Staying home for days on end can be tough. Luckily, Whidbey experts are offering their advice for how to survive while under quarantine.

A chief concern of people nowadays is most likely the appearance of their hair, which may be an unfavorable length or color due to the suspension of all salon visits.

Naomie Welshans, owner of Salon Blue in Coupeville, urges people to resist the temptation to hack off their own locks. She explained that hairdressers will have to mitigate the damage done when clients are allowed to return to the salon.

“We’ve been telling people, we know it’s really hard,” Welshans said. “Trim your bangs if you have to, try not to get into the layers.”

If an attempt to cut bangs must be made, she recommends using small, sharp scissors — the household multi-purpose scissors will not do, in this case.

Fellow salon owner Misty Ellis of the Hive Salon Co. in Oak Harbor added that taking baby steps when cutting bangs is extremely important. She advised against cutting straight across, but instead doing a point cut, meaning the scissors should be positioned straight up and down.

“You can always go more, but you can never put it back,” Ellis warned.

Welshans acknowledged that some people are still having to work in a professional environment, and haven’t visited a salon in months.

“That’s an inch to an inch and a half of shining gray hair that they normally don’t see,” she said.

Box coloring may be a temporary fix, but Ellis doesn’t endorse it. She cited the harsh chemicals as being damaging to hair, and not interacting well with the dyes used at salons.

“As professional hair stylists, we would never recommend buying your hair dye at the same place where you get your carrots,” Ellis said.

Welshans suggested that if people insist on covering up the gray, they do the least they can by dyeing their parts and the roots around their face.

Both salons are offering online orders of temporary touch-up root powders, which can also help conceal a lack of pigment.

For those tired of take-out, Sonna Ryan, co-owner of the BBQ Joint in Oak Harbor, said she has heard it all from customers who want to try making something new at home.

Many of her restaurant’s recipes involved slow-cooked meats, which do not exactly fit the definition of “quick and easy” that people seem to be seeking.

However, she offers her recipe for pecan pralines, an uncommon dessert in the Pacific Northwest but a bestseller at the BBQ Joint.

To avoid becoming a couch potato, consider staying active with these tips from movement pros.

“Sitting is the new smoking,” said Wendolyn Rue, physical therapist and co-owner of Rue & Primavera in Oak Harbor.

“Sitting is bad in general. Even if you can find a way to stand at your desk, set a timer, and not sit for long periods of time,” she said.

For those working from home, she recommends a standing desk. And for those on the couch, she suggests getting up during the commercial breaks.

But for people who can’t stand as easily, gentle chair exercises such as Sit and Be Fit can be helpful.

Harada Physical Thera-pist Assistant Meghan Jones said that just like you wouldn’t let your car sit for too long during this time, you should pay the same amount of attention to your body.

There are simple exercises she recommends for people stuck at home. A sit-to-stand movement, similar to a squat, can be done at any pace a person prefers, from the edge of the bed to the edge of the couch. This can be done 10-20 times a few times per day.

They can also repeatedly step up and down stairs, using the railing for balance if needed. Or, they can stand against a door frame and squeeze their shoulder blades together

“It’s easy to do at home if you don’t have any equipment,” Jones said.

Even Jane Fonda-esque warm-up exercises such as arm circles will do and count as movement, she said with a laugh.

For something more advanced, she recommends wall push-ups. While standing up, use both arms to push against a wall, keeping the back straight.

Similar to stretches, there are yoga poses to combat sitting for too long.

Alisha Walsh, owner of Meaningful Movement Dance & Yoga in Clinton, said setting aside a few minutes each day to consistently do yoga can help.

For the back and neck, try cat-cow pose. Child’s pose is also good for the lower back, and a low lunge is good for the hips. It’s a little more difficult, but fish pose can be achieved with a couple of supporting pillows and is a good chest-opener, Walsh said.

Her studio is currently offered a donation-based Zoom class every Wednesday night for community members. All donations support scholarships for children who wish to participate.