Here's Exactly What Your Salon Visit Will Look Like Now

With the lockdown easing ever so slightly and your favourite salons reopening, it is nice to feel the vague semblance of normalcy. However, the pandemic is far from being defeated and we must still make safety our utmost priority. However, another way to do that is by embracing the new normal.

Among group hangouts and dining in your favourite restaurants, regular salon visits have been sorely missed by many. 

"Haircuts and hair colouration services such as root touch-ups and covering of greys have been the first services to receive an immediate response by consumers after reopening. Developing ‘express services’ has helped us reduce the amount of time spent on a particular appointment. These express hair colour services created specifically by Matrix India cater to root coverage and global and fashion highlights that can transform your lockdown period hair in express time, whilst following all required sanitization measures," says Melroy Dickson, general manager – education at MATRIX and Cheryl’s Cosmeceuticals.

So, if you are toying with the idea of visiting your favourite salon, here's what the new face of it looks like:

Haircuts 2.0 

The actual process of getting a haircut remains the same albeit with heightened hygiene and time-regulated appointments.    

"While the essence of getting a professional hair cut at a salon remains the same, our partner salons will be adopting a set of comprehensive hygiene measures to ensure the safety of the hairdresser and the consumer. These include the pre-booking appointments, temperature checks upon entry, sanitization of surfaces, regular washing of hands by staff, contactless and digital payments, sterilisation of tools before and after service, availability of sanitizers and clean masks and gloves worn by the staff," says Melroy. 

He adds that the salons have also introduced 'express services' to ensure that the customer has to spend minimum time in the salon for the service they are availing. The express service version is just a condensed version of the service of your choice that helps you get the desired result but in lesser time. 

The Zero-Touch Facial

While hair care services may have seen a surge, people are still iffy about skin pampering sessions. So, to combat their apprehensions, many salons have introduced a new version of the good ol' facials.

The Zero-Touch Facial launched in Ikonic Salons is a safety protocol that ensures that the beautician doesn’t touch your skin with her bare hands. The exact service is delivered with the same efficiency by using the professional tools and techniques by Cheryl’s Cosmeceuticals— disposable gloves and a mask, and special sanitized tools for advanced exfoliation and radiant skin. The safety kits by the brand also include disposable bed sheets, shower caps and bed gowns to make the facial service hygienic and safe.

“We have also been adapting to change with new introductions such as the zero-touch facial to ensure we can provide the same skin service while taking all precautionary measures. While we were initially worried if they would return to our salon post the health crisis, it has been a few days since we have been open and are slowly seeing them come in for basic cleanups and exfoliation facials. We look forward to welcoming our clients back,” Kamal Kapoor, owner of Ikonic Salons, New Delhi.

Low-Contact Waxing

At-home salon service provider, Urbanclap Company has also come up with an innovative low-contact solution to hair-removal process. The 'Roll-On Waxing' entails the beauty technician equipped with a PPE kit — disposable, masks, gloves, shoe covers and even face shield (!) sanitising the tools in front of you before beginning the service. The roll-on device is used to spread the wax on your skin and then the technician uses a disposable strip to pull out the hair.    

Virtual Skin Diagnosis

While pre-booking appointments and digital pre-payments are the norm now, to minimize contact, many salons are also recommending that you opt for a virtual consultation session via phone with your beautician prior to visiting the salon. In case your work schedule doesn’t permit it, you can always have your technician diagnose your skin using the Cheryl’s Cosmeceuticals Skin Scan App from a safe distance to help her recommend the perfect treatment your skin needs.