Andrew Wimer
Andrew Wimer · January 14, 2025

New Study Shows That Heavier Licensing Burdens Do Not Improve Health and Safety

Institute for Justice analysis questions the necessity of expensive and time-consuming training for barbering and cosmetology jobs.

ARLINGTON, Va.—A new report from the Institute for Justice (IJ) questions one of the basic assumptions underlying government licensing of certain occupations—that it is needed to protect health and safety. The report, Clean Cut, looks at whether nail salons and barbershops in states with differing licensing burdens for workers did better or worse when it came to health inspections. The answer was clear: There was no difference in inspection outcomes across the states.

“States force barbers and beauty workers to spend a lot of time and money on schooling before they can get a license to work, but my research suggests those licenses aren’t needed to keep consumers safe,” said the study’s author, IJ Senior Research Analyst Matthew West, Ph.D. “Barbershops and nail salons were clean and safe, regardless of whether their workers faced burdensome licensing, lighter licensing, or no licensing at all.”

This analysis was possible because licensing standards can vary greatly across state borders. For years, Connecticut did not require licenses for manicurists, while New York required 250 hours of training (Connecticut relicensed the occupation in 2021). And Mississippi requires 50% more training for barbers compared to neighboring Alabama. Yet in each of these states, nail salons and barbershops performed extremely well on health inspections.

The evidence in Clean Cut shows that states can make it easier and less expensive to break into barbering and beauty jobs without putting the public at risk. Restaurant cooks, like barbers, cosmetologists, and other beauty workers, provide services that can harm customers if health and safety standards are not followed. Yet to be a cook typically requires just a few hours of food safety training.

Meanwhile, barbers and beauty workers attend school at significant time and expense. IJ’s 2021 study Beauty School Debt and Drop-Outs quantified the cost to workers. Cosmetology students on average borrowed $7,100 in federal student loans to complete the education required for licensure. And, on average, fewer than one-third of students graduated on time.

Support for occupational licensing reform has spanned multiple presidential administrations, with Obama, Trump, and Biden all encouraging states to reduce burdens. Many states have exempted African-style hair braiders from licensure, and some states have exempted makeup artists, blow-dry stylists, and other niche beauty service providers. However, barbers and cosmetologists are still licensed by every state and the District of Columbia, with most states demanding at least 1,000 hours of training, among other requirements. Manicurists are also widely and onerously licensed.

“Shops and salons have every reason to keep standards high with or without licensing,” said IJ Director of Legislation and Senior Legislative Counsel Meagan Forbes. “No one wants to sit in a dirty barber chair or dip their toes into a grimy foot spa. Businesses understand this, especially with how easy it is for consumers to post about bad experiences online.”

The Institute for Justice is a nonprofit, public interest law firm that promotes economic liberty across the United States. IJ’s landmark study into the burdens of occupational licensing, License to Work, is now in its third edition. A 2022 IJ study, Raising Barriers, Not Quality, found no evidence that licensing improves service quality as measured by customer ratings. IJ’s Clinic on Entrepreneurship recently worked closely with an Illinois task force that recommended a number of licensing reforms.

Related Reports

Cosmetology | Occupational Licensing

Clean Cut

Clean Cut analyzed thousands of health inspections across four states and finds nail salons and barbershops were clean and safe, regardless of whether workers faced burdensome licensing, lighter licensing, or no licensing at all.