Hair care and beauty teams have had to rapidly adapt to an online-only presence to help salon owners and stylists keep their businesses afloat. Bumble and Bumble launched an Instagram Live show on its @bumblepro page for lifestyle and hairstyle tips to help their clients cope at home, as well as a Stylist Spotlight series to draw attention to its hairdressers. They also began selling their products directly on Instagram for the first time on March 30.

Small businesses have also had to get creative to keep clients engaged and at ease. Stylist Helen Petty, who owns ChopShop and ChopShop East in St Louis, Missouri, is one of the thousands of small business owners across the city who were ordered to close their doors temporarily as a “non-essential business” during the city and countywide stay-at-home order.

She tells the Post that most of her stylists have been doing porch drop-offs of basic, salon-grade hair colour kits to clients who are desperate to touch up their grey roots at home. These include sanitised containers, as well as a bowl, brush, instructions, and an invitation to FaceTime stylists for a walk-through.

Petty has been directing her clients – especially those with short hairstyles that need a lot of maintenance – to YouTube tutorials and hairstyle ideas for managing the time between cuts, but also suggesting they try to take a step back and be OK with what's happening.

“Now is an awesome time honestly to give your hair a break, especially if you heat style it all the time,” she said. “Just let it go, let it air dry, maybe you'll like the way it looks, and maybe you'll figure out a way to build it into your day-to-day look when you go back to work and ’normal’ life.”

The Glam Room’s Lauren Cooper is encouraging her clients to support their stylists by sharing their posts on social media, and buying gift cards to put towards visits when they reopen. Cooper normally runs her business out of the temporarily closed Salon Lofts, which operates locations across the US. Now, she's spending her time at home doing porch deliveries of complimentary hair and self care products for clients who buy gift cards and filling her Instagram and Facebook feeds with advice for self care at home.

“Do what makes you feel good,” Cooper tells her clients. “Still do your hair and make-up if you’re working from home – it will boost your confidence, and when you’re confident you perform better.”

“There are lots of things you can do from home to still keep up with your beauty,” she adds. “Use this time to clean your make-up brushes, practise a new make-up look, mask your hair, and take care of your skin. I believe if you start these habits now it will only elevate and boost the beauty industry at the end of this.”

Catherine Colin of Catherine de France in Beijing told the Post that she is only taking two clients at a time, and both her hairdressers and clients are required to wear masks during their appointments. Clients are also asked to take their temperature before they start their session to ensure they don't have symptoms.

“The peak of Covid-19 in China was after Chinese New Year, when many of our staff members were back in their hometowns and because of restrictions, not everyone could come back to work,” she said. Her salon was only allowed to reopen on February 10 – at that time, they made the decision to only allow clients who had already booked appointments. “We had to make new schedules and new rules, but I think we did pretty well. We have a good team spirit and we support each other during hard times.”

Colin says she’s worried about how business will fare for the remainder of the year. “There were more or less no clients until February 24,” she said. “The Chinese government suspended the social security [payments] until June, and our landlord gave us three months rent at 50 per cent, but I’ve had no other help for salary wages. We hope to get a bit more help. It will be a very difficult year to come, as up until now, the activity is still 50 per cent less [than usual].”

Another Beijing-based hair stylist, Jaxx Yuen, hopes things will turn around for his business by May. “People here are still afraid and trying not to go out yet – especially those who have kids at home.”

His salon, which normally practises strict hygiene guidelines, is going above and beyond to clean and disinfect surfaces twice daily. His clients need to have been quarantined and symptom-free for 14 days, receive a temperature check when entering the salon, and wear masks during their appointment, according to official government guidance. He also suggests they wear eye protection and gloves when they go out. Yuen say the measures have been a no-brainer for him and his staff. “I experienced Sars,” he said. “Everyone entered epidemic prevention mode very quickly.”

For those around the world still unsure whether to book that appointment, or under mandatory shelter in place orders, Colin and Cooper are pleading with consumers to follow two pieces of advice: stay at home, and don’t touch that box dye, which could cause permanent damage and hundreds of dollars to repair.

“Support your local stylist by waiting – stylists are people pleasers by nature,” Cooper said. “We want to make our clients happy – that being said we are doing everything to accommodate our clients when we are able to return to work … If you need a cut, try styling your hair differently for the time being. Cover your roots with a hat. You will likely regret it if you take matters into your own hands.”