Upper Cumberland Salons During Mandate

Countless industries have found workarounds during the pandemic. The salon industry has not had that ability.

Cookeville stylist Debbie Fletcher said the future doesn’t look promising.

“It’s gone to absolutely zero,” Fletcher said. “[We’re a] thriving business, hitting all kind of goals with 16 employees and nobody has any income. We did try to do the social distancing for a day or two, but it was a really really hard strain the last few days we were trying to stay open.”

The salon’s staff aren’t eligible for unemployment despite being W-2 employees. Fletcher said they will continue to follow CDC guidelines once the doors open again.

Stylist Brittany Fletcher-Elmore said they hope to extend hours to gain back revenue.

“We’ve been doing a lot of things on social media, campaigning for ‘thank you’s’ to our guests that are waiting on us and aren’t trying to go get their hair done at home where they shouldn’t be getting it done. We’ve had a ton of people reaching out with response to that and wanting to book as soon as we get the go ahead.”

Crossville stylist Kelly Hamby said her salon has closed since March 16.

“Our industry has changed forever,” Hamby said. “With Cannon, it’s going to change everything just the dynamic is going to be different. Of course, we’ve always sanitized and kept everything clean but now it’s going to be to the extreme. Even when we do get back to work it’s going to be different.”

During her 20 years of experience, she’s never seen anything like this. Hamby said when her salon opens again they will gradually allow one appointment with one stylist to maintain safety.

Hamby said she expects a lot of clients who have colored, shaved, or damaged their hair while in quarantine.

“We know what we’re doing,” Hamby said. “We keep a list of items that we use on their hair and it’s kinda like a story of their hair. From the time they walk in we keep up with that. If they are not in the salon and they’re putting boxed color in their hair, their story is ruined and we have to start over from scratch, and that can be very expensive.”

All stylists plan to carefully place safety precautions for the health of their staff and clients when the mandate expires.

The Fletchers co-own My Father’s Mustache, and Hamby owns Loose Cannon.