A Little Off the Top: Local Beauty Professionals Call for Exemption to Stay Home Order
April 7, 2020 - San Antonio
Salon chairs sit empty inside the normally bustling Lone Star Barbershop. Photo: Lone Star Barbershop Website.
By Luis Vazquez - Staff Writer, San Antonio Sentinel
Gerald Castilleja in his barber shop. Photo by Luis Vazquez.
The sign outside Lone Star Barbershop off Bandera Road on the city’s far Westside reads “closed.” Inside, owner Gerald Castilleja says things look even bleaker. “I’m doing worse than when I first opened the business,” he says while leaning on one of his many empty barber chairs. Being closed for the last few weeks has Castillejas worried not only about his well-being, but also that of his staff who “all have mortgages and bills to pay.”
With no money coming in and the April rent looming, Castilleja feels like it’s time for local governments to refine their “non-essential business” policies with guidelines that would hopefully exempt barber shops and other similar outfits since beauty workers have more control over the sanitation of their environment than other businesses currently deemed non-essential. He hopes that a revised order would allow his shop to remain open even though it may mean abiding by stricter government guidelines.
Paulina Hubbard, a lash technician, echoed many of Castilleja’s sentiments. She noted how even before the COVID-19 crisis, she was required to sanitize every surface regularly with barbicide wipes to ensure that the shop remained hygienic. Her business has always been by appointment only, so if she had the opportunity to continue, she feels she could take extra precautions to make sure her clients are safe in accordance with City and County mandates.
RELATED: Mayor Threatens to Shut Down Businesses That Continue to Violate Stay Home, Work Safe Order
SILVER LININGS
Well tapered. Barber Jason Garland trims a customer’s hair before the COVID-19 crisis. Photo: Luis Vazquez.
Despite these setbacks, many see the unexpected time off as a welcome reprieve from the usual workday grind. Barber Jason Garland, who has worked for over 14 years in the San Antonio area, noted that he hasn’t had a vacation in years and is taking this time to focus on some previously sidelined projects. Describing some recent health struggles, Castilleja added that this time off made dealing with those issues a little easier. Hubbard stated that she now has more time to spend with her children.
For many Texans, the silver linings may be running low, as Governor Greg Abbott recently amended the executive order for business closures to extend through April 30th, and said in a March 31 press conference that it could last until June.
RELATED: Gov. Abbott Extends Social Distancing Through April; Texas Schools Closed Until May 4
Tough times may lie ahead for the close to 3,000 licensed barber shops and beauty salons in San Antonio. Many beauty professionals agree with the City’s aggressive stance to combat the COVID-19 virus, but also feel it may be time to start amending some of these policies to allow beauty shops to stay open amid stricter operating guidelines.
As it stands, Castilleja says his industry may never be the same and feels that from now on, whether or not the guidelines are amended, beauty workers will undoubtedly be placing an increased emphasis on their already-strict sanitation procedures. Those interviewed argued that if the current policies were not amended, it would spell financial turmoil for thousands of local beauty workers and may spur the growth of grey-market salons as industry professionals may continue to service clients in their homes, where sanitary conditions may be subpar and may undermine the policies that are meant to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Luis Vazquez is a staff writer at the San Antonio Sentinel. He can be reached at luis@sasentinel.com.