Promoting Safety and Quality Without Licensing

In general, there exists a range of less burdensome alternatives to licensure, including fully voluntary ones and ones involving government intervention (see Figure 10). 1  Among alternatives involving government intervention, inspection systems are one of the least restrictive and most targeted to addressing health and safety risks in beauty and personal care occupations, as well as many others. 2

Figure 10. Less Restrictive Alternatives to Licensing

Voluntary or Non-Regulatory Options Government Interventions Market competition Quality service self-disclosure Voluntary, third-party professional certification and maintenance Voluntary bonding or insurance Private causes of action Deceptive trade practice acts Inspections Mandatory bonding or insurance Registration State certification Licensure

A first reason point-of-service inspection systems are a good alternative to licensing beauty and personal care occupations is that they provide opportunities for problem detection. In fact, this is in large part what existing inspection systems, of nail salons, barbershops, and other beauty and personal care establishments, are designed to do—identify problematic conditions of service that could lead to harm before harm is caused. Detecting the proximate causes of harm early means the risk of later harm can be mitigated.

A second, and related, reason, is that inspection systems provide opportunities for education and persuasion, as well as escalated actions when necessary. When inspectors detect a problem, that gives them an opportunity to educate business owners and workers on the nature of the problem, the appropriate way of handling the problem, and how policies and procedures can minimize or eliminate the problem. Reinspections provide businesses with the opportunity to show that they have fixed the problem and, if needed, receive additional feedback. And if serious problems persist, inspectors can impose sanctions, including suspending or revoking a business’s permission to operate. They can also publicly recognize businesses that perform well on inspections and encourage them to post their inspection results as a signal to consumers. 3 Research bears out the effectiveness of inspections, finding that repeated inspections tend to produce more favorable inspection outcomes. 4 This suggests that business owners and workers learn from inspections and modify their practices in response.

A third reason is that inspection systems are less burdensome than licensing, and they do not stop anyone from entering an occupation. Maintaining compliance with health and safety standards and undergoing inspections are inherently burdensome to an extent. However, inspection systems are less burdensome than licenses requiring months or years of education and experience. And inspections’ costs are more acceptable given that they are also more targeted to health and safety than licensing systems.

A fourth reason, and one already alluded to, is a practical one: Inspection systems for nail salons, barbershops, and other beauty and personal establishments typically already exist. This means that, in general, policymakers would at most have to tweak an existing system rather than create an entirely new one. And if a state does not have an appropriate inspection system already in place, it almost certainly has inspection systems for other types of businesses on which to model a system for beauty and personal care businesses. The food service industry is perhaps the most obvious example. Rather than tightly controlling who gets to be a chef, the government regulates the conditions of service, such as the environment in which food is prepared. 5 Looking to other states for models is also an option.

In conjunction with inspection systems, there are also ways for people to voluntarily obtain education or training and receive certification or another credential. For example, the United Kingdom does not license barbers or hairdressers. Instead, barbers and hairdressers can voluntarily register with the Hair & Barber Council when they meet certain education and experience requirements. 6  This allows them to call themselves “State Registered” and thus to distinguish themselves from other barbers and hairdressers who have not met the Council’s requirements (or who have but have not bothered to register). Although called registration, this is, in effect, a state certification program that restricts the use of a particular title (“State Registered Barber” or “State Registered Hairdresser”). At any rate, barbers and hairdressers have the option to obtain certification if they are interested, willing, and able; employers have the option to hire certified employees if that is what they desire; and consumers have the option to patronize certified barbers and hairdressers if they are willing and able. But certification does not stand as a barrier to entering the occupations, hiring workers, or patronizing the barber or hairdresser of one’s choice.

Although it operates in addition to a licensing system, California’s Healthy Nail Salon Recognition Program illustrates a similar approach. In participating jurisdictions, salon owners can voluntarily apply for certification as a “Healthy Nail Salon,” which means the business goes above and beyond minimum health and safety standards. As part of the program, owners and workers receive specialized training, after which the business must pass a special inspection to receive certification. Once certified, businesses are subject to annual compliance audits, which go beyond a typical inspection. For example, the inspection is meant to be unannounced, and the criteria are much more comprehensive and stringent, particularly for salons wishing to obtain or maintain the higher tier “Gold Certificate.” For example, salons cannot have any outstanding health violations. A benefit of being certified is advertising—salons receive a certificate that they can display to potential customers. In addition, the salons are highlighted on local government websites. 7

Training resources tailored to managing risks to health and safety in an occupation are available from several sources. And they are often low duration and low cost (if not free). Government agencies, private companies, and professional associations offer brief courses or other resources specifically on health and safety for manicurists, barbers, and other beauty and personal care occupations. 8 Such resources have been studied and shown to increase knowledge and communication about health and safety, as well as improve safety practices. 9  The COVID-19 pandemic was a notable impetus for new health and safety training. For example, Barbicide and the American Barber Association both created special training and certification programs on how to safely serve the public during the pandemic. 10 Barbers who completed the trainings could display their certificates to reassure potential customers.

Finally, the power of market competition to incentivize safe, high-quality service should not be underestimated. If consumers believe the services or conditions of service are unsanitary or unsafe in some way based on their experience, they will be less likely to return to an establishment. They may also share their experiences with others in their community or online, on a platform like Google or Yelp. Given prior research showing that consumers are sensitive to reputation and factor things like consumer ratings into their decision-making about which service providers to patronize, businesses have every incentive to minimize negative experiences and be responsive to such feedback. 11 If they do not take steps to improve their reputation, their market share is likely to decline, and they may eventually go out of business. Business owners are very aware of this risk—Craig Hunt put it bluntly: “No client is going to sit in a dirty barber’s seat.”

Any occupation for which there is some risk to health and safety will have a non-zero amount of health and safety incidents. However, it is possible to manage those risks systemically without licensing. A system characterized by market competition, in combination with inspections, can achieve the only legitimate goal of licensing—safe service—without the costs of licensing. 12  In fact, this is virtually what the system was for manicurists in Connecticut before the state relicensed the occupation. And as this study shows, most inspections resulted in zero violations, and there was no substantive difference in outcomes between unlicensed Connecticut and licensed New York. A plausible explanation for these findings is that inspections and market incentives were sufficiently ensuring safe and sanitary service.