Coronavirus puts extra strain on Beaufort Co. tattoo artists, hair stylists
One of the niche effects of the coronavirus pandemic in Beaufort County is hair salons waiting much longer to get hair dyes from Europe.
Christine Spado, owner of Shear Miracle on Hilton Head Island, said dyes aren’t being shipped to the United States quickly amid COVID-19 supply chain disruptions.
“They used to come in within 48 hours,” Spado said of color products. “Now we have to wait.”
That’s one of several unique challenges close-contact businesses have faced over the last month while grappling with the Lowcountry’s coronavirus outbreak.
Gov. Henry McMaster allowed close-contact businesses to reopen May 18 in South Carolina, and since then hair salons, tattoo parlors, tanning studios, gyms, spas and other similar stores have been trying to prevent the spread of the deadly pathogen as they welcome customers back to a “new normal.”
The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette recently spoke with several close-contact businesses about how COVID-19 has impacted their operations and the new precautions they’ve taken since McMaster told them to temporarily close in late March.
This is what they had to say.
Hair salons slammed
Spado keeps her shop off Palmetto Bay Road at 50% capacity, allowing only nine people in at a time. Employees take their temperatures before work, and she keeps the door open during the day so no one has to touch it. They disinfect almost everything inside.
Customers can’t linger in the shop and have to make an appointment beforehand. They must also pass a temperature check before getting a haircut, she said.
At first, people were coming into the salon with 100-degree temperatures after sitting out in their cars. They didn’t actually have fevers.
Just one man with a fever had to be turned away since the salon reopened May 18, Spado added.
The salon has given masks to customers if they want them, she said. Employees also provide hand sanitizer.
“It’s costing us about $3 per person to step up the safety standards,” Spado said.
That makes it difficult to bounce back from losses in March and April, she said, but the place has kept busy and is booked until July, with about 32 customers scheduled each week at half-capacity.
“I can’t catch up,” she said. “It’s been hectic. We are not slowing down.”
Meanwhile, Tracee Spencer, owner of Salon Artistry on Hilton Head Island, said she hopes the recent spike in COVID-19 cases won’t lead to more state restrictions.
“I hope to God that doesn’t mean another shutdown,” she said.
Coronavirus cases have been surging around South Carolina and in the Lowcountry over the past few weeks. Beaufort County reported its highest seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases Wednesday.
Spencer said some clients have rescheduled appointments recently, worried about the rising numbers.
Overall, though, she said customers are happy with the shop’s additional safety measures, like maintaining 50% capacity. Her salon is near Jarvis Creek Park.
A quiet June for tanning salons
It’s been a slow month at the Electric Beach tanning salon on Hilton Head Island, said owner Donn Walling.
“We’re not shoulder to shoulder, nor have we been,” he said.
The summer usually isn’t busy, with the sun blazing and the beaches packed, Walling said. But this June has been particularly quiet.
He expects a slow recovery. There was a surge of regular customers on Arrow Road right after the reopening, but that’s it.
“You’ve lost at least 25% of the norm,” Walling said. “It could be much worse. We’ve cut the hours down, as well as the number of people allowed in one time.”
He tries to maintain 50% capacity with his eight tanning units and cleans everything twice. The shop’s hours are noon to 5 p.m. now. They used to be 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
People will inevitably go out less in the years ahead, Walling said, adding that he doesn’t think business will ever be the same again.
The possibility of a second wave of coronavirus infections this fall is frightening, said Stephany Voss, owner of Bluffton Bronze, which is just off U.S. 278.
If that happens, she’ll probably shut down again.
“It’s a lot more stressful than my job normally is,” she said. “The worry of keeping your clients safe.”
Business has been slower, she said, but it hasn’t stopped. She staggers appointments to give herself more time to clean and provides clients with hand sanitizer. She wears a mask, but can’t force others to.
The spring is usually her peak tanning season, as people start to break out summer clothing. All of that evaporated this year, though.
“I’m going to be open for as long as I can afford the rent,” she said. “I think I’ll be OK ... I think I’ll be fine.”
‘Almost overwhelming’
Martin Guzman, lead artist at Sugar Shack Canvas & Ink, said people flooded the tattoo parlor after it reopened.
“It’s almost overwhelming,” he said.
Customers apparently had more time to think about what tattoos they really wanted, he said. The shutdown was “kind of a good thing,” at least in that way. On a busy day in the past month, roughly seven to eight people typically stopped by, he said.
Losing spring break hurt, though, along with fans at the annual RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing.
He said the artists check their temperatures every day now and also screen clients. Only one tattoo is done at a time. And employees wear masks and new protective arm sleeves.
If someone has a fever, they’re asked to leave the parlor, which is near the S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles building in Bluffton.
“If they’re sick, they’re just not going to get tattooed,” he said. Guzman said they’ve had no issues with coronavirus infections at the parlor.
The staff has made only a few adjustments, he said, considering how serious they are about sterilization under normal S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control regulations.
Close to normal
Supply chain issues made it difficult for The Indigo Spa to get personal protective equipment and other cleaning materials it needed last month, said Jessica Brantley, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Hilton Head Health on Valencia Road.
Those issues were eventually worked out, Brantley said. The spa, which is part of the resort, reopened a few weeks after May 18. Staff needed time to prepare, Brantley said.
The resort had to order hand sanitizer, Lysol, spray bottles and thermometers — guests at the spa have their temperatures checked.
The spa isn’t doing facials, but it’s still doing massages and body treatments. If guests want staff to wear gloves, they will.
“It’s weird to see people and try to avoid them, keep the separation. … It kind of goes against our culture,” Brantley said.
Business picked up faster than they thought it would, she said. With capacity limited to 40 guests or less, the resort’s first two weeks were booked.
Myranda McAfee, general manager of LAVA 24 Fitness, which is close to Shelter Cove, said it’s been a normal June at the gym, for the most part.
They’ve closed the showers, limited capacity by blocking off every other piece of cardio equipment and require temperature checks at the door.
Employees clean the facility every hour when on shift, she said, and the gym has added a virtual membership option. More young people have been using the gym, she added.
No one has been upset about the precautions, she said, and they’ve had no issues with COVID-19-positive employees or gym members.
“We’re doing the best that we can,” McAfee said.
This story was originally published June 25, 2020 at 2:45 PM with the headline "Coronavirus puts extra strain on Beaufort Co. tattoo artists, hair stylists."
