LEXINGTON, Ky. — The pandemic has put stress on many small businesses and employees in the commonwealth. One hair dresser in Lexington has created her own hair salon during the pandemic and has faced a few challenges along the way.
What You Need To Know
- In the middle of a pandemic marked by closing businesses, one Lexington hairstylist stands out
- Samantha Martha just opened her own salon in downtown Lexington
- She said it would help her de-stress, but it has come with its own challenges
After the first shutdown, Samantha Martha said the stress was too much working in a salon with other employees and figuring out how they we’re going to work.
That’s why she is now renting her own space Downtown so that the only person she needs to worry about if another shutdown happens, is herself.
“I just gotta worry about myself now, which, if I get shut down and I'm alone, that's a whole different ballpark in a whole different stress than having to deal with co workers and where there are bills to pay and there's a whole staff to support,” Martha said.
With COVID-19 restrictions, many things have changed within the beauty industry. Only one person is allowed in a chair at a time — meaning no friend groups, bridal parties, or mother/daughter duos.
"I can’t offer clients beverages, mother daughter duo, so something that was once very social has now turned into something that's very isolated,” Martha said.
Another challenge the beauty industry is facing right now is pursuing in-person beauty education. She said with the shutdown there are many restrictions and getting into classes can be difficult.
“During the pandemic is continued education advanced education, you can only learn so much here, via video. Classes are slowly starting to come back in person but they're extremely restricted so it's very hard to get into,” Martha said.