Split over hair: Proponents of deregulation seek to untangle laws on hair braiding
Proponents of hair-braiding deregulation say the toughest state rules fail the “rational basis test,” meaning there is no rational connection between the law and a compelling government interest. The libertarian Institute for Justice argues such regulations infringe on a person’s rights to due process and equal protection guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.
The nonprofit has won several lawsuits, including in Texas, where it convinced a federal judge in 2015 that it was unfair to require a woman who taught hair braiding to comply with onerous barber school regulations that were unrelated to her work.
In January, however, the institute lost in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at St. Louis; Stigers was the plaintiff, along with another braider named Ndioba Niang, suing the Missouri Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners. In response, they appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but then the deregulation bill passed, effectively making it moot.
Some black female and African immigrant braiders, along with their supporters, complain about a cultural disconnect around the issue of hair braiding.
“The people who made the rules and enforce the rules were totally unaware of and didn’t think through the issues” in many states, says Paul Avelar, a managing attorney at the Institute for Justice. “It was just ‘You’re touching hair, so you need a cosmetology license.’ ”
But not everyone wants government to be hands-off on braiding. In the Missouri case, the state argued that African-style hair braiding “is, by its very nature, a form of hair care and styling” because it “involves the manipulation of hair for aesthetic effect.” The new Missouri law acknowledges the need for at least some training, albeit through a video, in health and sanitation.
Critics of deregulation point to hair-braiding blunders such as hair being pulled too tight, resulting in ripped follicles and the potential for permanent hair loss. That’s a public health and safety issue that they think warrants government oversight.
Lisa Lane, a black salon owner in Annapolis, Maryland, is a member of the Professional Beauty Association’s advisory council, as well as a past member of the Maryland State Board of Cosmetologists. Lane says she’s heard of bacterial infections occurring with careless braiding jobs and worries about the health implications of unregulated hair braiding. “There can be safety issues,” she says.
Michael Halmon—a black man who owns a cosmetology school with two Florida campuses in Largo and St. Petersburg and vice chair of the board of the American Association of Cosmetology Schools—agrees. While he concedes that hair braiders don’t do perms or color, Halmon says licensing gives consumers a place to turn if something goes wrong. “Some kind of regulation is necessary,” he says.
push for proper protocol
In Tennessee, state Rep. Antonio Parkinson, a black Democrat from Memphis, fought hard against the deregulation proposal in part because he feared a torrent of bad actors.
If the state let braiders off the hook because they’re a natural hair business, what’s to stop a barber who doesn’t use chemicals from claiming he’s a natural hair stylist, too, argues Parkinson.
“They could put a sign on their door that says ‘I’m a natural hair stylist’ ” and escape government oversight, he says.
Parkinson says he grew up in a family that did hair care and was annoyed by the whole deregulation push. “None of the people that were attempting to make these decisions have any hair experience—none. So it’s kind of insulting,” Parkinson says. “I’m not against deregulation of some things … but when it comes to public health, I’m absolutely against it.”
Mark Norris, the white Republican Tennessee Senate majority leader who backed the deregulation bill for Gov. Bill Haslam, ended up withdrawing it after listening to some black caucus members’ concerns.
“We’re all about cutting red tape and being business-friendly,” Norris says. But “it’s a lot of white faces telling folks that they know what’s best for them. It didn’t sit well with me.”
Across the Mississippi River in Missouri, it’s the opposite. Stigers is celebrating what she considers a victory. Now that braiding will become more accessible there, Stigers says she has a new mission: making sure shoddy braiders don’t step in to do poor work at low prices. “We have to stay vigilant,” she says.
