Regulatory Makeover: A Fresh Face for Cosmetology Licensing in South Carolina

Currently in South Carolina, an estimated 17,057 potential job opportunities have been regulated out of existence by overreaching state occupational licensing laws and regulations. Now, don’t get us wrong. Because of health, safety, and consumer protection concerns, standards are important. But our state’s licensing system is currently placing unnecessary roadblocks in front of many South Carolinians simply hoping to earn an honest living and feed their families.  

One area of reform that should be low-hanging fruit is the area of cosmetology licensing.  

Why Cosmetology Licensing Needs Reform 

Did you know that South Carolina requires 1,500 hours of training to become a licensed cosmetologist? That exceeds the required hours to become an EMT, a profession that arguably has more hazardous and vital roles. According to Emily Willis, a South Carolina master licensed cosmetologist who testified in front of the South Carolina House’s Medical and Health Affairs subcommittee on April 29, 2025, these requirements often mean, in her words, “learning services that they will never provide” and “things that are completely unrelated” to what they “actually do,”  

Research substantiates Ms. Willis’s claims. According to the Institute for Justice’s 2021 report, these hour requirements are not tied to public health or safety. Instead, IJ suggests such excessive requirements exist to satisfy the cartel interests of beauty schools, which are paid for certification courses. The current licensing regs act as a preventative barrier to opportunity for aspiring South Carolina businesspeople who are good at what they do, but do not have the resources to complete expensive cosmetology programs. As Rep. J. A. Moore (D- Charleston) pointed out in the subcommittee that day: “it may benefit the [lower-income] community when you are looking at entrepreneurs.”  

Unfortunately, a license is not an end to the barriers to occupational entry for a cosmetologist. According to state law, cosmetologists are prohibited from working outside a brick-and-mortar store, a privilege that licensed barbers are afforded. This means that licensed cosmetologists who have invested time and financial resources into completing all 1,500 hours of required training are shut out of high-paying destination opportunities like weddings and special events. Palmetto Promise Institute supported the barber reform, and supports legislation to fix this unfair cosmetology restriction. But the cosmetology reform has failed to cross the finish line thus far in the 2025-26 session, leaving qualified professionals still unable to go mobile. 

Occupational licensing requirements also impose significant economic inefficiencies on both practitioners and customers. When aspiring hair stylists seeking only to provide basic services like blow-dry styling and hair braiding are compelled to complete comprehensive cosmetology programs, they must invest cumbersome hours and substantial resources in mastering unrelated skills such as nail care that may never factor into their intended practice. This mandatory overtraining creates unnecessary financial burdens for practitioners, costs that are inevitably passed on to consumers through higher service prices.   

H.4186 Solves These Problems 

A new bill filed by Rep. Chris Wooten (R-Lexington) can solve many of these issues. This legislation pulls together years of sound policy ideas into one smart package. Here’s a summary of the areas the bill covers: 

• Allows portable operations: Licensed cosmetologists, estheticians, and nail technicians could work at clients’ homes, businesses, wedding venues, and special events with proper permits, expanding their freedoms to match that of practicing barbers. 

• Creates “express styling” exemption: People providing only basic services like shampooing, conditioning, blow-drying, hair braiding, and thermal styling wouldn’t need full cosmetology licenses, reducing unnecessary training costs and matching other states on the forefront of supporting these more niche beauty services. 

• Exempts makeup artists: A makeup artist application would no longer require cosmetology licensing, allowing artists to work without completing unrelated training. 

• Increases esthetician training: Raises required skin care training from 450 to 600 hours, though students already enrolled before July 2024 may finish under the previous requirements. 

Critics of the Wooten bill claim that deregulation could create a public safety issue by enabling professionals without proper training to do makeup and style hair. This claim ignores reality. It turns out that only 2 to 5% of South Carolina cosmetology curriculum is devoted to health and safety. Furthermore, this bill seeks to increase training for estheticians, showing that the legislation is not just deregulating for deregulation’s sake, it is adjusting our law to fit industry needs and standards. In fact, as IJ’s Rachel Gonzalez pointed out in her testimony in front of the April 29 House Medical and Health Affairs subcommittee, “17 other states have already exempted makeup artists from licensure” and “9 other states have exempted express hair styling.” 

Licensing does not mean better quality 

In examining the actual quality of consumer services, customer review patterns can reveal a range of issues; in fact, negative reviews are perceived as more helpful to other consumers looking for quality issues. Yet, despite this natural tendency for reviews to highlight problems, IJ data shows no statistically significant improvement in service quality as licensing requirements become more burdensome. This suggests that additional training hours and regulatory barriers aren’t translating into better customer experiences. 

IJ Findings: Licensing Consistently Has No Positive Effect on Service Quality 

“[Customers] can make the risk analysis themselves,” said Holly Beeson of the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation (LLR), in testimony on H.4186. She believes the bill reflects trust in customers’ ability to make their own informed choices. With a requirement that unlicensed hair stylists and makeup artists disclose their unregulated status, the Department supports the deregulation of these services—and even helped draft the bill. Kudos to Governor McMaster’s LLR. 

H.3484 and H.3024 Showed Us What’s Possible 

In 2021, Palmetto Promise backed H.3024 allowing barbers to run portable operations, a post-COVID deregulation that passed into law with universal support. In 2023, we saw continued progress with bipartisan support for H.3484, which (although not passed) would have removed the state’s licensing requirement for hair braiders. Those ideas for common-sense reform opened the door for this bill which will enable entrepreneurs to legally earn income using skills they already have, without spending thousands on unnecessary schooling. “When more artists are able to enter the industry without facing crushing debt or irrelevant training requirements, competition increases and so does the quality of work,” said cosmetologist Emily Willis in her committee testimony.  

Conclusion 

With the licensing reform movement started, South Carolina has a chance to build on that momentum and deliver even more significant progress. H.4186 represents years of careful thought, community feedback, and bipartisan support. It’s a bold, forward-looking bill that clears away red tape and puts students, workers, and entrepreneurs first.

On  May 7, 2025, just before the end of the 2025 legislative session, Rep. Chris Wooten (R-Lexington) asked for permission to bring his H. 4186 out of the House Committee on Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs and directly to the floor so the full House could consider it before the end of the first half of the two year legislative session. But Rep. John King (D-York) objected. But 2026 is coming. 

With passage of legislation like H.4186, the Palmetto State can send the message that licensing laws should serve to enhance the quality of life of our citizens, not hold them back. 

Occupational Licensing Reform is a part of the Free Market & Economic Opportunity pillar of our Palmetto Freedom Agenda for the 2025-26 legislative session. For more resources on the issue of Occupational Licensing, including an explainer video and more research, please visit our Freedom Agenda page.