Czar Salon Spa Reopens In Limited Capacity With Safety Measures

BOLINGBROOK, IL — As local businesses reopened May 29, a salon in Bolingbrook also opened its door after almost three months, with strict guidelines for guests and employees in an attempt to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Czar Salon Spa closed on March 18 and owner Evonne Rutz said she is "grateful we are reopening."

"To finally get to open feels like a huge weight has been lifted off our chests," she said.

Rutz said due to the economic hardships caused by the pandemic, she had to lay off workers from all four of her locations and now, she has been able to get 90 percent of them employed again.

"Anyone we lost was due to relocation. We kept in close contact with everyone while we were closed through Zoom team meetings," she said. "Communication was so vital to helping our team understand what we were doing to keep them safe and to stay consistent, so they can keep our guests safe in our environment."

To prepare various kids of businesses, the Illinois Department of Commerce released detailed guidelines on how to ensure safety during these times.

According to the personal care guideline, salons and barbershops can resume services but in limited capacity.

• Services which can be performed while customer and employee are wearing a face covering
• over their nose and mouth
• If services require customer to remove his or her mask, employee must wear both a face mask and eye protection (e.g., face shield, protective glasses)
• Use of hair dryers and blow dry services are allowed

"The week prior to our reopening date, we arranged our team in split shifts for several hours a day for a few days to role-play and address any questions or concerns they may have moving forward.," she said.

She said prior to entry, all employees and guests must complete a health-screening survey to confirm they're healthy and are subject to touch-less temperature checks to ensure everyone in the building is fever-free.

"We require our staff and guests to wear a mask during their time in the building," Rutz said. "Styling stations, spa rooms, tools, touch points, and contact areas are frequently sanitized with a medical-grade sanitizing solution before and after every guest."

According to the salon website, there are a few things clients need to be mindful of:

• The artists and therapists are working on a very limited schedule between June 5-20.
• A specific service provider has new hours and may even be working at a different location.
• Individual or state circumstances could change, and out of an abundance of caution scheduling is only being done through June 20 at this time.
• If you colored your hair without us, it's okay. However, we'll need to know what you've been up to as this may affect the duration of your appointment. It is important to be candid with us upon scheduling.
• Certain services such as hand treatments, grooming services, more will be postponed until June 20.

Rutz said as of now only the staff and those with an appointment will be allowed inside the salon. For retail shoppers, she has made curbside pickup available, so they do not need to enter.

"We have cut our capacity by more than 50 percent," she said. "Our stylists are not double-booking guests at this time, so every appointment is on a one-on-one basis. To maintain 6 feet between guests, we have limited the amount of in-use stations."