Louisiana Cosmetology Board Rules: Permits, Definitions and Disciplinary Procedure

The defined terms the rules turn on

Alternative hair means any hair that is not a person's own, including synthetic hair, wiggery, braids, postiche or any applied hair, while natural hair is hair that is the person's own, has grown on the body and has not been separated from it. Alternative hair design is styling by twisting, wrapping, weaving, extending, locking or braiding, by hand or with mechanical devices. The boundary is the examinable part: alternative hair design may include applying antiseptics, powders, oils, clays, lotions or tonics to the alternative hair, but it does not extend to applying dyes, reactive chemicals or other preparations that alter the structure or style of the natural hair. On the skin side, dermaplaning is exfoliating the epidermis and removing the vellus hair with a bladed tool, and nano-needling is a non-invasive technique for transdermal serum delivery with a device that does not penetrate beyond the epidermis by more than 0.25 mm of the outermost layer of skin. A disposable is defined by what cannot be done to it: it is an item that cannot be sanitized, and it must be discarded after a single use.

The three special permits, and who may hold them

LAC 46:XXXI.1101 gives the board three special permits: alternative hair design, shampoo assistants and threading. All special permits run for one year. Alternative hair design services may be provided only in facilities the board licenses as cosmetology salons, and its curriculum is at least 500 hours covering a history overview, bacteriology and sanitation, client consultation, hair types and structure, scalp diseases and disorders, shampoos and conditioners for synthetic hair, and braiding and sculpting. An applicant who already holds an alternative hair design permit in another state and can demonstrate two years of experience shall be issued a permit. A shampoo assistant permit needs at least 40 hours of training in shampooing, draping and rinsing at a board approved school, and a salon owner or manager with the same 40 hours may be permitted to train assistants working in the salon. Two limits get tested: no one enrolled in a cosmetology school may work as a shampoo assistant, and nobody holding a current cosmetology licence needs a shampoo permit at all. A threader must be at least 16 and must complete the board's sanitation training, and where the facility owner is not a cosmetologist, esthetician or permitted threader, or is absent more than two working days a week, the facility must employ a registered manager who is present during all hours of operation.

Temporary permits and the transfer-of-hours trap

LAC 46:XXXI.1113 covers two different temporary permits. One goes to people licensed to practise cosmetology, esthetics or manicuring in another state, and applications for hair shows, beauty pageants or demonstrations must reach the board not less than 30 days before the requested period. The other is a temporary permit pending application and testing, issued to someone who has filed a complete application for licensure, has verified current licensure in the state of last employment, and resides in Louisiana and plans to work here. That holder must practise under the supervision of a person licensed in Louisiana in the same discipline, and a holder who violates the Act or a board rule may be denied licensure or testing. One rule spans both: hours of study used to obtain any temporary or special permit may not be counted toward the hours needed for any other licence the board issues.

How discipline actually runs, step by step

The process starts informally. On information that a licensee has violated the Act or the rules, the executive director provides a written informal notice, and the licensee has 10 days from receipt to respond in writing showing compliance, or instead to request an informal conference with the executive director. If that does not resolve it, the executive director files a formal complaint, which goes to the licensee at the address on file with the board, and no hearing may be held before 20 business days after the complaint is filed. All hearings before the board are conducted under the Administrative Procedure Act. Several smaller rules in the same chapter are reliably examinable: a licensee must carry valid picture identification showing their name whenever a service is being performed and must place a photo on the board-issued licence before displaying it; a returned check moves the payment date to the day valid payment arrives, plus any bank charge and late fee, and a licence already issued becomes subject to revocation; cheating on a board examination disqualifies the person from any board exam for at least three months, and cheating on a subsequent examination bars registration without board approval; and an applicant may not be denied a certificate solely or partly because of a prior criminal conviction, except in cases R.S. 37:2950 authorises.