SALINE COUNTY, Ark. — While thousands of salon owners in Arkansas sign a MoveOn petition in support of getting back to work, others refuse.
"It's just the safety concerns,” said Ashlee Thomas, owner of Ashlee Kathryn Salon in Bryant.
Thomas is just one hairstylist coming forward who won’t sign the petition asking Governor Asa Hutchinson to allow salons to reopen on April 27 with strict safety guidelines.
"We have clients even during flu season that still try to come in, even when they're sick,” said Thomas.
Even if protective measures were in place, such as the use of gloves and masks, and a limited amount of people, Thomas said the service is still too risky.
"We're a foot's difference sometimes and in people's faces -- especially when we are shampooing. I mean, you're just an arm's reach,” Thomas added.
Stephanie McManus is another Saline County salon owner who wants the industry to reopen soon because the self-employed still have no unemployment relief.
She believes that at her salon Shear Grace in Benton, taking proper and strict safety measures would be enough to get back to work.
"We are four weeks in and still we have no income,” said McManus. "Several people are a single income home."
Governor Hutchinson did not address the petition that now has over 22,000 signatures Tuesday, but he did say the public health team is working to determine a safe time for salons and barbershops to re-open, which will take at least two weeks.
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"Those are the things we will be working on,” said Hutchinson. “One -- whether we are in position in terms of our data, that that is a good measure to take. And then second, we will look at it in terms of what protective measures can be in place."