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Portland salon getting kids webcam-ready for online school while practicing COVID-19 safety

Sit Still Kids salons, headquartered in Portland, have been teaching tips and tricks for managing kiddos hair to go longer between each cut.

PORTLAND, Oregon — Now that we know school this fall will be online, the list of back-to-school chores might be a little shorter. One thing that's still a big one on the to-do list though, is a fresh haircut. After all, their faces will be front and center now on webcams!

Sit Still Kids, a children's-only hair salon franchise founded in Portland, knows that all too well.

"We do braiding, we do hairstyling, we're adding color, we also do manicures, we do sparkle strands," says founder and co-owner Nhu Vo.

She and her business partners, three other local moms, are working to franchise the fun idea, with locations off North Williams in Portland, Bethany Village on the city's westside and sister city Austin, Texas.

Credit: Nina Mehlhaf

"Kids salons are catered to entertain them to stay still. So we have an iPad for them to watch a show. There's a treat at the end, and it's an atmosphere where they can be who they want to be," Vo said.

Sit Still has fun wooden cars for kids to choose where they sit, and a small area to buy toys, hair products, books and accessories, with seats nearby for parents to watch and ask questions. 

This is the time of coronavirus. And Sit Still re-opened their doors with solid protocols.

Book an appointment and pay the flat rate for each style of hair cut (ranging from about $17-$42) or service online ahead of time, totally contactless. They text you to come inside when your stylist is ready. There is special UV oxidation tape that kills germs on the door handles, with mandatory hand sanitizer right inside, masks required, industrial grade air filters, and every surface wiped down in between.

Credit: Nina Mehlhaf

Allison Franco brought her two kids in to get a fresh trim.

"We've been really careful about what we've been doing, not much out in community, following a lot of precautions and keeping kids at home but eventually the kids do need a haircut and with all the precautions that Sit Still is doing, we felt really comfortable coming in," Franco said.

Credit: Nina Mehlhaf

A lot of us have been there: COVID hair! It's shaggy, it's in your eyes, it's a tangled mess. Sit Still has been helping teach kids and parents braiding techniques, special cuts and ways to hold hair back out of the face so you can go longer between appointments if you don't feel comfortable coming often.

Parents like Franco are now looking toward the virtual school year when backpacks aren't needed but that webcam view from the shoulders up is going to be so much more in focus.

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