Michigan salons officially able to re-open with restrictions

DOWAGIAC, Mich. -- It’s the day many in Michigan have been waiting for — getting to head back into the salons.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer previously sparked outrage from some due to the delay in reopening salons in the state.

But at Front Street Salon in Dowagiac, they’re actually thankful things were done at a slower pace.

“I do think that Michigan took a lot of precautions and that was appreciated,” said Jackie Riggs, owner of Front Street Salon.

Monday marked re-opening day at the salon, after a stay-at-home order they thought would last just a few weeks went on for months.

“When the first order came that we had to close, the original thought was that it would be a few weeks, we were not expecting three month’s worth of shut down,” said Riggs.

Being so close to the state line, the salon had many clients willing to wait, but did lose some to Indiana and say it was hard seeing other stylists go back to work.

“It didn’t really hurt our business, our loyal clients were definitely ready to get back in our book. But it was frustrating to see people get back to work and do what we love to do as well,” said Riggs.

The governor’s decision to allow salons to re-open came just a week and a half ago, putting Riggs and her staff in a bit of a scramble to get everything ready.

“Making sure we had all of the safety precautions and everything that we needed ordered, and hoping that it would be on time to be able to open today,” said Riggs.

At Front Street Salon, they’re already booked through the second week of July and are not accepting new clients for the time being.

They’re also putting 30-minutes between clients for extra safety measures.

“So that way we have time to sanitize the chairs, sanitize the arm rails, sanitize our station,” said Hailey Robson, Front Street Salon stylist.

Plus — having clients check out at the stylist's station to keep everyone in their own area.

While some of the precautions will only last for the time being, sanitation is a big part of running a salon, so some of this may become the new normal.

“It’s a big reminder of ‘Hey, they just touched that, you need to go wipe that down,’” said Robson. “I’ve noticed a lot of clients are relaxed in there and thankful for all we’ve been doing.”

Not just hair salons are allowed to re-open Monday, nail and massage salons as well as recycling centers may also.

There is no set date yet on when the entire state will move to phase 5.