The perfect haircut, cooling facial, relaxing massage or much needed eyebrow wax are all services few of us can (or want to) live without. But each of these are also services requiring a lot of time and care, and little room to socially distance.

Hairdressers, stylists, and countless other beauty experts were forced to take a step back the last few months as quarantine rules prevented the functioning of salon services around the country. For many clients, their forced hiatus from the salon was detrimental (quarantine hair was all too real for the majority of us), and the salons themselves suffered as much as any industry out there. But despite months of forced lockdowns and subsequent fear to reenter the public space, some New York City salons did what they had to do to make it work through the pandemic.

Some brands took their services virtual while others turned to product development to make ends meet. Whatever the case, these New York City Salons prevailed and are eager to get back be fully functioning as soon as it is possible (and safe, of course).

1. Warren Tricomi, @warrentricomi

Plaza Hotel, New York, NY

1. First of all, tell us about the salon, its creation and history.
We started in 1990 with one salon. A couple of years later, we had 57th street, which was the flagship at that time. We then opened up Greenwich, CT. We had one in the Caribbean at one point. We then opened East Hampton, Madison, and downtown. We then franchised to India and Japan.

2. What services does the salon specialize in?
Color, haircuts, nails, medical spa, eyebrows, etc.

3. In general, how has the salon functioned for the past few lockdown months? Any at-home visits or virtual client calls?
Yes, virtual color consultations and at-home visits. We also offered color kits and personal consultations.

4. What is your salon’s open status right now? Any new safety precautions?
We are fully open, we are doing normal business hours that we ran before COVID, but we are still not open up past 50% occupancy. We are following the state guidelines: all safety protocol is being adhered to and is available on our website for everyone to see.

5. Are there other measures or new initiatives you’ve taken to make up for the losses that COVID brought?
We have invested more into technology, and we have been working with our marketing team to market the salons and drive our sales for products online.

6. What does this salon mean for your customers? Why do you think it is so important to re-open for them fully?
Everyone wants to open up fully. Clients have been overjoyed when I came back to cut their hair last month. People want to feel normal again and that they are in charge of their lives. I want to be able to do that for them.

2. Broome Street Society, @broomestreetsociety

407 Broome Street, New York, NY

1. The salon’s creation and history?
In 2016, Josie Sanchez and Andrea Hans created Broome Street Society. The mission is to provide exceptional service in a professional work environment. The salon is a certified Green Circle salon and recycles 90% of its waste. Proud to be a female/minority owned small business, BSS prides itself in staff and client diversity while creating a safe space for respite for all of its guests.

2. What services does the salon specialize in?
We do all hair services for all hair textures: color services, cuts, formal styling, texture manipulation, extensions, wig work, relaxers, and keratins.

3. Did you have the chance to continue these services throughout lockdown?
We were not able to continue services during the lockdown, as required by NY State law. In solidarity, our staff did not do their own hair while we waited for safe reopen guidelines.

4. Any at-home visits or virtual client calls?
We were not able to provide at-home visits during lockdown, but we have provided home visits post re-open for those clients who are immunocompromised, elderly, or unable to be in a public setting. Josie did a virtual styling tutorial for a client who got married (on facetime).

5. How were the finances of the salon affected by COVID? Was there a large decrease in income?
We had a massive decrease in income. We lost 34% of our projected annual revenue from the forced closure. Other areas of loss include the current need to rebuild our regular book of clients.

6. Did this cause you to have to make any difficult decisions in terms of payments- for rent, employees, etc.?
Some of our regular clients have relocated, lost their jobs, are nervous about returning to the salon, are unsure of their own financial situations or transportation options to/from the salon. Our landlords worked with us to create a workable payment option for rent, and that’s really been our saving grace. Shout out to A. Trenkmann Estate, Inc.

7. And how were your employees affected by the shut down?
Our staff dealt with the shut down in different ways. Most of our staff remained engaged, logging into virtual staff meetings (hello, Zoome Street Society), continuing their education with virtual cut classes by our Design Director Yureesh Hooker, and keeping the group chat lit with info for industry grants, temporary insurance options, and updates from the city and state.

8. Are there other measures or new initiatives you’ve taken to make up for the losses that COVID brought?
We needed to slightly increase our price point to account for the shutdown, the new “renovations” for compliance, the PPE we are required to offer our staff daily, and the PPE provided to our guests when they’re in.
We did a COVID inspired photo shoot in mid-February with our staff wearing custom-made jeweled masks. Once we shut down, we turned one of the photos into a t-shirt design and sold it on our website to support the salon and the staff. 50% of proceeds went to salon operating expenses and 50% was divided and sent to our staff while they were unemployed.

