Florida legislators have proposed three separate bills that would impact the work requirements for individuals looking to get into the esthetic and cosmetology industry.
The Laws
The three laws that are being proposed in Florida are Senate Bill 802, Senate Bill 1396 and House Bill 7047. Each bill takes special aim at an aspect of esthetic practice and attempts to deregulate it.
Senate Bill 802 will make body wrapping, hair braiding and hair wrapping unlicensed activities. It would also reduce the hours required to obtain an esthetic license from 260 to 165. Nail licenses would go from 240 to 150 hours, and barber licenses would go from 1,200 hours to 800. House Bill 7047 reiterates the same deregulation of wrapping and hair braiding as well as decreased hours for skin and nail specialists, but lowers the barber license even more to 600 ours. Senate Bill 1396, deregulates body wrapping, hair wrapping and applying nail polish, but requires 16 hours of safety training for hair braiding.
The Consequences
Consequences for these laws would be wide reaching for esthetic professionals. Treatments such as body wrapping could fall into unlicensed hands, creating an opportunity for accidents and harm to clients. In addition, esthetic professionals would gain significantly less knowledge in school, inadequately preparing them for the profession and a path to success. Additionally, this will make it harder for professionals that want to move to another state, where the license requirements are likely much higher.
Want to do something about it? Contact Florida senators and representatives and make your voice heard.
