New law will make it easier to become a barber or cosmetologist in Iowa

Aspiring barbers, hairstylists and cosmetologists in Iowa will be allowed to work without a license so long as they are supervised by a licensed barber or beauty professional under legislation signed into law last week by Gov. Kim Reynolds.

Supporters say the new law provides flexible alternatives to traditional cosmetology and barbering school for up-and-coming professionals and provides established shop owners with more hiring and training opportunities.

Some critics argue the new requirements will lower standards in the state, and could compromise service quality and client safety. Others contend there’s no significant change to the status quo.

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The Institute for Justice — a national nonprofit, public interest law firm that works to reduce barriers to occupational licensing — began working with barbers in the Des Moines area last year to push reforms to licensing requirements for would-be barbers to find work. It formed the Iowa Barber Coalition to lobby for the legislation.

Currently, barbers in the state have two options for training: barbering school or a structured apprenticeship.

House File 711 offers a third option by creating an “establishment training program,” allowing licensed barbershops to hire unlicensed individuals to learn on the job under the supervision of a licensed barber, without needing to go to an actual school.

The new program is separate from a registered apprenticeship program, which is industry-vetted and approved and validated by the U.S. Department of Labor or state apprenticeship agency, and which includes a minimum of 2,000 hours of on-the-job training and at least 144 hours of related classroom instruction per year.

Under the new law, licensed establishments may choose to register with the Iowa Board of Barbering and Cosmetology Arts & Sciences to hire unlicensed individuals to work under supervision while learning the trade.

Owners will be responsible for ensuring the education, training, skills and competence of those they hire. They also are responsible for maintaining minimum equipment, safety and infection control requirements, and will be inspected to ensure compliance. They’re required to provide written notice to customers that they’re participating in the job training program and those providing services are unlicensed.

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Trainees will be required to receive two hours of training on Iowa’s cosmetology and sanitation rules and regulations.

Before they could take the examination required to become licensed to practice, trainees would required to submit proof that they completed 2,000 hours of supervised practice under a registered training program.

Mixed reactions

Craig Hunt, owner of Universal Barbershop in Des Moines, said the new law lowers barriers to becoming a barber, notably the time and cost of cosmetology school or limited space in the state apprenticeship program.

“We get complaints with the frustration of rural students having to travel two to three hours to schools,” Hunt said.

He said the new requirements give more opportunities to Iowans to earn a living, and they give barbershop owners more opportunity to train and mentor future employees.

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Madison Baxa earned her cosmetology license after completing 2,100 hours of schooling at Capri College in Cedar Rapids in 2018.

The owner of The Hive, Inc. in southeast Cedar Rapids said the new law will lower standards in the state.

“I was shocked to see the legislation,” Baxa said. “Iowa has always had the highest requirements, and I did not expect to see Iowa willing to drop that expectation. I chose to stay in Iowa because Iowa had the highest requirement of hours, and then you could go anywhere to work, including other countries. Truthfully, it calls into question the standards of education in Iowa if we’re willing to drop them.”

Previous change decreased schooling hours

In 2023, Iowa reduced the required schooling hours for barbering and cosmetology licenses from 2,100 — among the strictest requirements in the country — to 1,550, or 2,000 hours in a structured apprenticeship. By comparison, emergency medical technicians, dental assistants, pharmacy technicians, school bus drivers, pesticide applicators, unarmed security guards, and most types of building contractors all require less training.

The change was part of a broader effort to adjust licensing requirements in the state.

Tom Solomon, special projects coordinator for the Institute for Justice, said the new law makes needed changes to what he called an inflexible and burdensome system that held many barbers back — both those seeking to break into the industry and those who wanted to teach the next generation.

“What this means is new barbers can get their feet wet in the industry to see if it’s a good fit for them before having to commit to school or a structured apprenticeship,” Solomon said. “It also gives skilled professionals who have not yet received their license an ability to earn a living in the state.

He noted House File 711 does not eliminate licenses for barbers or cosmetologists; does not allow unlicensed barbers to practice outside licensed barbershops and salons; does not force consumers to receive unlicensed services; and does not change licensing laws for services such as nails or eyelashes.

“Now that this bill has passed, many Iowans now are looking at open doors to careers that had a few days ago been tightly closed to them,” Solomon said. “This bill will mean more professionals working legally and getting the skills they need under the direct supervision of licensed and trained professionals.”

Baxa, though, worries the new law will create inconsistencies in training quality compared to standardized school programs, leaving students unprepared.

Instead, she said state and industry officials should be questioning the increasing cost of schooling when fewer hours are now required.

“The biggest concern is just for the stylist and the client,” Baxa said. “ … It’s more so about the confidence of the stylist and whether or not they believe they’re receiving the education they’re paying for and being paid for."

Michelle Duncan, president of the Iowa Barber and Cosmetology School Association, contends the law doesn’t change much.

“It will be very close to an apprenticeship governed by the Board of Barbering Cosmetology Arts and Science,” said Duncan, compliance lead at PCI Academy — a trade school specializing in cosmetology, barbering, esthetics and massage with locations in Ames and Iowa City. “It provides a clear path to licensure, the same as apprenticeships. … It’s going to serve the public, it’s going to serve the student and that’s what’s most important.”

Now that the legislation has been signed into law, the Iowa Board of Barbering and Cosmetology Arts & Sciences must adopt rules to administer the new program.

Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com