A Government Permission Slip to Braid Hair?

When Jestina Clayton sued the state of Utah (and won), it brought to the public’s attention an absurd and alarming detail: the government prohibits people from braiding hair, for pay, without a license. This license, in the government’s interpretation of the law, requires an application, a fee, and 2,000 hours of mandated schooling that is almost entirely unrelated to braiding hair.

This unreasonable burden upon small business owners such as Jestina must be corrected. Legislation proposed by Representative Jim Dunnigan, HB283, would completely exempt hair braiding from licensure requirements, while also reducing the required hours to become a cosmetologist. No longer would hair braiders such as Jestina be required to submit to the state’s unjustified regulatory hoops prior to providing their service to consenting customers.