As part of my pre-Hawaii trip preparation, I visited the local Supercuts and gave the young woman instructions to “avoid the Donald Trump comb-over look at all costs.” She had learned her craft at “Minuteman Tech,” a vocational high school aggregating students from surrounding towns. Why did she choose the voc-tech option, a 45-minute drive from her home? It would have been easier to go to her local high school, Nashoba Regional, which ranks #35 in Greater Boston (Cambridge is not among the top 50 and therefore not on the list). “I needed a change and I wanted to get away from the wrong crowd of people.” She ended up loving Minuteman, a thumbs up for this particular use of our tax dollars.
I also learned that she was a “cosmetologist” and wouldn’t be able to work as a “barber”. These have separate regulations and licensing processes. Here’s a chart of the different procedures that each can do and also a narrative explanation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lumps them together at $11.40 per hour so they will be getting a boost from the $15 minimum wage (when will the first haircutting robots be developed?).
Why not learn to stop worrying and embrace the comb over? I think you would look great with it!
Why restrict who is allowed to cut hair for money? We dont restrict who can cut hair for free.
I am pretty sure the licensing issues are medical safety related. Barbers use sharpe blades to cut hair and occasionally cut people. Then they use the same blade on your neck that they did on the guy before you who has a skin disease. So there are sanitation issues. I am not sure they do a lot of sterilizing but they seem to do enough for safety.
Beauticians use all kinds of crazy chemicals to bleach and color hair. So most of them need chemistry training to not do harm to themselves and their customers. I am not sure they receive much training like this but they do not hurt people (we would see headlines) so they must understand the issues a little. S
Not as bad as EE engineers and students who work at semiconductor chip plants or labs at places like MIT and handle all kinds of very dangerous acids and chemicals. Those EEs/student don’t get licensed nor trained for any thing like this but are assumed to be competent. So we let them work/study and hope they will not kill themselves or us.
Now in Connecticut it’s one license (cosmetologist & barber).
Judging from the insane number of barbershops and beauty salons I see in certain neighborhoods all over the country, the licensing barriers must not be very formidable. That doesn’t mean it’s not a stupid regime that causes waste (I don’t know), but it can’t be a serious barrier to entry.
bill is right to point out the dangers of cosmetics and hair cutting but there is surely more to be done.
Every day people without professional training or certification are exposed to an environment with sharp implements, scalding liquids and even open flames. When is something going to be done to regulate home cooking?
swelter: the standard home cooking curriculum stresses that the sharp implements and other dangerous materials are to be used on foodstuffs and equipment only — explicitly _not_ on their customers.
The training for barbers and cosmetologists differs in this regard, and there is a vast body of existing law to cover the home cookers who fail to adhere to these expectations.
Also notable: at least in many states, home cooks are prohibited from _selling_ the fruits of their labors (sans licenses and permits), though they may give them away without restriction. As far as I know, the same rules apply to cosmetologists and barbers.