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Three License-Free Services

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If you choose to reinvent your salon by expanding services, make sure the people who provide those services are properly licensed with the State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology. Most services offered at salons – haircutting, coloring, manicures, pedicures, facials, etc. – require a valid and current state license. However, currently, no license is required for these three services:

• Natural hair braiding. Natural hair braiding is a service that results in tension on hair strands or roots by twisting, wrapping, weaving, extending, locking or braiding by hand or mechanical device.
• Wigs. The sale, fitting, or styling of wigs or hairpieces.
• Threading. Threading is a technique that removes unwanted hair by twisting thread around it and pulling it from the skin. This service allows for the incidental trimming of eyebrow hair.

But keep in mind that if at any time hair is cut, colored, straightened, curled, or otherwise altered during the course of these services, the person who provides the service as well as the salon must have valid and current board-issued licenses.

For further information, please contact the Board at (800) 952-5210 or visit our web site at  www.barbercosmo.ca.gov.

– Reprinted from the California Stylist, February 2009 issue