Beaufort County salons, shops make over the beauty business in a post-COVID world

Now that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended lifting mask and social-distancing requirements, local beauty businesses are emerging from a Covid-19 slumber.

Owners were forced to give a self-makeover to their day-to-day operating procedures. They adapted higher levels of safety and sanitation protocols, re-arranged the footprint of stations to allow more distance between clients and found enough staff to meet the demand of the super busy return to full capacity. Of course, lives come first, but livelihoods matter.

Nationwide, traditional salons are struggling to meet the expectations of clients who want to be socially distanced during their appointments. Most likely, that will result in a permanent change in the beauty industry.

Across the Lowcountry, from Beaufort and Okatie to Bluffton and Hilton Head, several business owners are optimistic, and most agreed that many temporary changes are here to stay.

At Ulta Beauty in Bluffton, services manager Suzanne Williams said she runs several departments differently now. Clients are no longer allowed to use sample products at the makeup counter. They must be purchased and returned for a full refund if dissatisfied.

Masks are still encouraged, but not mandatory — except for those having eyebrows shaped or waxed. Lip and chin services are still not permitted. But business seems to be returning to normal, Williams said, and store traffic is way up.

At Main Street on Hilton Head, Color Me Nail Spa owner Justin Nguyen said, “We were very lucky during Covid-19 that we were able to stay in business. It was very tough. Business has improved, and so many great clients have returned. ... We have a very loyal clientele.”

Takiya LaShaune, who operates salons in Beaufort and Bluffton, soon will have a third Lowcountry business. Before Covid-19, she had applied for a $25,000 grant to help expand. When it was approved, she wanted to offer a more private client experience, realizing it would be popular once the pandemic had passed.

The days of salons having stations just a few feet from each other are numbered. Soon, she plans to open Takiya LaShaune Salon Suites on Lady’s Island, with suites available to beauty, barber, health and wellness professionals. Her vision: clients hopping from room to room for multiple services under one roof.

We are slammed with clients, both old and new,” LaShaune said. “And, I am hiring.”

Medical spas and dental practices are exploding with business. I waited until I was fully vaccinated to book an appointment for botox, my first since before Covid-19. Lux Med Spa couldn’t get me in for almost two weeks. I called four other med spas before nabbing an appointment the next day at Pinnacle Plastic Surgery in Bluffton.

At Davis and Wine Dental in Okatie, Dr. Byron Davis noted that his office is “busier than ever post Covid-19.” Safety and sanitation protocols have always been in place, he said, even before the pandemic. But “for almost five months during the pandemic, as an essential business, we only accepted clients with emergency needs. Thankfully, all three of our offices are back up and running at record levels.”

Dennis Stokely is a Bluffton-based celebrity hairstylist and contributor to the online magazine LA-Story.com.