Facials Finally Return to New York After Concerted Campaign
After nearly half a year of closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic and a public campaign coordinated by industry professionals, estheticians are finally allowed to return to work in New York.
The New York State Department of Health issued new Interim Guidance for Personal Care Services on September 3, stating that for “personal care services that may require customers to remove face coverings,” including facials, waxing and makeup application, employees performing the services must test negative for Covid-19 and wear both a face covering and face shield. “You can now perform these services,” said an announcement by the New York State Association of Salon & Spa Professionals, which had been working with a law firm and a group of New York studios to campaign for the reopening.
Prior to the new guidance, New York was one of the U.S. states that had not allowed cosmetic facial services to resume in non-medical facilities, a policy that studios including Heyday, Rescue Spa, Glowbar, SB Skin, Georgia Louise and Sophie Pavitt campaigned online to change. As estheticians have found themselves out of work since the March shutdowns began, Heyday co-founders Michael Pollak and Adam Ross recently emailed customers, asking them to send a letter to the governors of New York and Pennsylvania calling for reopenings.
