In states like Michigan and Missouri, the proposal to deregulate sectors in the cosmetology industry is giving salon professionals cause for concern. Right now, over 496 bills pertaining to the cosmetology industry are being considered in states, and an increasing number of those are politicians seeking to deregulate the cosmetology industry. For salon professionals, there are valid reasons to be intensely concerned about the possible deregulation of the cosmetology industry.
Being able to perform cosmetology or barbering services without a license is a scary and dangerous trend, not to mention an insult to cosmetologists nationwide who have poured their time, money and energy into training for all the complex concepts that are required to get a cosmetology license. Do you think just anyone off of the street is going to walk into a salon already knowing the ins and outs of trichology and the requirements for safety and sanitation? I think not.
Politicians are aiming to deregulate the cosmetology industry in an effort to cut state and federal spending. While the pressure to cut budgets remains strong, looking to make cuts in the cosmetology field is a terrible idea, plain and simple. A level of expertise is required in the cosmetology industry that protects consumers from dangerous mishandling of cosmetology services. Consumers go to hairstylists and licensed barbers expecting that these professionals can be trusted to safely use scissors and other dangerous objects for styling hair, mix and use chemicals and products to perform beauty services, and are well-educated about the risks of certain services for certain clients. One of the major tasks is dying hair, and this task requires the use of hazardous chemicals. Being able to work with hazardous chemicals is one of the skills that a barber or beautician is trained in during the course of beauty school. Without the training to work with these chemicals, a barber or beautician may mix the wrong chemicals together and cause damage to customers’ hair. A barber or beautician may not understand the proper way to apply hair color to roots and actually cause skin damage. These are some of the risks associated with the deregulation of the cosmetology industry. There is so much more that goes into quality cosmetology education than meets the eye, and deregulating poses great risks to the community.
The Professional Beauty Association has taken a strong stance against the deregulation of the cosmetology industry, and we stand by them on this issue. This organization seeks to stop the deregulation of the cosmetology industry and is being quite vocal about its opposition to the various house bills in states like Indiana’s HB 1006. In states like Indiana, politicians are seeking to cut the funding for the administration of exams and inspection of beauty salons and barber shops. Once funding is cut for these tasks, they will no longer be conducted by the government. Eliminating these requirements will allow anyone to open up their own salon without reaching the required credit hours or passing written exams, and with no legitimate licensing and oversight of beauty professionals and salons.
Anyone can take an active role in opposing this legislation. The Professional Beauty Association has been working to stop this legislation from passing in each particular state it affects. In addition, the Professional Beauty Association lists the politicians that clients and beauticians can contact to voice their opposition to this legislation. People may contact their state representatives or senators by writing them letters in opposition to the policies affecting hair salons or by emailing them.
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About Heather
Heather Bashaw is the Website Manager for Beauty Schools Directory and is passionate about all things pertaining to the cosmetology field. Heather specializes in helping aspiring beauty school students find the perfect cosmetology schools to meet their needs. Add Heather on Google+.
The only people it is “dangerous” to is the monopoly of people in this industry that want to push out competition and push up prices. For pets sake, we ALL know that most licensees practice without being under the guise of a licensed facility which is against the law…they are hurting NO ONE except those that want a piece of the pie…Canada deregulated in 2006 and no one is dropping dead from an unregulated hair cut, color or manicure…
Hair stylist operate from their home all the time. The only people this will hurt is the corp people who run the schools and those who dont want the competition. Girls do each other’s hair all the time. Its not rocket science, so stop pretending that it is.
Just because no one is “dropping dead” does not mean that you shouldn’t be concerned about this. Hair color and permanent wave solutions are chemicals and can cause injury when you don’t know how to use them properly. It’s the same way with some of the tools they operate and some of the techniques they practice. No, it may not be necessarily life threatening but it has the potential to become that way. Improper sanitation of tools and surfaces can spread disease, and spread it fast. Also, It’s hard for many people to find someone they trust with their outer appearance because of the importance it holds in many aspects of their lives, and deregulating the license is going to make us all suffer.
The only people against stopping deregulation is lazy individuals who don’t want to take the time to go to school, learn cosmetology properly and get licensed. These people will complain though when someone screws up their hair badly. And as for Canada…this is the United States…we are not concerned about Canada….
