Hair-braiding license proposed

HARRISBURG (AP) -- Hair braiders would be required to get a license under a proposal being considered by state lawmakers.
The House Professional Licensure Committee is considering a bill that would establish guidelines for teaching and testing and impose licensing fees.
State Rep. W. Curtis Thomas, D-Philadelphia, said he introduced the bill after at least 25 hair braiders in his district were fined for not having cosmetology licenses. He said it doesn't make sense to require braiders to have a cosmetology license because they don't cut or color hair.
"The state was not ready for this new business to explode, and is fining a business they don't understand," said Thomas, who hopes the bill will be voted on this year.
The hair-braiding license would require fewer than 300 hours of schooling and an exam on braiding, safety and sanitation. Anyone who has been braiding hair professionally for at least three years would qualify for a nine-month temporary license and could forgo the schooling by passing the exam.
Professional braiders and salon owners are divided on the need for a license.
Andrea Fulton, co-owner of Hair Designs + Inc. outside Harrisburg, said she doesn't think the state needs to license braiders.
"It's an art African-Americans have done for centuries," Fulton said. "Now braiders are making money and it's a business, and the government wants to regulate this and make money."
Others welcome licensure, saying incompetent braiders can cause pain or baldness.
"You have to have a license to cut hair. You have to have a license to do nails. You have to have a license to do everything. I think they should have a license for braids, too," said Rodman Barton, owner of Rodman's Beauty Salon in Harrisburg.