Is it okay to go barefoot to a hairdresser?

Question

I don't usually wear shoes as I prefer to go barefoot.
I need to have my haircut and not sure whether I should wear shoes or if it is okay to go barefoot.
What should I say if they ask where my shoes are?
Do I need to ask them up-front whether it is okay for me to be barefooted?

Answer 1

Don't listen to the other folks, go barefoot. In spite of persistent myths, there are NO health laws requiring footwear for customers in the US. Stores and other businesses can set their own policies but there are MANY stores even in the US that don't care. Unless you only have one hair dresser in your town, I am absolutely sure you will find one that doesn't have a problem with your bare feet.

It is NOT dangerous, unsanitary or unhealthy to go barefoot. Feet get very tough very quickly, our skin is made to keep pathogens out, and feet are also fully washable. Unless you lick your feet you're at no more risk of catching anything from going barefoot than from going bare handed; less so, in fact, since with our hands we touch our face & food, thus increasing the odds any germs can enter our body. The ground may look more dirty but that's a visual deception; things touched by many people like shopping carts, railings, door knobs etc are at least as germy, often much more, than the floor is. Unless you lick your toes or put them up on the dinner table the germs on your feet are harmless. Also for others; germs aren't going to jump off your bare soles any more than off the soles of someone's shoe, or jump off the rest of your bare skin any more than they would jump off the bare skin exposed in a sandal or flipflop.

The one thing that you may run into in a hair salon is hair splinters, freshly cut hair can be sharp enough to become a splinter and get under the skin. But those are hardly a serious threat, in the rare case you do get one just remove it with tweezers. And any of the open sandals/flipflops the previous posters suggested won't protect against those; the hair after all falls down from above so it also falls *on* your feet, and you'll probably get one easier when the hair is caught underneath the strap of a sandal than when the hair falls on top of your bare foot and can freely fall off again. The sole is likely too tough for a hair splinter to penetrate if you're regularly barefoot.

It's sad so many people in the US are biased against bare feet, the risks of going barefoot are either based on myths completely or greatly exaggerated, and visually feet aren't that much different from hands. Especially if they're always bare; it's shoes that cause the ugly corns and bunions. Besides, the suggested flipflops show 99% of the foot; why would they suddenly make it *look* okay? For most barefooters, it's the feel of the ground underneath the feet that make going barefoot so pleasant, even the thinnest sole does away with that pleasure entirely, so for us there is a much greater difference.

Apart from the unfounded fears of injury or disease, unfortunately some people think any alternative dress is disrespectful or rude; I think that's a very narrow-minded attitude. Bare feet in particular are considered a sign of *respect* in other cultures; it's a very soft, quiet and gentle way of walking, making you more aware of your surroundings and more aware of Mother Earth.

Most people in other countries don't have such strong anti-barefoot feelings; I've never even SEEN a 'no shoes, no shirt, no service' sign here in the Netherlands, nor on my trips to Belgium and Scotland, and it's never an issue with store management.

Answer 2

Go ahead and go barefoot if thats the way you feel comfortable. I go barefoot a lot as well. Most of the other people answering really don't the the truth about health codes and health issues. There are no health codes as can be seen on the source listed below. Also on the source there are over a thousand people who regularly go about thier daily life barefoot and none of them contract anything from doing so.

“Going barefoot is the gentlest way of walking and can symbolize a way of living-being authentic, vulnerable, sensitive to our surroundings. It’s the feeling of enjoying warm sand beneath out toes, or carefully making our way over sharp rocks in the darkness. It’s a way of living that has the lightest impact, removing the barrier between us and nature.”
From the book “Barefoot Dreaming” by Adele Coombs

Answer 3

It is a health and safety policy. Did you know that through your feet you can attract many many illnesses.

In a hairdressers hairs are so strong that they can go into your feet without you noticing. I knew a hairdresser who wore sandles she got a hair buried in her toes and it caused her so much pain when it got infected.
I am not trying to frighten you but even MRSA is carried on peoples shoes and you can pick this up.
I speak from experience, you would be amazed at how many people have ended up in the ER just because of barefeet.
Good Luck and look after your feet....

Answer 4

The policy for most stores and other establishments in the US is "no shoes, no shirt -- no service". Just wear some sandals or some shower shoes and there should be no problem. Don't you mind when you step in a big gob of snot on the sidewalk, or broken glass, stuff like that? I sure would!

Answer 5

Just put some shoes on for the half hour or so you get your hair cut. I know if I was in a salon and someone came in barefoot I would ask that they be kicked out.

Answer 6

Most salons wont allow you in without shoes. Most places anywhere wont either. I think it's a health issue, not to mention it looks trashy. I feel you though cuz I don't like wearing shoes either but you are going out in public.

Answer 7

Absolutely not! Aside from how the people in the salon would feel about it, consider all the hair on the floor. Have you ever gotten a hair in your foot? It feels like being poked with a needle!

Answer 8

High end/classier salon, I probably wouldn't enter barefoot seeing as how many of them have minimum of sandals required (no flip flops) for their stylists. Hair cut store that takes walk-ins or minimum wait (only a few started reservations), probably and see if they told me I had to wear shoes.

Answer 9

It depends on where you are. If you are in a very small town of 800 to 1000 people maybe you can do it. If you are in a big city, don't, they will look down on you.

Answer 10

It's never okay to go anywhere public in bare feet except the street or the public outdoor pool or park.

A business establishment has health codes to follow and bare feet usually violate them.