Arizona lawmaker introduces bill to deregulate hair styling

A bill to de-regulate hair styling was introduced in Arizona. As it stands, anyone styling hair in the state has to be licensed, but now at least one Republican is looking to repeal that law.

This all stems from the popular chair Drybar, which only offers blowouts and styling. As it stands, you have to have a license to work there, but that's now trying to be changed.

Some salon professionals say this would be a terrible move for the industry.

House Bill 2011 is looking to repeal state law which states you can't style hair in Arizona without at least 1,000 hours of training at a state licensed school. Republican State Representative Michelle Ugenti-Rita is backing the amendment.

"What this will do is allow individuals to be employed by salons or Drybars and not have to get a license. A cosmetology license if all they were doing is styling or shampooing hair," explained Ugenti-Rita.

She was approached by lobbyists for Drybar, a firm that specializes in quick washes and blowouts. They also do styling. Ugenti-Rita says making their employees have a license is a clear example of government overreach.

"There's not a compelling safety or health reason to justify this kind of regulation, so I thought it was high time to get the government out of commerce and allow the free market to do what it does best."

Owner of Salon D' Shayn, D'Lisa Shayn, says this amendment will bring down the integrity of the profession.

"If all of a sudden you say you can play with some hair, you can do some up do's or something like those styles and you don't have to be licensed to do it, it brings down what I feel we are trying to convey the type of business where people respect what we're doing."

If passed, the public could be at risk.

"When we are being licensed and taking these classes, we are also learning about the scalp, the skin of the scalp. We're also learning how to make sure there's no cross contamination. There's all of these rules and regulations to protect the public from people who may not have those skill set working on their hair," added Shayn.

This amendment is just in the beginning phase. While Ugenti-Rita says this will be a positive step for the industry, Shayn says there will be strong opposition.

HB 2011: Cosmetology; licensing exceptions
Summary/fact sheet
https://apps.azleg.gov/BillStatus/BillOverview/69623