Take care!

As areas around the country reopen following months of lockdowns, people are emerging from their homes with shaggy hair, translucent skin and claw-like fingernails — and then rushing to make self-care appointments. “The bathhouse has been booked out every day that we’ve been open,” said Andrew Nehlig, the owner of Sauna House, in Asheville, N.C., which reopened last month.
You might be overdue for some general maintenance, or perhaps you need to undo some do-it-yourself quarantine beauty treatments that went awry. Or you might want to catch up with your stylist or technician. “There’s sort of a shrink relationship,” said Jane Hong, the chief executive of the Manhattan nail salon and retailer Paintbox. “This is why we’re here on earth, not to live in isolation but to help one another, support one another and speak to one another.” Perhaps your look affirms your very sense of self: Khane Kutzwell, whose Brooklyn barber shop, Camera Ready Kutz, primarily serves the L.G.B.T.Q. community, noted that hair styling “is a super-duper big thing” for some of her queer and transgender clients.
Should you decide to venture out, you may be wondering how to stay safer during a haircut, wax or manicure. “It’s reducing the risk, not eliminating the risk,” said Wafaa El-Sadr, a professor of epidemiology and medicine at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. “Nobody can tell you it’s safe to do x, y and z. We can make x, y and z as safe as possible.”

Check the regulations in your area.

Local safety guidelines, as well as measures adopted by salons and spas, can help mitigate your chance of contracting or spreading Covid-19. In some cities, certain services, like facials and facial waxing, are unavailable. Communal facilities — like steam rooms, saunas and baths — might be closed, or their capacities dramatically reduced. Plexiglass barriers may separate you from the receptionist, people in neighboring chairs and even your manicurist; ventilation systems may pump filtered air into the room. The amenities you’re used to — a cup of tea or snacks — may have disappeared. There will be cleaning supplies everywhere. (“We could kill pretty much anything that lives,” said Gabrielle Ophals, a co-founder of the Manhattan spa Haven.) And everyone will be wearing a mask.
The first thing to ask yourself, according to Celine Gounder, an infectious disease expert and former assistant health commissioner for New York City, is whether there’s still widespread community transmission in your area. If there is, she said, “then I think as with anything, whether it’s school reopenings or nonessential services — and to me, this is a nonessential service — those need to be shut down until you can get your community transmission under control.” Some areas that forged ahead with reopenings are pausing or even rolling back those plans; in Los Angeles County, personal care facilities that began operating again in mid-June are now limited to treating clients outdoors.

Bring your own supplies, especially your mask.

Carry hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes. Some nail salons might ask that you bring your own tools, if you have them — a practice that Dr. Lipner also suggests. (Discard or sanitize them after your manicure.) Most of all, don’t forget your mask, and consider bringing an extra in case it gets wet or dirty during the course of your treatment. If you’re going for a haircut, ensure you have a well-fitting mask that goes behind your ears, rather than around the back of your head. Wearing a mask is, as Dr. Gounder put it, “the No. 1, 2 and 3 most important thing that a client can be doing” to reduce the risk of contracting or spreading Covid-19. A recent, widely cited report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention underscored this: In Springfield, Mo., two hair stylists continued coming to work, days after they began to feel sick. Together, they exposed 139 people to the virus — none of whom reported symptoms in the two weeks after. Around 98 percent of the clients interviewed by the C.D.C. said they were wearing a mask during their appointments.

Be patient — and tip handsomely.

Stylists, barbers, estheticians and other personal care professionals are on the front lines of the pandemic. They work face-to-face with — and, often, within a couple inches of — their clients. “The vast majority of people working in these industries are women, and many of them women of color,” Dr. Gounder said. (Her new podcast, “Epidemic,” recently aired an episode on the effect of the pandemic among beauty professionals.) “So that definitely contributes to exacerbation of the disparities we’ve seen in terms of who’s affected by Covid.”
The economic toll of the coronavirus shutdowns has been especially steep among the small businesses that closed from March into June and July. So as shops reopen, don’t be surprised to see higher prices, and be prepared to tip to excess.
As everyone gets accustomed to this new normal, try compassion. (“We’re nervous, too!” read the website of one Austin nail salon before reopening in June.) And if you remain uncomfortable with going out for the sake of your hair, nails or skin, there are other ways to support your friends in the beauty industry. Shoot them a Venmo or buy a gift card for a future appointment — and trim your own bangs.