LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — March 17, 2020, five years ago from Monday, Southern Nevada shut down. Then-Gov. Steve Sisolak ordered to close all non-essential businesses — including all salons — due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Adapting to a new norm: How these salons operate in a post-pandemic Las Vegas
“I found out the day it happened and was told I had to close down my business immediately,” said co-owner Davyo Thompson, who is a co-owner at Curl Up N Dye Hair Salon on Rainbow Boulevard.
Thompson opened Curl Up N Dye back in 1990 as a break from the traditional hair salon with a unique edgy aesthetic.
“My friends told me it wouldn’t last six months, and now I’m here 35 years later,” Thompson said.
Thompson tells me he did everything he could to survive during the pandemic closures.
“I just went through my savings, my personal savings just to keep the shop open to just live and survive,” Thompson said. “It [pandemic] just cleaned me out basically, I had a car repoed during that and everything.
His shop remained closed for nearly five months. Thompson tells me if the pandemic closures lasted a couple months longer, he may have had to close up shop for good.
Hair and nail technicians at Hottie Hair Salon and Body Spa Salon also faced months long closures.
▶ Watch Post-pandemic: These are the COVID-19 changes we never reversed
Feelings of loss and shock
“12 o’clock comes and shut our doors down, they’re like everybody has to leave right away, so it was definitely a shock,” said Judy Le, a nail technicial at Body Spa Salon.
“That did effect me taking that away from me, being able to giving people their confidence, helping them feel beautiful,” said Crystal Frehner, a co-owner at Hottie Hair Salon & Extension.
“We did feel very lost in a lot of ways during that time because this is what we do, this is our livelihood, this is everything for us,” said Michael Frehner, Crystal's husband and salon co-owner.
However, while the Frehners were unable to help our community during the pandemic closures with their salon, they did help in other ways.
They tell me they contacted the manufacturer who works on their hair extensions and ended up purchasing around $20,000 worth of medical-grade face masks. The couple then donated them to local hospitals and healthcare facilities to make sure they did not face a mask shortage during that time.
Almost eight weeks later, the closures were lifted. Many salons reported seeing a boom in business with people wanting to get pampered.
“There was quite a surge initially and that surge probably happened for about a good year,” Michael said.
Business eventually leveled off, so Hottie Hair adapted, extending its reach to tourists and doing more community outreach.
“To help with people who are suffering from alopecia, baldness, hair loss, things like that,” Crystal said.
Despite their efforts, pre-pandemic levels of business still have never returned for all these salons.
"During that time I did lose a lot of clients, some people moved away to be with their other families, some people passed away, so it's a very tragic time,” Le said.
All three of these salons are still open for business, they even hope to expand although they say they still feel the effects of the pandemic all these years later.
▶ Looking Back Business owners remember COVID-19 shutdowns on 4-year anniversary of the order
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