3. Bespoke Brows, @bespokebrowsnyc

987 Lexington Ave., New York, NY

1. The salon’s creation and history?
We are a privately owned, female founded, upscale eyebrow waxing boutique located on the Upper East Side. Our doors first opened in 2017. Our limited service menu allows us to really hone our skills and offer great results. We uphold the highest standards of cleanliness, training with our employees, and courtesy with our clients. We want to have our clients leave our shop feeling great and looking their best. Our products are all natural and safe for sensitive skin and the general eye area. We offer comprehensive and free consultations before beginning any services, to ensure that we are on the same page with the best way to treat one's brows, skin, and lashes and to guarantee satisfaction. All of our Brow Specialists are licensed professionals and want our guests to not only love the final look of their brows and lashes as a result of their visit, but to enjoy their overall experience with us as well.

2. What services does the salon specialize in?
We wax everywhere from the neck up and specialize in eyebrow waxing, tinting, lamination, and eyelash lifting and tinting.

3. In general, how has the salon functioned for the lockdown months? Were there any at-home visits or virtual client calls?
We pivoted to start selling our brow makeup products online during lockdown; they were previously only available for in-store purchase. In general, our revenue stream was halted during lockdown.

4. How many employees worked at the salon pre-Covid? How many are still employed? And how were your employees affected by the shutdown?
Prior to the shutdown we had six full-time employees at our salon. During our four-month closure we had two employees move out of state, and when we reopened we hired a 5th new employee. When we reopened we were able to offer all employees the same compensation and number of hours as they had had pre-shut down.

Even though our employees are all licensed estheticians who have studied infection control (as part of the license requirements), we also had all staff pass a Barbicide Covid-19 Safety Certification test as well as a Milady Infection Control Certification test, as a refresher before we reopened.

We all gravitated towards a career that would allow us to work with and connect with people, so the main way we were all affected was just in the shock of not being able to work and do what we love.

5. What does this salon mean for your customers? Why do you think it is so important to fully re-open for them?
Not only is this a place where our clients come to look their best, but we also hope that we have created an uplifting and joyous experience and environment. We've had many clients share how happy they are to see a small, local business survive because visiting us is the highlight of their day: they know that when they see us, they are treated like family. And especially with masks highlighting the eye area, services that focus on brow and lash maintenance are so important to people. We offer a way for people to look their best, but also focus on client connection. While the brows are important, the smiles we wear below our masks are even more paramount.

4. Vanity Projects, @vanityprojects

99 Chrystie Street, New York, NY

1. Tell us about the salon, its creation and history.
Vanity Projects is a luxury concept that merges a high-end nail art atelier with video art programming. Founded by independent curator Rita de Alencar Pinto in 2008, Vanity Projects first began as a pop-up, organizing itself in the homes and studios of visual artists, friends, and art aficionados. Vanity Projects quickly received offers to present at art fairs, fashion events, museums, and cultural institutions. In January 2013, MoMA PS1 invited Vanity Projects to do a three-month pop-up within the Confettisystems installation, held in the museum’s duplex. It was at this time that Pinto developed the concept of the artist-in-residence program. Offering the top international nail artists the chance to engage and experience the exchange of technique and ideas, the program coincided with the salon’s brick and mortar debut in Manhattan’s Lower East Side in July 2013. Since then, Vanity Projects has hosted over 100 international nail artists in both the New York and Miami locations.

2. What services does the salon specialize in?
We specialize in hand painted Japanese nail art, using only the best Japanese gels.

3. How has the salon functioned for the past few lockdown months? Are there new initiatives you’ve taken to make up for the losses that COVID brought?
As mandated by the city, we had to fully close our salons and regular operations. We functioned by selling t-shirts and custom nail tips. We had never previously sold these press-ons until the pandemic, but they have been a saving grace and have helped keep the company in business.

4. How were the finances of the salon affected by COVID?
Covid had a huge impact on our salon. Between mid-March and June/July, mandatory closures and stay- at-home orders were in place for two months in Miami and almost three in New York. This forced us to rethink how to generate revenue: we came up with the [aforementioned] custom press-on idea, a luxury mani that can be applied at home by yourself, giving people a well done, artistic chic temporary mani. We focused on branded merch for our clients and Instagram followers to support artists who were out of work at the time as well as a discounted initiative on gift certificates over $100 for future use. A lot of our long-term clients purchased big certificates as they were confident to return later.

5. What does this salon mean for your customers? Why do you think it is so important to fully re-open for them?
Our salon is a place where our clients come not only to express their creativity, but to feel beautiful, complete, and put together. Especially after not having access to this for two-three months or even longer, coming back and getting a manicure or pedicure service makes you feel extra sexy and good. It is important for our clients to get back into their routine, which is similar to getting your roots touched up, for a sense of completeness.