Last year, we shared the story of Isis Brantley, a long time professional hair braider, educator, and entrepreneur. Brantley had been fighting the unnecessary regulation of her business by the state of Texas for nearly 20 years. Since 1997 she dealt with fines, the shutdown of her business, and even an arrest for failure to comply with state regulations.
While Brantley eventually won the battle against unnecessary regulation in a Texas court, hair braiders across the country continue to deal with the criminalization of their craft.
Last fall, Aicheria Bell and Achan Agit, two hair braiders from Iowa, filed a lawsuit against the state’s cosmetology board, claiming that the regulation of their businesses was so excessive, it placed them at a significant financial disadvantage.
Previously, any stylist who braided hair was required to graduate from high school (or its equivalent) and have a cosmetology license—one that took 2,100 hours and could cost up to $22,000 to obtain. Bell and Agit say that cosmetology school mostly included training unrelated to braiding, and focused instead on more Eurocentric styles. In July, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad exempted hair braiders from the state’s cosmetology licensing laws, and Bell, Agit, and the Institute for Justice dismissed their lawsuit. Now, braiders in Iowa simply need to register with the state.
Licensing laws vary across the U.S.—Arizona and Delaware, for example, require no licenses for braiding hair, while Montana and South Dakota require over more than 2,000 training hours. A new report from the Institute for Justice notes an inverse relationship between the number of licensed or registered hair braiders and the requisite training hours in a state. The study finds that among 12 states and the District of Columbia, the states that demand more training hours have fewer braiders relative to their black populations than states with lighter requirements.
Bell, who launched her braiding business from her home, talked about the risks associated with being a hair braider in the face of excessive state regulation.
“[…] up to $10,000 in fines and up to a year in prison if I was caught braiding without a cosmetology license, she said. “When you’re trying to feed your kid and yourself, you take that risk. It was scary; you never know if somebody reported you. I remember everyday watching people coming into the salon and wondering if they were with the cosmetology board.”
Bell, who still not have a cosmetology license, worked with the Institute for Justice to file her lawsuit. Her ongoing battle is both a cultural one and a legal one, that could impact hair braiders across the country.
