Ever since March of 2020, many businesses have taken a massive hit due to the pandemic. From movie theatres to clothing stores to hair salons and nail salons, everyone was struggling. There were issues with lack of business, shortages, government-mandated closures, and even struggles with the supply chain. The pandemic causing quarantine throughout the world made it hard for businesses to thrive, with the lack of customers. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) studied almost 6,000 small businesses and how the pandemic impacted them. This study took place between March and April of 2020. There were many themes found from this study, two of them being mass layoffs and closures of the businesses.
These issues arose just weeks after the pandemic struck. According to the survey “Across the full sample, 43% of businesses had temporarily closed, and nearly all of these closures were due to COVID-19. Respondents that had temporarily closed largely pointed to reductions in demand and employee health concerns as the reasons for the closure, with disruptions in the supply chain being less of a factor. On average, the businesses reported having reduced their active employment by 39% since January” (Bartik PNAS). This was a terrifying time for all businesses, but the hair industry, in general, took a massive hit. According to bls.gov, “Forty-eight percent of establishments in arts, entertainment, and recreation, employing 1.6 million workers, experienced a government-mandated closure during the coronavirus pandemic. This was the highest rate of government-mandated closures of any industry” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
According to the University of Houston, the pandemic has been the greatest challenge to the United States since World War II. It is hard to wrap your head around the fact that this pandemic was just as detrimental to our economy as World War II. This study also found that one-third of stylists believed that it was not safe to stay open during the prime of the pandemic, but they had to reopen due to economic reasons; they thought they had no choice but to open. Unfortunately, the stimulus checks and government aid can only help for so long. Many stylists did not want to open back up, they tried to do what was best for our country, trying to stay home as much as possible and keep the COVID numbers low, but without having an income, this became impossible.
It may not seem as important to some as it is to others, but closed hair salons can affect a person’s day-to-day life. Self-care can help with everyday stresses and anxieties, and getting your hair done is one of these things. Of course, self-care plays a significant role in this, but keeping up with your appearance can help with self-esteem. Being happy with how you look or how your hair looks is vital in being able to be your best self. When you look good, you feel good; you can perform better in yo