Salons In Jakarta Are Ready To Operate On 15 June In Accordance To The Transition Period Towards A Safe, Healthy And Productive Community

Jakarta, 11 June 2020 – For almost three months carrying out social distancing practices, the society has adapted to seek new routines which is limited by space and mobility, such as changing their hairstyles on their own. According to Google Trends search in April 2020, keywords like "cut our own hair", "open salons" and "in-home service salon" increased very rapidly, with more than 1,800 searches. While salons remain close during the Large-Scale Social Restriction (PSBB) period, there were also buzz coming from a number of public figures and people on social media who took initiatives to cut or dye their hair unassisted. Within these group, more than a few complained regarding the difficulty of doing it without the help of hairdressers, and were not satisfied with the results. This phenomenon proves the importance of hairdressers’ role and also salon as an essential service provider.

Official statement no. 563/2020 declared by the Governor of Jakarta on June 5th 2020 has stated that the capital city is set to enter the transition phase of the PSBB period, and allow certain activities and industrial sectors to operate again on a limited basis. “Considering the vast socialisation and the readiness of the protocols, salon businesses can be considered as one of the industries that has adequate preparation to start operating its unit on 15 June” said Cucu Ahmad Kurnia, Head of Jakarta’s Department of Tourism and Creative Economy.

As an industry player, Salon Industry Communities and Entrepreneurs (KIPS) together with PT. L'Oréal Indonesia has prepared the "COVID-19 Prevention Protocol for Salon Businesses" in referrence to the Decree made by the Head of Jakarta's Department of Tourism and Creative Economy (Disparekraf) no. 131/2020 and official instruction from the Ministry of Health. The protocols mainly highlighted the roles of each stakeholders, which are the management, employees, and salon consumers. Some of the important points listed in the protocols are:

• Strict health measures such as screening tests, body temperature checks, and mandatory use of masks for all staff and consumers;
• Sterilized all supporting tools and items that are often touched/used after every usage;
• Use of PPE such as mask, face shield, and gloves for employees who carry out technical services such as coloring, curling, or hair straightening;
• Limiting operational hours referring to provincial regulations, implement physical distancing practices inside the salon, limiting type of services that can be done (hair services only) – with a maximum of 120 minutes per person;
• Implementing reservation and cashless payment system to customers.

“As a form of commitment, every business unit that are permitted to operate during this transition period, including salon businesses, are required to sign an integrity pact sheet as proof of their willingness in executing this protocol” added Cucu Ahmad Kurnia.

Professional Product Division General Manager PT L'Oréal Indonesia, Michael Justisoesetya, said that the company and KIPS have worked continuously to ensure that these protocols were well-understood and socialized through various communication channels. One of the efforts undertaken with KIPS and supported by the Government of Jakarta as well as the Ministry of Health is the two-session webinars to socialize about the 'Covid-19 Prevention Protocol for Salon Business Unit’ which is participated by thousands of salons across Indonesia. “We strive to maximize online training under the three PPD brands (L’Oréal Professionnel, Matrix and Kerastase) as well as conducting education/online training for hairdressers via the L'Oréal Access application which can be downloaded for free. Until now, our socialization has reached for more than 5000 salons in Indonesia and most of them are coming from DKI Jakarta.”

When salon starts operating again on June 15th 2020, KIPS and L'Oréal are committed to help the Government of Jakarta to monitor and warn the execution of protocols in salons. “The salon community highly appreciates the trust given by the Government of Jakarta towards our industry and we will continue to take preventative measures against the possibility of local transmission in our business units, by conducting intensive and strict supervisions. This protocol will be implemented in a satisfactory manner during this transition phase in order to support the realization of a healthy, safe and productive society” concludes Rudy Hadisuwarno as KIPS Representative.