FARMINGTON – For many, eased pandemic restrictions mean finally feeling safe enough to go to the hair salon.

And for some, the trip is long overdue: Some clients are rolling into salons with at-home dye jobs, DIY bangs or a mother’s overly ambitious cut. Danielle Todecheeny, a hairdresser and stylist at Curl Up and Dye salon and barber shop, said she’s seen her fair share of interesting walk-ins and even established clients showing up for color corrections.

“We’ve had a lot of moms cut their kids’ hair and their husband’s hair, so we’ve done a lot of fixing on that,” Todecheeny said.

Because the pandemic has caused a roller coaster of shutdowns and reopenings, Todecheeny said she wasn’t sure whether they would be open one day to the next, so the salon has given mothers tips about how to cut their children’s hair at home and has suggested hairstylists to follow on social media.

“It’s not easy because not everyone’s head is shaped the same way. It’s different, and their hair texture is different, so it’s not going to look exactly point on (with the videos),” she said. “Other than that, just wait for us.”

A lot of the color corrections Todecheeny said she sees are primarily for teenagers and young women.

“They’re getting bored at home, and they take a box of bleach, and it goes crazy, so we’ve done a lot of color corrections,” she said.

Todecheeny said prices increased during the pandemic and some women opted to chop their hair into pixie cuts or bobs or just dye their hair black.

Sadly, Todecheeny said, some people let “themselves go” during the pandemic, and stylists have had to shave some clients to get rid of mats and tangles that were otherwise to difficult to repair.

But with eased COVID-19 restrictions and increased vaccinations, Todecheeny said people are becoming more daring in their hair-styling decisions, including pastel hair dyes, a Farrah Fawcett comeback, the fade and perm from the ’90s, and the dreaded return of the mullet.

“There’s a lot more different ideas,” Todecheeny said. “They’re definitely more daring – more like, you only have that one chance to live. Everyone is up for something new now.”

Some of Todecheeny’s clients stream on YouTube, and since they’ve been able to get their hair done, have asked for drastic hair color changes and styles, including one similar to singer Billie Eilish’s former black, blond and greenish-blue ’do.

A lot of her regular clients have come in for their normal styles, but since the pandemic, some clients have added services such as vibrant color highlights.

She added she’s picked up more clients than before the COVID-19 shutdowns. Before, she did one or two colors a day; now, she does three or four, and she has increased her total clientele.

The salon requires mask-wearing, and she said clients must wait in cars until their appointment. For now, the shop can allow half its stylists in the building at a time, and each stylist can only have one client at a time, so Todecheeny can’t cut one person’s hair while waiting for another’s dye to set.

Todecheeny, who is married and has a daughter, said when she’s not allowed to be in the shop, she stays at home with her daughter.

During the pandemic, she has had to choose between her daughter and work at times.

“For me, as a booth renter, at times I had to sacrifice my own booth time to teach my daughter (during school), but at the same time, I have to sacrifice my daughter’s time when I come here because I never know if I am going to be able to work the next day or not,” she said.

Even now, the salon puts together care packages for regular clients who need to get their roots retouched.

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