The Issue
Keep Floridians Safe
Full specialists, nail and skin specialists, and barbers often perform services that require the use of chemicals on the skin, and to best serve the public they must have a thorough understanding of diseases and conditions that can affect their clients. We must protect consumers across the state and keep training standards strong – for the health and safety of all Floridians.
Hurting Florida’s Businesses
Weaker training requirements for full specialists, nail and skin specialists, and barbers would hurt businesses across the state. Students who want to join these professions wouldn’t receive the proper training to succeed, and business owners would have to hunt for talent outside our state to come in and take jobs that otherwise could be held by Floridians.
Unnecessary Legislation
There is no reason for our state to lower the standards to become a full specialist, nail and skin specialist, or barber – this is a solution looking for a problem that doesn’t exist. If anything, this legislation would create new problems by causing more students to fail the certification exam because they were poorly prepared.
Floridians Support Strong Standards
“Reduction to 150 hours would not give anyone enough time to be prepared with the knowledge to safely service guests...”
- Abigail Garbalena, Full Specialist
“Cutting hours in Florida’s Cosmetology standards are not only detrimental to me personally but to the industry and esthetics field...”
- Destiny Lastra, Facial Specialist
“There are many aspects of this program that you need to get safe with, and functional with, and 600 hours, you cannot do that.”
- Roxanne Allison
News
Lowering cosmetology training standards put businesses, customers at risk | My Word
There are over 250 Great Clips salons in Florida, and I own 31 of them. With over 2,000 cosmetologists and barbers employed by the company in Florida — 250 of them at my franchises — I have a pretty good idea of how they’re trained before and after they become Great Clips employees and the…
Are Your Beauty Products Toxic? A New Senate Bill Aims to Tackle Unregulated Ingredients
It’s been almost 80 years since Congress passed legislation to manage the beauty industry, but a new bill that was introduced today would completely change the way we regulate cosmetics. Read more at Vogue.
Nail Clinic: Staph Meeting
No one in the salon industry will likely forget the case of Kimberly Jackson. In 2006, this Fort Worth, Texas-based woman allegedly contracted Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) during a pedicure at a local salon—and later suffered a fatal heart attack due to the disease. Though most nail technicians are careful to properly disinfect their equipment…
When Injuries Happen in Beauty and Nail Salons
Beauty salons, nail salons, and day spas in Hollywood, Homestead, Miami, and other South Florida cities are plentiful and these businesses are designed to help customers feel beautiful and pampered. As part of a highly competitive business, these companies often offer a range of services, and over the years some of these services have become…
Barber accused of cutting customer’s ear with scissors, giving him bad ‘Stooges’ haircut
A Wisconsin man who wanted a fresh haircut for the holidays was left injured and bald after his barber allegedly cut him with scissors and then shaved a strip of his hair off. Read more at New York Daily News.
Occupational Licensing in Florida: Unnecessary Licenses Are Killing Jobs
“Occupational licensing” requires aspiring workers and entrepreneurs to secure government permission to enter a particular field. Through a combination of educational and experience requirements, as well as exams and fees, occupational licensing attempts to protect consumers from malpractice and ensure that practitioners are sufficiently skilled. While only one in 20 U.S. workers was required to…