Hairstylists petitioning governor to return to work

Some hairstylists say they are running out of money and may have to shut down if not allowed to open soon.

Now a petition is circulating to try to get stylists back to work early next week, and more than 7,000 people have signed it.

But not all stylists think it is safe to return to work just yet.

This is the petition that is making the rounds on the internet. Now one salon owner who signed it has regrets.

Lisa Faber stood inside the empty Collage Salon she has owned nearly a decade. Like hair salons across the state, it has been closed since the middle of last month.

So when she saw a petition asking the governor to allow salons to reopen, with safety measures in place, she signed it.

“At first, I did,” she said. “I mean, I would like to be open. And I’d like to be open for the people who work here. I know they are struggling as much as we are as a salon. And I know that they want to get back to work. And then I’m conflicted, too, because if our state says we’re not ready, we’re not ready.”

The situation has brought Misty Lashell Morrow to tears.

“That is my life’s work,” she said. “That is my passion. Without this, I don’t see a point in life itself, honestly.”

She opened her Frequency Hair Salon a little more than a year ago. She says she is desperate to be allowed to reopen her salon.

“There’s no more greater risk to exposure, you know, than with a nurse and their patient,” she said. “So if we’re wearing a mask and gloves, even if I have to wear some kind of a suit or face shield, I will do whatever. I feel like there are precautions we can take to make sure people are safe.”

Faber is also thinking about how to reopen when the governor’s order is finally lifted. She says she can probably keep clients 6 feet apart. But she is in no hurry, for safety’s sake.

“If the data isn’t there for us to open,” she said, “I don’t think we should until those numbers say we can.”

Morrow has had to take a second job, and that isn’t paying enough to pay her bills. She says she may lose her salon if she can’t open soon.

Misty has started a GoFundMe account to help her stay open.

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