SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Supply chain shortages have been impacting businesses since the pandemic. Local businesses all around Central New York have also been impacted by increases in prices on top of out of stock products.
Element on Water Salon in downtown Syracuse has dealt with inflation before, but with the added stress of stock shortages, the salon has seen a huge impact.
Owner and Stylist at Element on Water, Jacqueline Grabowski, said that it is some of the little things that has been the biggest hurdle.
“While we definitely have seen an increase in all of our products from gloves to foils and all of the things that we need behind the scenes,” Grabowski explained.
With the increase in need for gloves, the salon has struggled keeping them in stock at the salon. Gloves are a necessity for sanitary purposes and protecting their stylists from harsh chemicals. Additionally, with the increase in price of aluminum, the foils that are used for bleaching and color have gone up in price.
“I would say they have gone up about five to eight percent,” Grabowski said.
For stylists, the normal products that they use on clients have dwindled, forcing them to choose new products they may not be comfortable with.
“We still use great products and we started to try to work with great products. We had a different color line, but we find similar items, just not like the item we’re looking for,” stylist Kimberli Herrera explained.
Herrera said that although their prices have gone up and some products may have changed, they still have a lot of loyal customers that continue to book with them. She said that the products they have switched to are also good if not better than the ones they originally used.
Outside of the challenges Element on Water has faced, Grabowski said that they are just grateful they can have clients in the salon and serve them each day. As the struggle of price increases and supply shortages trudges on, Element on Water is keeping their chairs full and spirits up.
