Braid Against the Machine: Louisiana’s 600-Hour Money Grab
The number of states requiring an occupational license to braid natural hair has increased over the last few years. Today, 37 states no longer require a permit to braid hair, freeing entrepreneurs to earn a living using a skill that is often passed down through generations of women. Unfortunately, Louisiana loves to buck a trend. If the Louisiana State Board of Cosmetology (LSBC) gets its way, it will soon become more difficult and more expensive to become a licensed hair braider.
At its February 2026 board meeting, the LSBC discussed legislation to increase the number of hours required for an alternative hair design permit from 500 hours to 600 hours. Their justification for the increase is to align the required number of hours for a permit with federal student loan lending requirements. The majority of LSBC board members own or are affiliated with a cosmetology school; there are no consumer members on this board. Let’s be clear: the LSBC is not interested in safety, more skilled hair braiders, or customer satisfaction. School owners are the only winners under this proposed legislation.
Louisiana has passed on the opportunity to carve an easier path for natural hair braiders. States that are reevaluating their occupational licensing requirements for natural hair braiders are becoming less restrictive; Louisiana would be the only state to require more time and expense of its hair braiders. Eight states that still license hair braiders require 50 hours or fewer of training. None of our neighboring states require a license to braid natural hair.
There is absolutely no evidence that a license from the state makes a better hair braider. In fact, a licensed cosmetologist in Louisiana who was never trained in natural hair braiding during his or her schooling can legally braid hair. Furthermore, students in states with more burdensome occupational licensing laws incur more costs in terms of tuition and fees as well as larger indirect costs associated with delaying the start of their career. States with more onerous licensing requirements have fewer hair braiders. That limits jobs and forces consumers to pay more, wait longer, and travel farther for services.
We should look to our neighbor, Mississippi, as an example of the opportunity the legislature could make available for entrepreneurs by eliminating the hair braiding license. Mississippi requires zero training hours and has over 1,200 registered hair braiders. Louisiana, which has a larger population of African immigrants and Black residents, has 40 licensed hair braiders. Of the 40 cosmetology schools in Louisiana that are not high schools, only 10 offer the alternative hair design permit course, and none are located west of Lafayette.
Louisiana is unique in many wonderful ways. There is no reason for the state to be uniquely draconian in its treatment of entrepreneurs like natural hair braiders. The legislature should finally make it easier for hair braiders to provide for their families by eliminating the alternative hair design permit or limiting hair braiding to licensed cosmetologists.
