In his “last lifetime,” Travis Vu closed his hair salon after the coronavirus forced state leaders to impose a lockdown in a reeling California in late March.

The casually stylish Vu, 47, turned off the lights on the custom metal and concrete chandeliers gracing his industrial six-seat space. He stayed home, slept, exercised, whipping up grilled garlic shrimp and broken rice dishes to sell on the side until regulations allowed him to reopen in early June. That’s when he dipped into savings to stock up on sanitary supplies, welcoming back clients with stringy locks, worn-out perms and graying heads.

TravisVu The Salon in Fountain Valley found business “fixing stuff people tried unsuccessfully at their house,” its owner said. “Oh my God, everyone was cutting their own hair or their family’s hair and not having good luck. They had to spend, like, triple to get it corrected.”

For months, Vu and thousands of other hair and nail salon owners up and down the state have been whipsawed, financially and emotionally, as California has struggled to re-open its economy.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.