COVINGTON, Ky. — Caitie Mix and her business partners spent the weekend talking to their 16 employees about returning to work.
Greenline Salon, on West Sixth Street in Covington, can reopen as soon as May 25, according to Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear's "Healthy at Work" plan.
"Everybody's anxious to get back to work; they want to see their clients," said Mix. "There is fear and excitement. That's really just the best way to summarize how everybody feels."
Though the salon has been closed during the stay-at-home order, it found a way to help some clients. Now, Mix says, it could be a blueprint for future services.
About 40 clients have received a curbside pickup hair color kit from the salon. It includes a brush, bowl, gloves, the client's tailored color mix, and instructions on how to apply the color. Then, the salon emails them a video link to a demonstration.
It was inspired by a story Mix saw out of New Jersey, where a salon had success with a similar kit. She said the salon will continue offering the kits -- and some alternative services -- for at least the next several months. That could include an express color service, during which a client shampoos the color out at home, to limit people's time in the salon.
"Some clients are immuno-suppressed so they might not be so anxious to jump back in, even to a ten-or-less person setting," Mix said. "We're really looking at, what brings people in the door? What will keep them from coming back? What will make them feel comfortable? How can we service them in the future?"
The at-home kits aren't available for every client, though. Some color mixtures are too complicated or stand too much chance for failure, Mix said.
