March 6, 2026
When co nsidering jobs that occupy the beauty industry, a few quickly come to mind. Barbers, cosmetologists, nail technicians, hair stylists and so on. Few would think immediately of natural hair stylists as most would assume that styling hair naturally would not be its own standalone job, but it has become one. Natural hair stylists handle hair well naturally, without using any tools, dyes, or cuts. The primary focus is braiding hair which has grown more popular in recent history.
In the past, natural hair styling was not a separate profession and to be one you needed a cosmetologist license. The problem is that natural hair stylists do not need to know how to be a cosmetologist, and most cosmetology schools did not have any natural hair courses.
The first separation of the professions was in 1993 as New York state created a separate license for natural hair stylists so that they would not have to be qualified in areas that they did not practice. New licenses outside of medical fields are rare as most were established in the progressive era.
The establishment of this license was driven by the growing natural hair movement that came to prominence in the 90s as black beauty, hair styles, and culture were promoted. African Americans have strong ties to natural hair styling from historic cultural practices of braiding and the prominence of hair in expressions of black identity.
To help account for these changes in the world of licensing overtime; the Knee Regulatory Research Center has complied data on several licensed professions throughout the country, releasing a snapshot of the data each year to observe changes overtime. Natural hair braiders are just one of many licenses included in the database. This data can be used to compare requirements between states. The Knee center collects data directly from state boards and statues. Those wanting to learn about a license would go to the relevant licensing board website to find the information. If you have difficulty finding the information or it is not otherwise listed, then you can look in the state's statutes and legal code to see if it's present there (and most boards provide clear guides to navigate too relevant code) or you could reach out to the board itself.
Figure 1: License or Registration Requirements by State
Currently Natural Hair Braiders are licensed in 18 states and Washington DC. Several states have lifted their requirements for licensure, such as Pennsylvania.1 In 2024 Pennsylvania passed Act 100 effectively delicensing natural hair braiders, natural hair braider teachers, and natural hair braiding salons in the state.
Figure 2: Initial Licensing Fee by State
Two of the 18 states, Iowa and Ohio, require no initial fee to become licensed or registered. The following states Oklahoma, Missouri, South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Illinois, have the lowest fees ranging from $5 to $30. Other states charge more with New York, North Carolina, Oregon, and New Jersey charging from $70 to $193. These lasts states have the most expensive fees with, Tennessee, Hawaii, Alabama, New Mexico, Nevada, and DC charging from $200 to $320. Alaska has the highest fee, charging $420 dollars.
Figure 3: Renewal Fees by State
As for renewal fees, Iowa and Oklahoma do not charge a renewal fee. North Carolina, New York, Hawaii, Louisiana, Illinois, and Ohio list fees ranging from $20 to $55. The states of Tennessee, Oregon, Nevada, New Jersey, South Carolina, Alabama, and DC require fees ranging from $60 to $110. Alaska has the second highest fee of $180 biannually and the most expensive state is New Mexico which charges $200 dollars biannually.
Figure 4: Required Experience Hours by State
Experience requirements between states are all over the place with little overlap. The states of Hawaii and New Mexico require over a thousand hours of experience or training to be licensed with Hawaii requiring some 1800. Other States lists hours ranging from 100 to 500 hours. A few states have little to no requirement requiring 4 to 50 hours, and Iowa and Oregon do not require any experience.
As for education, a natural hair braider does not have any educational requirements in 8 states. 10 states and DC require some level of high school education ranging from a high school diploma to the completion of the 10th grade.
In terms of exams, most states require you to pass at least 1 exam; Others require 2 or 3 for licensure. Only Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois do not require an exam. Exams are often a mix of written and practical with practical exams requiring test takers to demonstrate they can handle natural hair. Most states use a third-party company to provide tests.
Only 3 states and DC have continuing education requirements, that being the number of hours of extra educational hours required for renewal. North Carolina requires 16 hours; Illinois requires 10, DC 6 hours and Ohio only requires 4.
Currently, natural hair licensing is up for debate in several states. Some states have proposed removing the licensing while others have sought to increase the experience requirements believing it would address health and safety concerns.
Works Cited
“Braiding - Institute for Justice.” Institute for justice. Accessed February 20, 2026. https://ij.org/issues/economic-liberty/braiding/.
“Cosmetology.” Cosmetology | Department of State | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Accessed February 20, 2026. https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dos/department-and-offices/bpoa/boards-commissions/cosmetology#:~:text=With%20the%20passage%20of%20Act,longer%20required%20to%20be%20licensed.
Varnado, Majestie. “Heavy Is the Head: Evolution of African Hair in America ...” Library of Congress . Accessed February 20, 2026. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/of-the-people/represent/junior-fellows/documents/CCDI-Guide-Majestie-Varnado.pdf.
Norris, Conor, Kelley, Ethan, Carneal, Troy, and Timmons, Edward. (2025). “CSOR Licensing Database Annual Snapshot: 2025.” Knee Regulatory Research Center.