OREGON, USA — Thousands of Oregon hair stylists are turning to a petition to get back to work, one client at a time, by April 27.
While the signatures continue to grow, local hairdressers and salons say there are still a lot of questions on how exactly that would work.
Beth Conlin loves her job as an independent hair stylist at Malva House of Hair in Portland
“My favorite thing is just making people feel good about themselves,” Conlin said. “It’s just the best feeling, and I love the connection that I have with clients. A lot of them are some of my really good friends.”
Right now she’s missing that connection, and a steady paycheck. Because of COVID-19, Conlin and her fellow hairdressers are out of work.
For the past four weeks she has applied for unemployment, grants and loans. Still, there’s no money coming in.
“The longer time goes on and I don’t see any money, it's really stressful," she said. "Am I going to be able to be in my apartment? Also, we don’t have money to pay our lease for our suite at the salon. So, are we going to have a salon to go back to?”
Colnlin is far from alone in her industry. Kirstin Appel owns Appel Nouveau Salon in Portland. None of her stylists have received unemployment benefits yet either.
“A lot of stylists are more paycheck-to-paycheck, I think. So, it’s very scary,” she said.
These struggles to get by have inspired a petition on MoveOn.org asking Gov. Brown to open Oregon salons back up, one client at a time, by April 27.
“I think stylists are feeling very desperate and scared and I think the petition, if executed properly, could be beneficial to all of us,” Appel said.
The petition includes testimonials, like this one from a Jackie R.:
“I own my own business and this shutdown has been devastating…we are capable of sanitation and distancing…doing one client at a time…please let us return to work!”
The petition pushes for Governor Kate Brown to “allow a licensed beauty professional to perform a beauty service, privately with one client in the salon per stylist.”
It asks that the industry be recognized as an essential business and that all necessary precautions and sanitation protocols would be followed.
But stylists have concerns.
“There’s definitely a lot of ‘what ifs’ with the petition,” Appel said.
Like most, Appel wants to get her employees back to work, but she also wants guidelines on how to do it while protecting the health of her stylists and clients.
“I don’t know if all clients will be comfortable coming to salons,” she said. “Again, depending on the size of the salon. How many people are inside of the salon? How far the chairs are spaced apart?”
Other salons, like The Color Box on Northeast Sandy Boulevard, are also anxious about being able to provide enough masks and gloves to stylists and clients by April 27.
“We miss all of our clients dearly and want to get back to work, but want to make sure we all are safe and following the CDC guidelines not to put anyone or ourselves at risk,” a representative from The Color Box said.
The Color Box has turned to GoFundMe for help covering bills.
Meanwhile, many salons and stylists are asking clients to buy gift cards and hair products directly from them.
“We really don’t have anything coming in right now. So any way you can support your stylist during all of this is just so appreciated and means the world to us,” Conlin said.
Conlin’s is among the more than 34,000 signatures on the petition. She desperately wants to get back to her clients and out of financial uncertainty, but she also wants more information and guidance on how to do it.
“I would just like to know what it’s going to look like, or at least start talking about it,” Conlin said.
KGW reached out to Gov. Brown’s office, asking if she would consider opening salons as the petition suggests.
Her staff sent us this response:
“The Governor understands that these are difficult times and, through no fault of their own, many Oregonians have lost jobs, closed businesses, and found themselves in a tough place trying to pay bills and make ends meet. We also know that social distancing is working. The Governor credits the incredible sacrifices Oregonians have made in complying with social distancing measures early in our outbreak as a key contributor in our latest projections.
"This week, the Governor introduced a framework for reopening Oregon. Her Medical Advisory Panel will be involved in reviewing the public health components of decisions related to the lifting of various social distancing orders. This is not a process that will happen overnight or statewide all at once. Each decision will be carefully weighed and made in consultation with local leaders, businesses, and workers to make sure policies are implemented correctly, with safeguards in place to protect the public health. As part of this process, we will be engaging with leaders from different business sectors – for example, personal services – on the public health criteria for the gradual reopening of businesses in Oregon. Ultimately, health outcomes will be the metric guiding decisions to reopen—and we will only reopen Oregon if the data shows we can do so without jeopardizing public health.”