For us, Salon Republic is synonymous with prestige spaces + education. As we are all slowly starting to reopen our salons, we wondered what this looked like for the SR Fam. Founder, Eric Taylor, is a thought leader in the industry and inspires us to keep moving forward. He was kind enough to chat about what Salon Republic’s “new normal” looks like.

Salon Republic has been a magnet for influencers and high profile hairdressers. What do you attribute that to?

I think the quality of our salons is a key to this. We only choose great locations and then we pour our hearts and souls into making them beautiful and functional inside. Then, years and years of building a community culture that feels like one big family and having supportive amenities (in-salon beauty supply store, free technical & business education, complimentary towel service, salon manager,etc) so our beauty pros can focus on their craft. We believe It’s combination of all those things that make our salons special.

How is Salon Republic preparing for studios to reopen?

For our SR Fam we are implementing the following safety measures in preparation for reopen:

• Upgrading our HVAC (heating, ventilation, AC system) w/ UV virus-killing light filters. Ultra Violet light destroys microbes like mold, bacteria, fungi, mildew, mold spores, viruses and other pathogens. It’s similar to what hospitals use.

• Our janitorial staff will conduct a deep clean and disinfecting of the entire salon prior to re-open

• All of our towel cabinets will be disinfected and towels re-washed in hot water

• Hand sanitizing stations will be placed at the salon entrance

• We have sourced PPE & other essentials to have on-hand at our in-salon beauty supply store & have also made them available for pre-order for our beauty pros now. Our PPE & other essential items include face shields, 3 ply masks, gloves, disposable capes and chair covers, hand & surface sanitizer spray, sanitizer gel pump and barbicide wipes & half gallon bottle.

• We have created guidelines on what the in-salon experience will be for our beauty pros & their clients so they can prepare as well as prepare their clients. Ie- Our salon entrances will be locked and our beauty pros will have to meet their clients at the entrance and do a pre-screening before walking them back to their studio

-We’ll eliminate waiting areas and install plexiglass screens at the reception desk.

• We have also sent our SR Fam checklists on how they should prepare to disinfect their studio prior to reopen and after we reopen

What resources have been/will be made available for Salon Republic stylists?

As we mentioned above the PPE & other essential items are available for pre-order now and will be available in our in-salon beauty supply stores when we reopen.

We have emailed them w/ the various programs and grants that will help them out financially. We are doing our part in trying to help them financially by not charging them rent since the closure of each salon.

We have expanded our product special orders program where they can submit an order and it will be shipped directly to them. So they can continue creating color kits and retail products to their clients as a source of income.

Since we have not been able to do our Social Media Marketing Day in the salons, we’ve temporarily have been doing mini classes on IG live every Monday. Social Media Marketing Day is when the marketing team goes into the salon and meets w/ 15-20 beauty pros individually and does a free one on one coaching session on how to level up their presence on social platforms as well as help w/ their photography/video skills.

What do you foresee being the new-normal for studio owners? How do you think the pandemic has changed the culture of the industry?

I believe a key theme of the “new normal” will prioritizing safety over comfort and convenience. We want to make sure that our clients trust that we are doing everything we can to keep them and ourselves safe. I believe the pandemic has changed the culture of our industry for the foreseeable future. We have a renewed sense of humility and a new focus on what is really important. I believe more people now think their money looks better in their bank account than on their feet or in their closet.

How has Salon Republic stayed connected to their artists during this time?

Our salon team has kept in touch with our beauty pros w/ emails, texts, calls and Instagram to see how they are doing and let them know we will all stay safe, rebuild and will be stronger together. We’re responding to countless DM’s everyday to make sure our community stays intact and no one is left behind who needs help.

Give us 5 Salon Republic studio owners that have killed the content game during the pandemic!

Besides the usual artists who kill the content game all the time like @philipwolffhair @hairgod_zito

@drehair – he just did his annual hair event LookBook (@kraftlookbook). It was 33 hours of behind the hair and beyond education, 24 artists and a couple hair competitions – Barberella and Hair Royale.

@thehairnurse – hair tutorials vids, self-care and informational posts

@nailthoughts – her humorous and empathetic and inspiring posts + her Tik Tok vids are pretty awesome

@savvyheartshair – inspiring hair posts and her Tik Tok videos

The Republic of "The New Normal"