Chicago salons see spike in business — and fix the odd DIY haircut ‘oops’ — as people ditch pajamas for pedicures and blowouts
Sherry Holland, of Lansing, recently visited a nail technician on Chicago’s South Side for a manicure and pedicure for the first time in months.
Holland, 45, avoided visiting crowded nail salons last year because she didn’t want to risk getting the coronavirus and infecting her 100-year-old grandmother, whom she frequently visits. But the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine has made her more comfortable venturing out.
Holland, who would often get a monthly pedicure before the pandemic, requested a softening pedicure for her heels in time to wear open-toe shoes for the season. She was so impressed with the service, Holland said she rushed home to tell her wife about it.
“You have to feel my heels, I told her, because I never felt my heels feel so good,” Holland said. “She (her wife) even asked me if I could book her an appointment.”
After more than a year of staying home, many Chicago-area residents are returning to hair salons, barbershops, nail salons and massage therapists to freshen their look — and fix the occasional “oops” haircut.
The increase in demand is a welcome change for an industry that has faced difficult restrictions during the pandemic. Capacity at beauty salons in Chicago is limited to 50%.
As people begin venturing out for social engagements and vacations, customers are requesting more services, like highlights, manicures, pedicures, waxes and facials, salon owners said. Some are using the latest round of federal stimulus payments to foot the bill.
But the DIY, or do-it-yourself, haircuts of the pandemic have presented a challenge for salons, which often have to treat or fix botched at-home projects.
“One guy who came in told me he cut his hair by himself, and the back side — there was a bald spot,” said Ana Sims, manager at Mirror Mirror Salon and Spa. “There wasn’t much I could do to fix it, so we had to trim all of his hair and let it grow out again.”
The salon, in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood, is almost completely booked for the next month. In addition to haircuts, Mirror Mirror has seen an increase in demand for bikini waxes as the newly vaccinated plan vacations to warmer climates after more than a year being stuck at home in pajamas, Sims said.
At Cosmos The Salon, in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, stylist Gilberto Castro increased the number of clients he serves to two at a time from just one after customers told him they felt more at ease going out again without the worry of getting infected.
“People who hadn’t visited us in over a year felt like, ‘This is what I was waiting for — the vaccine. So that I can go out and do my routine,’” said Erandi Tovar, who co-owns Cosmos with Castro.
The occasional job seeker has come in to get a trim to look presentable for a virtual interview, Castro said.
“I saw that a few of my guy clients, taking the opportunity to get a haircut for interviews,” he said. “It was nice because they were using their stimulus money to get jobs.”
More than one customer felt their pandemic hair had gone too far.
Nuvia Yesenia, of Oak Park, hadn’t had her hair cut in more than five years. She had plans to visit a hair salon last year in March, but was hesitant because of the pandemic.
Her hair had grown too long and she had split ends, Yesenia said. She is diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, which causes her hair to thin. She wanted a hair salon that could treat her hair, and visited Cosmos last month.
“I had my hair blow-dried,” Yesenia said. “I felt like a diva.”
Nail technician Ericka Jo Johnson operates Shine Nail Lab, a small private space in Chicago’s Stoney Island neighborhood where she provides training workshops to Black nail technicians and serves a few clients per day. She has seen a flurry of business since last month as several people plan trips and make fancy dinner reservations.
Delonda Nelson, who has been getting fake nails since she was a teenager, recently had her first post-pandemic manicure and pedicure with Johnson.
“For some people, it’s clothes or shoes that define them,” said Nelson, of Chicago’s Ashburn neighborhood. “My nails define me.”
One unexpected benefit of being forced to wait months during the pandemic before getting a manicure? It gave some people a chance to heal their nails, Johnson said.
“Sometimes you get them done too much and then they get damaged,” she said.
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