Utah's 'blow dry bar bill' sparks heated debate over cosmetology licensing

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Blow dryers and curling irons are igniting a firestorm of debate on Utah’s Capitol Hill.

The so-called “blow dry bar bill” — Senate Bill 87 — would whack licensing requirements for those who work at blow dry bars. Stylists who only dry, style, arrange, shampoo, curl, or condition hair would not be required to have a cosmetology license.

READ: 2021 Utah legislative session: List of new bills tackle some big issues of 2020

The bill would also require those workers to display a sign noting they are not licensed.

“Shampooing and blow drying hair is something that everybody is familiar with,” said Sen. Curt Bramble (R-Provo), the bill’s sponsor. “The idea that you need to have a license to do what is a common practice is a challenge.”

Michael Wells, a stylist at Blo Blow Dry Bar in Sugar House, has a cosmetology license. To become certified, he had to train for 1,600 hours.

“You have to really know what you’re doing when it comes to sanitation,” Wells said, noting that he also has concerns about safety if the bill is passed since stylists regularly use blow dryers and curling irons. “It could be potentially dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing.”

Bramble said he thinks concerns about safety are exaggerated.

“Licensing should be dealing with things that protect public health and safety, not protecting the turf of a particular industry,” he said.

This deregulation push has gotten steam from Gov. Spencer Cox, whose first executive order aims to identify outdated occupational licensing requirements.

Charlene Ignacio, a manager at Blo Blow Dry Bar, said she likes parts of the bill, particularly when it comes to expanding the pool of potential employees.

“Opening up our hiring is definitely going to be a benefit with the bill,” she said.

But Ignacio said she would like to see some regulations in place while allowing for stylists to do on-the-job training.

If we could have a hybrid where it takes the training and the skills plus experience, then I think all of us would win,” Ignacio said.

Bramble told 2News the bill — which is awaiting a final vote in the Senate before moving to the House of Representatives — is on hold temporarily while he makes some changes to deal with concerns about sanitation. Those changes have not been made public yet.

Meanwhile, Wells — the stylist at Blo Blow Dry Bar — is watching this legislation with apprehension. He’s especially concerned that he put in all that work to become certified while others wouldn’t have to.

“It’s a little unfair,” he said.

Responding to 2News about that specific criticism, Bramble said, “His 1,600 hours and paying for schooling gives him a license as a cosmetologist that allows him to do everything under the scope of that licensing. We’re carving out a small niche.”