The hair industry is among those severely impacted by the public health crisis and stringent social distancing procedures.
According to a report done by Business Insider, many businesses including hair salons have been forced to add surcharges to their fees to maintain overhead costs because many establishments have had to cut their customer capacity by half.
“The cost of reopening includes all the extra supplies that we need and all the cleaning supplies that we need,” Rachel Gower, owner of Houston-based Upper Hand Salon, said to local news station KTRK.
While many hair salon owners are adjusting to the new reality brought by the public health crisis, they have also had to find creative new ways to stay afloat as hairstylists count as freelancers who often are not eligible for unemployment benefits and rely heavily on customer tips.
Diishan Imira, CEO of Mayvenn Hair Extensions, decided to offer those in need help by starting a GoFundMe campaign to help hairstylists struggling with their expenses amid the public health crisis.