Celeb Hairstylists Ted Gibson & Jason Backe Launch #OpenSalonsNow Campaign, Defy California Shutdown Orders

Hair legends ​Ted Gibson ​and ​Jason Backe​ have reopened their STARRING by Ted Gibson salon in defiance of California’s shutdown order. Salons across the country have been hit especially hard by COVID-19 shutdowns, new compliance standards, and customers that are still wary of potential illness.

While many states have been able to legally reopen their doors, California’s 53,000 State Board of Barbering & Cosmetology-licensed establishments have been forced to close twice in the past five months.

Gibson and Backe may be celebrity hair icons, but they face the same ills that 1.7 million Americans who own or are employed by a hair or nail care business face: not being able to work.

“As an industry that is often overlooked, we will not be overlooked anymore. We are licensed in sanitation, anatomy and physiology. We are opening STARRING by Ted Gibson because we will not let ours and other small businesses die,” said Gibson, STARRING co-owner, in a recent statement.

And the new orders that allow for doing hair outside are just not acceptable to them. Gibson and Backe share that STARRING, which opened last year as the world’s first smart salon powered by Amazon and Alexa, meets socially distancing and CDC guidelines. By design, the salon’s chairs are 8.5′ apart and within their own private and partitioned ‘cloud.’ In addition, there is no front desk, is completely cashless, and without retail products.

“Our state government has classified salons and hairdressers as dirty and dumb,” said Backe. “We are licensed professionals who are trained in sanitation protocol and at STARRING by Ted Gibson we are taking a stand to make sure that our voices are heard to save our small business and hairdressing community.” 

The two received a citation the day after their August 17th reopening and have committed to keep opening until the shutdown orders are revoked.