OC permanent makeup artist, other beauty industry professionals say they will reopen next week despite state orders

ORANGE, Calif. (KABC) -- Francesca Scognamiglio is the owner of a permanent makeup studio and academy in Orange. She showed us all the health and safety protocols - new and old - that she says justify reopening for tattoo artists.

"Our life before COVID was exactly what you're seeing now. The same equipment and the same protection equipment that we're using is what we used to use before," said Scognamiglio.

She has added a UV sterilizer to disinfect the room and a few health and safety protocols like only one customer at a time, taking temperatures when they arrive, and requiring them to wear a mask.

Few OC nail salons choose to reopen outdoors after new guidelines

"Since the governor and the state of California has allowed nail salons to operate outdoors, I've personally called 24 nail salon owners and only one is operating outdoors."

"So we must wear a mask at all times. We wear protection equipment, we wear gloves and we do the whole procedure with everything being covered," she said.

This is all part of the reason she and other beauty industry professionals believe they should be able to reopen.

"It's just unfair to see that everybody can just be gathering around, partying on boats and I can't have my business open seeing one client at a time," said Scognamiglio.

Newsom allows some CA salon services to move outdoors

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a change in the rules for hair salons and other beauty services in a Monday press conference on the coronavirus pandemic.

The state is only allowing personal care services to operate outside - but that excludes tattoo parlors. We asked the California Public Health Department about the industry's concerns and were simply told that all industry guidance must be adhered to. After five months of this, Francesca says she can no longer wait.

"It's either closing because of bankruptcy or getting fined, so we must make a choice and decide what's the best to do. We either support our family or we drown with regulations," she said.

She's decided to join hundreds of others across the state in reopening Monday, Aug. 17, saying enough is enough.

"We do this as a living. They say we're not an essential business. But this business is essential to our families," she said.

California reopening: Here's what's open, closed

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