggy in my month or so off,” regular at the salon John Lackey said. “But since I was staying at home there was no one to see me, except Zoom meetings.”

He said it was important to get in the chair on the first day.

“I have some important appointments tomorrow and the next day so I thought, hey, let’s get this done as soon as I can,” he added.

While it was weird wearing a mask and getting his temperature checked, he said he felt as welcome as always.

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