Francesca. The hair stylist.
If you have been fretting about those gray roots this past month during quarantine, don’t. Remember, we are in this together.
“Just let your roots come in, we will take care of it,” said Francesca, a temporarily unemployed hairstylist. “We all have roots now. No one is going to go back to work and say, ‘Look how gray you are.’”
Her advice: Walk away from at-home dye kits. At most, see if you can get your hands on some root touch-up spray. Francesca knows hair is important to people. Doing hair has been her life’s work for the past six years, so it is important to her too.
Who knows, gray roots may become the new hair trend of 2020. Ombré hair became popular as a result of the Great Recession, as it enabled less frequent trips to the salon between coloring treatments. Maybe when this pandemic is over, our collective gray roots will be a sign of solidarity, a symbol that we have lived through the largest health scare and devastating economic crisis of a generation.
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT
The Chicago hair salon Francesca works at has been closed for over a month. It temporarily shut its doors shortly before Illinois’ shelter-in-place order took effect in mid-March. For Francesca, that meant no clients and no pay for an unknown length of time.
“It was terrifying,” she admits. “A third of my living comes from tips...If you aren’t behind your chair, you are not making money.”
Yet it was also scary being at work in those final weeks before the salon closed. Doing hair requires Francesca to come in close contact with her clients, sometimes just inches from their face. She was washing her hands more than 20 times a day — so often that she had open sores on her hands and developed contact dermatitis, a red, itchy and often uncomfortable skin rash caused by irritants such as soap or perfume.
“The last week I worked, every day I was going in with a stomach ache,” she said.
Francesca was not only concerned about a client spreading Coronavirus, she was worried she could be the source. Her husband works in a hospital, and she feared she could be carrying the disease with her to the salon, infecting clients and coworkers.
Francesca said she is grateful her bosses made the decision ultimately to shut down when they did to protect her and her coworkers’ health. Not making money would be scary, yes, but when the salon closed, Francesca said she felt a wave of relief that she no longer had to put herself and others at risk.
“It was very 50/50 ‘Oh, shit’ but ‘Oh, thank god,” she said.
CLIENTS GIVING BACK
Hair stylists are therapists and magicians. You sit in their chair, they make you feel and look beautiful all while listening to you share intimate details of your life. They remember your family members’ names, let you vent about work and remember to ask you about that recent vacation you went on. And without fail, you leave the salon feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.
Francesca loves this work. She has formed close connections with many of her clients and enjoys hearing about their lives. For instance, one of her clients recently adopted a baby, and Francesca wants to hear about this major life milestone, but does not know when she will be able to.
“I miss my job so much, I cannot even explain it,” she said. “I love to talk, it is my favorite thing! I miss talking to people all day. I miss the coworkers. I miss the space itself. I miss physically creating stuff. I miss making my clients feel really good.”
Francesca’s clients have tried to show their appreciation for her during this difficult time. After closing, Francesca’s bosses set up an “online tip jar” on GoFundMe where salon clients could donate to the hairstylists now out of work. The salon’s goal was to raise $5,000 to split between the stylists. They surpassed that goal within three days and bumped it up to $7,500. As of today, nearly 260 people have donated more than $12,000. Clients have also been sending direct donations to Francesca through Venmo. The generosity has been “absolutely overwhelming,” she said.
“To know my clients, the community I have been able to build, and we as a salon have built, we just have the best people,” she said. “We are so lucky. It is incredible”
BACK TO HER CHAIR
Francesca wonders if she will see all her clients again once the salon reopens. She knows as unemployment soars, the salon’s clientele may fall. Social distancing guidelines could also limit the number of people the salon can see each day. It may be hard, too, to meet demand at first for the “avalanche” of people who want to book an appointment after missing months of hair cuts and color.
For those who can afford to come back and are eager to book an appointment, Francesca has one request: “Please be patient with us.”
And remember, your gray roots are not the worst thing that could happen to you right now. We have a pandemic to get through.
LEARN MORE ABOUT FRANCESCA...
WHAT IS YOUR INSPIRATION TO KEEP GOING?
”There is just so much more that is going to be on the other side of this. And I am looking forward to what is on the other side. Let’s push through this so we can get to something better.”
WHAT ARE YOU GRATEFUL FOR AT THIS MOMENT?
“That we are financially OK because so many people are not. We are healthy and stable and we are so lucky.”
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO WHEN THINGS “GET BACK TO NORMAL”?
“OMG Everything! I cannot wait to hug my friends and clients and be with people again. I am a social person by nature, so this is the hardest part. My job is so much more than just doing hair. The love I have for my clients and the relationships that I have with them is so important to me. I just can't wait to give them a big hug and see them.”