Comment by 8_hours_ago | Hacker News Reader

Comment by 8_hours_ago | Hacker News Reader

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I was curious so I looked up the regulations for California[1]. A barber license requires a 2-year full-time apprenticeship, classroom instruction, a written test, and a practical test. In my opinion, those requirements are way too stringent for someone who is just going to be cutting my hair. I've had family members cut my hair and I still have all of my ears.

What are the legitimate reasons for the current license requirements? Are there any, or is this a law that is a relic of a past which did have reasons for it? It seems like the market could solve the issue of under performing barbers.

[1]: http://www.barbercosmo.ca.gov/applicants/index.shtml

EDIT: From reading this page, it looks like the service described in the article is illegal because in-home services are only available for "anyone whose illness or other physical or mental incapacitation prevents them from visiting a licensed salon or barbershop". And, of course, it still requires a licensed barber.

http://www.barbercosmo.ca.gov/consumers/inhome_srv_factsheet...

> In my opinion, those requirements are way too stringent for someone who is just going to be cutting my hair.

Commercial barbers do more than just cut hair, and the license applies to more than just hair cutting [0]. So, yes, its maybe slightly overkill for just cutting hair (OTOH, managing more different grades of barbering licenses would increase regulatory complexity.)

[0] http://www.barbercosmo.ca.gov/forms_pubs/publications/barber...

The requirements reassure the public that the person cutting hair isn't an idiot who's just bought some cheap clippers. They've cut hair - hundreds of hours worth of hair cutting - and they know how to sterilize the equipment. And if you're going to have chemical hair treatments you're not going to be maimed by someone who doesn't know how to use the chemicals.

I agree that 1,500 hours does sound a bit long though.

You could probably get an idea of how inflated that requirement is by looking at what percentage of the 1,500 hours is spent on issues relating to safety and hair cutting. Browsing the syllabi of barber schools, I see subjects like career networking, public speaking and small business management.

You could also compare states. In New York, the requirement is set by the school and I found one school that requires 288 hours.

That's nothing. You should see what Louisiana used to do for florists. http://www.ij.org/chauvin-v-strain

and what Texas used to do for hair braiders (no cutting/dying involved): http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2015/0109/Can-Texas-for...

-- raw incumbent-protection measures where the veneer of "consumer safety!" usually as an excuse to justify them had worn a little bit too thin...

You're a dude. As a woman, I have MUCH higher requirements of my hairstylists.

Sure, but those are the requirements for barbers, not people who cut / style women's hair.

> Sure, but those are the requirements for barbers, not people who cut / style women's hair.

No, in California licensing terms, people who "arrange, dress, curl, wave, permanent wave, cleanse, cut, shampoo, relax, singe, bleach, tint, color, straighten, dye, brush, apply hair tonics, beautify, or otherwise treat by any means the hair of any person" and who can also "perform facials, scalp massages, or treatments with oils, creams, lotions, or other preparations either by hand or with a mechanical appliance" and "apply cosmetic preparations, antiseptics, powders, oils, clays, or lotions to the scalp, face, or neck" are barbers. [0]

Now, there is another broader license from the same agency for cosmetologists, but the additional things a cosmetologist can do that a barber cannot are outside of cutting / styling hair. [1]

[0] http://www.barbercosmo.ca.gov/forms_pubs/publications/barber...

[1] http://www.barbercosmo.ca.gov/forms_pubs/publications/cosmet...

Wait is there really a difference?

It depends. For me, all I require is a trim, which needs no equipment other than a chair, scissors, and clippers. A barber could do the job portably, no problem. It's just that I have a high standard for the work that is done, so I'm extremely loyal to the barber that I currently see. I'm not going to risk some amateur screwing it up, which has happened in the past. Still, as we speak I'm about 3 weeks overdue for a haircut because I haven't had time to make the 10-minute trip across town to her premises during business hours. I would LOVE it if there was an app that could summon her presence at the moment. Especially if I could get her early in the day, because I've noticed a substantial drop in her work quality when I slide in after 5:00.

Stylists that do coloring, perms, and more complicated styles may need additional equipment that makes it tougher to do the job portably, so their clients would probably not be the target market of this app.

I think we just found it.

Have fun with the infection that is brought upon when your unlicensed hairstyler cuts off your ear.

It is probably easier to get a Class A commercial drivers license and drive an 18-wheeler.

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