What US states require a license to braid hair

There is a high demand for hair braiding in the United States. Therefore, you will be able to go ahead and start working as a hairstylist and offer the service to earn a decent amount of money. 

However, you will need to obtain a license in some of the states to braid hair. In fact, you need to attend cosmetology classes that can cost $20,000 or more. Therefore, you have to make sure you are not violating any offenses.

This article will provide you with all the information about licensing. Hence, any person who is interested in working as a hairstylist to braid hair can go through and figure out important details. In summary, the following table shows the license required by US states (from braidingfreedom.com)

What is hair braiding? 

Hair braiding can be considered as a natural process to take care of hair. Here, you will not be using any chemicals, heat or even scissors. Therefore, you can find many differences in between braiding hair and other forms of cosmetology.

You will be able to start working as a hair braider without obtaining a license in some of the states. However, there are states, which would ask you to go through a cosmetology training program and obtain the license to start working as a hair braider. This will be a time-consuming training program. In other words, you will have to spend around 1,000 to 2,100 hours to go through the cosmetology training program. It will also cost you thousands of dollars. 

What can you learn in the cosmetology training courses? 

The cosmetology training course will provide students with a clear understanding of how to cut hair and how to use different chemicals on hair. In addition to that, you will also be able to get to know about the hair braiding techniques. There are many different hair braiding techniques. The course will be able to provide you with a clear overview of different braiding techniques out of them. 

It is worthy to go through this cosmetology training course. That’s because you will be able to learn a lot of things, which can benefit you while working as a hairstylist. Hence, the time and money you spend on the cosmetology training course can be considered as an excellent investment that you can do towards the future as well. 

Differences between states requiring a license to braid hair

In some states, you will not be able to find differentiation in between hair braiders from the cosmetologists and hairstylists. Therefore, you will need to obtain a full-time license, even if you are going to work only with hair braiding. (see above table for full cosmetologists required).

On the other hand, there are certain states, where you will need to have a license to go ahead with braiding hair. However, you will have to spend little effort (a few weeks) to obtain the license. Below mentioned are those states.

• South Carolina
• Oregon
• Minnesota
• Florida

The remaining states in the country do not require a license in order to go ahead with hair braiding. However, it is also important to keep in mind that hair braiding is not considered a separate occupation from the hairstylist. 

Now you have a clear understanding of the states that require you to obtain a license to go ahead with braiding the hair. Keep these facts in your mind and proceed to the next step. If your state requires you to obtain a license, you should follow the appropriate courses and get the license needed. This can help you to refrain from the hassle and frustration that you have to go through while you are practicing as a hair braider. The main objective of this licensing is to transform your skills and help you deliver better results to the people with braiding hair. Hence, you shouldn’t ignore the licenses. You will be able to learn a lot of new things and improve your skills while you are trying to obtain the license.