Ok JoAnn
I went to check on your statement concerning Canada ‘s no license and …well…it’s in just parts of the country.
There are areas in canada that require basic training (1500 hrs) AND additional apprentice hrs.( 2000hrs) BEFORE exam ( which is more than the US)
As for the ” dropping dead” part….well…time will tell .
JoAnn Nicholls,
Your comment is a great example of why you should go to school. If you know of unlicensed cosmetologists and/or salons you should inform your states licensing board. While life threatening is a stretch, health threatening is more correct. There are many diseases out there that occur when proper sanitation is ignored. Be thankful you have not experienced this. Plus, why is America in a hurry to uneducate people? Cosmetology school is not expensive in comparison and most states have financial aid options. In conclusion, knowledge is power and there is no benefit to putting unlicensed stylists in a salon.
So your saying drop state board, drop sanitation laws, let any Joe or Jane shmo off the street with no cutting or coloring training come and do hair? I worked to hard and pay to much Damn money for then to g”haha just kidding anyone can do this so please bend over wle we take advantag!” Screw that!
They could drop dead if someone gets a bad pedi, then gets infection! All because someone didn’t know what the heck they are doing!
JoAnn you need to keep your thoughts to yourself, I have gone through a lot to get my education and I just took my written exam for my license TODAY and people like you is the reason this will pass. I didn’t pay over 10 grand for my education to be deemed “not important” because the people who don’t care about it or are feminists who think you should be who you are in the inside crap are out there. If you don’t like it then don’t do it but don’t screw over people like me who have worked their ass off and have not only my time in it but my parents time and money.
I went to cosmetology school, have 34.5 hours left and have soaked over $10,000 into my education already. The school wants more money for me to finish and then the state wants money for me to take the state boards, not to mention all of the supplies I would need to purchase just to take the state boards and then possibly never use again. In school I was required to do pedicures, I don’t do feet at all and that was just disgusting and useless considering that I never plan on touching a single foot as a cosmetologist. All of that being said, if I have the proper training and skill set then why do I HAVE to be licensed to get a job that pays about $10/hr on average? I could easily work a job making more than that without have spending $10,000+, in fact, before I ever went to cosmetology I was making $10/hr at one job, then $10.50/hr at another. Just recently I worked a job making $12.40/hr and did not have to be licensed for any of those jobs and didn’t have to spend a dime to make the money (aside from the gas money driving to and from work).
There are a couple of options here. 1) charge cosmetologists and barbers even more money for schooling (most schools increase tuition every couple of years anyway) and charge more for state boards and renewing licenses. 2) do not offer licensing procedures but still require schooling and the school to give the student a certificate of completion at the end. or 3) completely deregulate, which in that case you would have a ton of completely untrained and unskilled people cutting and coloring hair.
we trust tattoo artists and people who do body piercings and none of them have schooling or licensing. However, they probably should. They do usually have training though and the parlors are under certain licenses. If salons were licensed and inspected still and cosmetologists were trained either by schooling or apprenticeships then it probably wouldn’t be an issue.
Most states do require tattoo artists to be licensed. They get their training hours through apprenticeship (which some states also allow for cosmetologists and barbers). They are regulated very similarly to the cosmetology business.
This is horrible. Why not deregulate the medical field? I mean I know some home remedies so that must mean I’m just as qualified as a medical doctor. The amount of training required to be a cosmetologist is quite intense. There’s more to it than learning how to cut hair. U deal hands on with the general public everyday (and anything they may be carrying with them ie. lice, ringworm, fungal infections, and several other potentially infectious diseases. U deal with chemicals and if u are not properly trained how to use them u could do some serious damage (chemical burns to scalp and face, permanent irreversible damage to hair, and even danger to the stylist themselves). Why would u choose to deregulate an industry that deals so closely with people? The public could very well be in some danger. At least u know that right now ur stylist knows what to do if they cut themselves to prevent the spread of blood born illness and how to keep that guys lice off of ur head. This could possibly be one of the most ridiculous pieces of legislation I have ever heard of and it makes me sick.
Hoping for the best
Proud Cosmo