Among the many businesses across the state getting back to work this week, barbers and hair stylists are doing so with particularly stringent precautions.

Cutting and styling hair is one of the few non-essential services that brings clients and staff into direct physical contact. Three local salon owners told The Record they’re working under a lot of tension to keep their customers healthy while surviving as a business.

Rhonda Wallace, owner of Abracadabra Salon and Spa in Warrenton, said it’s been extremely stressful to be shut down for a month, and then reopen to an uncertain financial future.

“Up until a few days ago, we didn’t get a single penny from anywhere. I was extremely worried if I would be able to reopen or not,” Wallace said.

To operate, stylists and clients are being asked to wear face masks at all times (a challenge when getting your hair cut), and to take many additional hygiene precautions in order to be in close proximity to one another. Wallace and other salon owners told The Record they’re restricting clients to appointment only, and sanitizing their work spaces after every appointment.

Wallace is concerned for what will happen if she or a client contracts COVID-19. She thinks it’s too soon after the outbreak of the disease for hair salons to reopen.

But at the same time, Wallace said every salon is under pressure from constant competition, so Abracadabra has to reluctantly open its doors or risk losing its longtime customers.

Still, she said it’s good to see customers again who are a big part of her life.

“I’m definitely going to try not to base all the conversation on COVID. I’m going to try to go into the positive,” Wallace commented. “I actually changed my curtains, my decor ... so that everything’s brighter and happy.”

Tina Lashley of Our Hair Salon in Wright City said financial challenges will continue for her business as long as the COVID-19 threat looms. Our Hair is currently only accepting one client at a time, and has a five-week backlog, Lashley said.

She also estimated that appointments are taking twice as long because of extra cleaning afterward. All of that together means the salon is operating on very limited income.

Lashley said she hasn’t applied for a small business loan because she doesn’t think it is right for her business. She was grateful that the owner of her building agreed to spread April and May’s rent across the remainder of her lease, rather than asking for payment while the salon wasn’t open.

If salons continue to operate under restrictions that limit how many customers they can serve in a day, Lashley predicted salons will either have to raise their prices or risk going out of business.

Kwrina Michelson, of Ultimate Hair in Warrenton, said her salon is working with a slightly larger staff than others, but is taking the same precautions around personal protective equipment and sanitizing after every client.

Michelson said their business applied for financial aid, but they don’t know if they’ll receive it. Prior to reopening, staff at the salon were drawing unemployment, she said. The same was true of other salons The Record spoke to as well.

Ultimate Hair employs a total of eight people, although they’re not all in the salon at once, Michelson said. One other staff member decided not to return to work over concerns about COVID-19, she added.

Not having any revenue and not being able to see clients that they’re close to has been hard on the salon, Michelson commented.

“We’ve been in business 32 years. ... We’re so used to seeing people, they’re like your family,” Michelson said. “I’m glad it wasn’t any longer. I don’t think we would have been able to stay open.”