Oklahoma Releases Guidelines For Salons, Barbers Looking To Reopen

The state board in charge of licensing and managing Oklahoma’s personal service industry issued guidelines for businesses looking to reopen.

Last week Governor Kevin Stitt announced that salons, barbershops and other businesses would be allowed to open on Friday, April 24. Many local government orders, including Oklahoma City, would allow the businesses to open as soon as May 1.

The Oklahoma Board of Cosmetology and Barbering released a list of requirements and recommendations for staff to follow in order to ensure minimal transmission of COVID-19.

Sherry Lewelling, the board’s executive director, said she hurried to release the guidelines after Stitt’s announcement to help businesses prepare for customers. Lewelling said it’s inevitable for personal service workers to be potentially exposed.

“There is not one service we can do to keep a 6-foot distance. We are face to face, make skin contact,” she said.

The guidelines describe several measures that businesses must take, and some recommendations.

Customers must wait outside the business for their appointment, according to the guidelines, and staff should wear a mask “at all times.”

“Some (people), when they first look (at the guidelines) go 'that's so much.' It's not really,” Lewelling said, adding that several measures centered on sanitation and disinfecting areas were already requirements.

“Those are things (businesses and staff) should already be doing every single day.”

For the latest information on COVID-19 in Oklahoma, visit the state department of health website.