The pandemic has forced us to postpone receiving our regular salon and wellness treatments. They’re considered nonessential, as the services they offer can be available at home. However, many people realized how much they rely on their salons for self-care and a sense of community. Not everyone can cut their own hair, after all. And to some people, getting a haircut is a chance to socialize.
True, getting a facial or massage nowadays is risky. But with the vaccinations ongoing, plus testing capacities increased, shouldn’t it be safer to continue your wellness treatments now?
While everyone should be free to decide how to pamper themselves, some opinions can hold people back from visiting a salon or wellness center. For example, someone might think you are too vain as if the world isn’t experiencing a health emergency. This kind of comment can draw shame, but should you really take it to heart?
If you’re visiting a salon or getting acupuncture to care for your mental health, then you shouldn’t be ashamed for prioritizing your well-being. Besides, our well-being is one of the few ones we can control in this period. As long as you’re aware of the risks, it should be safe for you to visit salons or wellness centers.
That said, here are the rest of the reasons you should keep pampering yourself in this period:
1. You Can Help Wellness Centers Stay in Business
Hair salons, massage parlors, waxing salons, and the like, all suffered challenges during the pandemic. Some of them closed down permanently, causing their staff to lose their livelihood. The businesses that managed to overcome the lockdowns didn’t have it easier either. To ensure the safety of their premises, they had to install barriers, stock up on disinfectants, and reduce their workforce to keep going. They’ve also stopped accepting walk-in customers in order to allow social distancing.
Needless to say, this new setup has affected their revenue. In hair salons, most of the customers who visited were returning ones. As such, their services were typically regular haircuts, color touch-ups, or recoloring of their gray roots. Those services cost less, making salons also earn fewer profits.
You don’t need to get a Brazilian blowout or anything extravagant to support your preferred salon this time. By simply continuing your usual services, you help the establishment and their staff gets by. Just follow the health protocols to ensure that your patronage won’t increase anyone’s risk of getting sick.
2. Compliance With Health Protocols Allow Safe Practices
Massage therapies and acupuncture treatments are considered risky this time. But experts say they’re safe provided that certain guidelines are followed. So before getting either or both treatments, check with the facility to ensure that they comply with health protocols.
Massage parlors and acupuncture clinics should be well-ventilated and spacious so that the air can flow more freely. Cramped spaces, especially air-conditioned ones, spread viruses faster. The close contact involved in both treatments can indeed increase risks despite good airflow, but masks can help. In addition, before treating clients, the room must be disinfected and aired out for at least 15 minutes. This practice results in the lowest risks for contracting viruses. If your massage parlor or acupuncture clinic does this, consider them safe at this time.
3. DIY-ing Treatments Can Result in a Disaster
The pandemic might’ve taught us how to perform facials, hair treatments, and waxing, but a novice may do a disastrous job at them. Extracting your own comedones, for example, might risk you for injured skin if you don’t know how to use a comedone extractor properly. Hence, it’d be safer for your skin to go see a dermatologist. Before your appointment, you’d likely be asked to participate in a pre-screening call. It’s a procedure that ensures you have no symptoms of COVID-19.
If you’re getting a much-needed bikini wax service, performing the procedure yourself is also risky. Your inexperience might cause you to pull out too much hair, break follicles, and cause ingrown hairs. You might also burn your skin. So turn to a professional instead, discussing safety and health concerns before your appointment.
4. Your Well-being Matters
Lastly, and most importantly, your well-being matters, no matter what others say. Wanting to look and feel good during this time isn’t necessarily selfish or vain. It only becomes so when you disregard the circumstances for the sake of your own satisfaction. But if getting pampered will reduce your stress, and give you a sense of normalcy and control, then you’re on the right track. We all deserve a good salon or wellness treatment today, given everything we survived since 2020.