Pamela Aie is a local businesswoman who owns Revelations Hair Salon in Ashcroft.

She moved from England to Ashcroft in 1981. She comes from a whole family of hairdressers -- her family has owned a hairdressing business in Ashcroft since 1984. Their business is widely believed to be the second longest-running business in Ashcroft.

On March 21st her hairdressing business was forced to close until the end of May due to COVID-19. During the salon’s time out of business, the need for hair products did not subside. Pamela would receive many calls from locals asking for specific hair products. Eventually, Pamela implemented a hair product delivery system in which the customer would E-transfer money and she would deliver the product personally to the customer’s doorstep.

Pamela and her employees were all able to benefit from the CERB. On the 19th of May, Pamela’s business was allowed to reopen once again, with many extra precautions. Once the salon opened the days were packed with patrons looking to have their long-awaited haircut. She found that the challenge came when she needed to order in new stock for the store. Many producers were operating at half capacity and thus only had half the product to sell. Getting the masks required to start back up was also a challenge as masks are one of the highest in-demand products in the world. 

When her salon opened again a plethora of rules come with the re-opening. Plexiglass windows were required where physical distancing was not possible. The salon could not do nails when it opened due to the physical and close-quarters nature of working with customers’ hands. However, the salon can facilitate hair cutting and pedicures.

Any customer entering the store is required to wear a mask and sanitize their hands with gloves being an optional precaution. The salon can only safely hold 3 customers at a time. All customers who come in must be alone and those customers not being actively serviced must wait outside until they can begin their appointment. In between customers, all equipment used as well as the area used must be thoroughly sanitized.

While the business may not be as usual, the show must go on.