As Saskatchewan prepares for phase two of its reopen plan, professionals in Regina’s hair industry are readying for their versions of what business will look like in the new normal.

The provincial government announced in late April that salons and barbershops could reopen on May 19.

“I’m happy its happening, definitely, but I’m hesitantly cautious about it, which is good, I think,” said Jason Zalusky, owner and barber at Bluecore Barber Company.

“Having a good, solid fear of it is maybe going to make us all safer.”

Since the announcement, the province has provided general guidelines for personal care services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among those are securing personal protective equipment (PPE) and adjusting physical spaces to allow for social distancing between clients where possible.

Other guidlines include clients attending appointments alone or waiting outside or in a socially-distanced seating area.

“We’re going to take all the precautions we can. If anything, we’re going to be overcautious.”

Businesses are also encouraged to find ways of minimizing client touch-points, and cleaning and disinfecting spaces regularly.

“We have to wear eye protection, we have to wear masks. We have to wear aprons we’ll wipe down and disinfect between clients,” Zalusky said.

“We had half-hour appointments, we have now moved them to 45-minute appointments just to give us time to disinfect our stations, our tools, our chairs.”

The business owner said he was able to source N95 masks from a truck supply company, and has managed to secure a solid stock of alcohol disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer.

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The five barbers at Bluecore were already spaced eight feet apart in the shop, prior to the pandemic. Each will now have multiple waterproof aprons to take off and disinfect throughout the workday.

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