‘We’re all scared’: Salons, barbershops worry ahead of ordered closures

Today may be your last day to get a haircut for a while as salons and barbershops have to close due to the governor’s executive order.

The businesses aren’t considered essential, which means not only will customers have to wait, but salon and barbershop owners and their employees don’t know when they’ll see their next paycheck.

Barber Cario Campos worries about what’s next for his business, Blackbeard Company Barbershop in Cape Coral. The shop won’t be allowed to open after 12:01 a.m. Friday, when Gov. Ron DeSantis “safer at home” order goes into effect.

“Me along with the barber community, we’re all scared,” Campos said.

He said business was already slow, his customers skipping haircuts because of COVID-19.

“It’s been tough the past couple of weeks.”

Campos said he cut down to three days a week, hoping to take care of clients quickly, but reassuring people proved to be a tough sell.0

“We sanitize after every client,” he said. “You know, we do clean our machines after every cut, clean the blades after every person.”

Now that he has to close for at least the rest of April, he wonders what’s next.

“We don’t know; after the 30 days they might extend it even more, so we just have to wait it out and see and stay safe, I guess.”

But when the crisis finally passes, “everybody will come back and get a haircut as soon as life’s back to normal,” Campos said.