'There's No Income': Hairdressers Struggle As They Wait To Reopen

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - When Elaina Wilcox opened her Culver City salon Color And Craft in October, she never expected she would have to close her shop in March because of the state's stay-at-home order.

She hasn't been able to pay her one employee or her rent and she hasn't received a PPP loan. Elaina has also applied for unemployment benefits.

"It's absolutely devastating, there's no income, there's none," she said.

Meantime, Elaina is watching and waiting as other businesses are being allowed to reopen in Stage 2 of the state's four-stage plan. Her industry was deemed non-essential and is included in Stage 3.

Wilcox says she understands the safety concerns, but she believes she's ready to reopen now safely and responsibly.

"As soon as it came out on the news that we could, that independent contractors could apply, that's what I did so I'm still waiting. It's been about three weeks so we'll see," she said.

Elaina says when it comes to sanitation measures, hairdressers are already well trained and regulated. Now with COVID-19, they're taking it even further.

"This is specifically a COVID-19 Barbicide certification,"she said. "You learn about the difference between just clearing your salon and sanitizing for this, for COVID-19."

When she is allowed to reopen, Elaina says not only will the tools and space be disinfected, the chairs will be socially distanced, the staff will wear PPE and clients will also wear masks.

But before they can sit in one of these chairs, they will have to fill out a questionnaire to book an appointment. Elaina is hoping that day comes sooner than later.

"I'm hoping July, end of June to July. I really don't want this to go until August," she added. "That I think will be detrimental to so many people."

Earlier this month, the Professional Beauty Federation of California, a nonprofit that represents licensed beauty professionals, filed a lawsuit against Gov. Newsom in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.