What is there to say about the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent quarantine that has yet to be said?
It was a great equalizer, for one. Sylvia Plath once said that few things bring people together like co-vomiting in the back of a taxi. I’m confident that being quarantined from our self-care routines, growing out our grey roots, experiencing anxiety about our split ends and unclean lines, TOGETHER, is certainly included in those few things. The unity experienced in lieu of the usual material rat race cannot be negated.
It took awhile for the initial shock of being completely cut off from the everyday formalities a capitalistic society entails to wear off, of course. A friend in distress wrote to me that he usually gives up something for lent, just not everything he’s ever known. The same friend once expressed to me how much he missed visiting the salon after deciding to take genetic fate into his own hands and rock the bald look. The haircut was great, sure, but what he really missed was talking to his stylist, the relaxing shampoo and the human connections he’d made in the salon over the years. Now that we’ve all experienced being denied human contact, I think his plight can be universally understood.
From the other side of the chair, this goes even deeper. The salon itself is another form of home to us in the industry: we are a family. Over time, our clients become a part of that family and we all create traditions together as our craft connects us. We experienced an indescribable feeling of homesickness after the salon doors closed and we were quarantined in our homes. I speak for all of us when I say how truly grateful we are to be back to work, practicing our passion, our craft and reconnecting with our clients. We are thankful for the lessons on what we took for granted before, to have been reminded of what’s irrevocably important and above all, re-inspired.
As we navigate this uncharted territory together, may we be patient and kind to one another, as well as with ourselves. From all of us at Bond Street Salon, welcome back.
Laura Powers, 2020. Author retains ownership, reuse or reprint by permission only.
