Our New World With COVID-19

Dear AHP members,

Thank you for reaching out to us over the past few days as COVID-19 escalates. Last week, our conversations circulated around hair stylist and barber hygiene protocols and ensuring safe space for clients. Today, waves of heightened CDC warnings, associated closures, and suspensions are prompting many hair stylists and barbers to temporarily shutter their practices. They want to ensure their safety and that of their clients. We understand and support their decisions. 

It’s always been AHP’s mission to support professionals wherever, however, and whenever they want to manifest their skills. Now is no different. If you’re one of the stylists who has chosen to continue working, make sure you’re doing so with superb professional and hygienic standards and client communication, but understand that we are in a unique time in our country; taking precautions may not be enough. We strongly encourage you to consider taking a hiatus from your practice on a short-term, temporary basis. Given the virulence of the virus and the general sense of fear in the population, you may not have a choice—either by government decree or the reality of vanishing demand.

This time is daunting in several respects. No one knows how long closures, isolations, and suspensions will last, or how long it will take the virus to run its course in the United States, let alone the world.

Through this, please remember your dedication to your profession and your clients; now is the time to practice physical and mental self-care. Remain positive and informed to the best of your ability. Reflect on the good work you’ve done. Hold close your success stories. Give yourself space and time to work on your practice wish list. During your self-distancing, take advantage of the online education that’s part of your AHP membership. Check out Roots and hold virtual meetings. Revamp your dream list for marketing your practice. Recall what drew you to the profession and what you love about it. When this coronavirus veil lifts, your clients will need your expert hair care services more than ever.

Do your best to avoid panic at this point. Focus on the things you can change: your actions, decisions, and responses. Focus on the things you have control over.

As states and the nation trigger emergency operations, understand that those decisions make way for key funding for maintenance and recovery initiatives. It’s too early to know how individual business owners will be able to access that funding, but stay tuned to your state and county departments of public health websites for evolving information and, of course, the US Centers for Disease Control (www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html).

AHP will continue to update our members about ways they can take advantage of any relief opportunities created in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, and, as always, we will continue to offer excellent service to our members.

Les Sweeney
President
 

If you have ideas for ways that the profession can support our community and one another during this time, please share them with us at info@associatedhairprofessionals.com. We’d love to hear from you.
 

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND RESOURCES, PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR UPDATES PAGE, "BACK TO PRACTICE GUIDE FOR HAIR PROFESSIONALS" TO LEARN MORE.