As Seattle prepares for Phase 2, a new normal begins. Robert Leonard Salon on Sixth Avenue plans to open its doors at a 50% occupancy and will implement new safety measures to keep both clients and stylists safe. Face masks will be required in the salon and guests will be asked to sanitize their hands on arrival. In addition, the salon is asking all guests to come alone for appointments and refrain from bringing excessive personal items to their appointment in order to keep the salon environment as safe as possible.

We recently caught up with owner Becca Stordahl to talk about the impacts of COVID-19 on Robert Leonard Salon and what changes the business will make going forward when it re-opens on June 9.

How long has Robert Leonard salon been closed due to COVID-19?

Three months

How has the stay at home order in Washington impacted your salon?

The stay at home order has impacted our salon in the most profound ways. It's interesting to have so much good come from so much turmoil and unknown. We have become even closer thanks to Zoom! Our need for each other has grown we’ve learned things about the immense power of social media and the conversations that can be had with the community by both myself and my staff. The need to reach and correspond with our clients regularly, as we would be doing in the salon, was extremely important to us all, so finding the many ways to accomplish that took some time and effort. We have now changed the entire way we work in the salon but we definitely look forward to returning to some of our old ways. The new restrictions dictate what we can and can’t do when clients eventually return, specifically, we won’t be able to serve wine.

What have you been doing with your time in quarantine?

I have been working a ton! As a stylist, I have never spent so much time on my computer. With that, I had to really learn a lot. I was never super savvy but now I have made and shared spreadsheets, updated our website, created documents to share with staff and clients, and they actually look pretty! I learned what a vector file is. I mean, I am a new woman! When not working, I built 4 raised beds for planting with my husband and now I have them all filled and ready to grow! I also love to cook so that was a pleasure to spend more time on. 

Your team of stylists is like family to you. How have you managed to stay connected during quarantine?

Easy!!! We talk on the phone a ton, we found we really LOVE the app Marco Polo because it’s super fun to send silly videos or take a walk around the garden to show whats popping up or watch someone doing a facial peel. One night we were all on Marco Polo for hours going through each others closets with an emphasis on shoes.... it was amazing!! Oh and we do a zoom happy hour every Friday at 5 which usually lasts about 2 hours. I will miss that, actually.

The COVID-19 crisis has fundamentally changed many businesses in Seattle, and some may never recover. Has Robert Leonard had to postpone any growth plans due to coronavirus?

Our hearts break for the business that won't make it through this. It's difficult to imagine losing everything you have worked so hard for. For us at Robert Leonard, COVID will not postpone our annual growth, but it will significantly slow it down. When we do open on June 9, we will be at 50% occupancy. We understand the reason and it will be a step toward recovery. It is difficult to grow under those parameters. If you are lets say a 4th-year stylist, you are really just building and your referrals are rolling in and you are busier than you have ever been. Now, you can’t take any new clients because today you have no time. In three months, we hope to add 50% more capacity (presumably), but those 5th-year stylists will see their referrals run dry because those clients have now gone to see someone else. So now, those stylist schedules will look more like year 2, instead of year 4. That is where our energies will go this year. Helping those stylists that were on an incredible trajectory get back on it. The rest of the plans will have to wait until our hairdressers are whole again. 

What changes will need to be made at the salon in order to re-open in phase 2?

We went from 16 stations and a 5 person processing bar down to 14 stations total in order to honor the 6-foot distancing rule. We installed plexiglass at the desk and changed our whole retail area to be in compliance with new sanitation requirements. We have also had to temporarily suspend beverage service, client robes, facials, blowdrys, kitchen access to staff, and remove all the magazines and books clients would read while getting their hair done. Our waiting area is a ghost of its former comfort and beauty in the name of safety.

How are the stylists feeling about coming back to work?

Very excited and nervous. We have spent our entire careers preserving and promoting beauty and now we carry an immense privilege to preserve and promote our clients health as well. It is heavy and we take it very seriously. One of the biggest stressors is that we won’t be able to see the entirety of our clientele on day one, or week one, or possibly even by week 5, and that feels pretty awful. We have always done everything we can to serve our clients but now "anything we can do" is just not that much. With the reduced capacity, it will take us a long time to get through our client list. 

What creative things have you had to do in quarantine in order to help clients through this difficult time?

We did weekly color touch-up kits for clients. This was very well received and felt really good to help these women feel a bit more like themselves during such a difficult time. We also got our online store up and running with the help of our distributor Salon Services Northwest. That was fabulous because you can now shop on RL's site and our distributor handles fulfillment so that we can focus on serving clients.

How will the training and education programs at Robert Leonard Salon be impacted by COVID?

Well, our in-house training will be back up and running about a month after we open. We do not want this closure to continue impacting our apprentices. The reason we won't begin right away is because we have the salon separated into two teams to create less crossover in case anyone gets sick. I teach haircutting and my coworker Craig teaches color and we are both on the morning shift so we won't be able to teach the PM crew. This will likely help another teacher emerge, which will be fun.

What is the most important thing people can do at home to care for their hair?

I love to see what clients have come up with at home because this is how trends emerge. I think doing a little bang trim is great and can be super fun! Just do it in small sections in case you make a mistake. Doing regular conditioning treatments and using that time to really relax along with it is another good thing to do at home. I have to caution people from using box color at home. I understand the desperation, but I encourage everyone to reach out to their stylists for a touch-up kit and advice. Hair powder may be a good alternative for roots and can save your hair from damage. Box color can be a big issue for people because it gets too dark or has been overlapped on to previously colored hair. When we try to lighten over box dye it is a mess and produces very unreliable results, that’s why we advise against it.

Robert Leonard Salon is located in Downtown Seattle at 2033 6th Avenue across from the Amazon Spheres. Click here to view services and book an appointment online.