I went out to get a haircut today - something that in my case only occurs every 2-3 years - and while getting my locks trimmed I spent part of the time staring at the barber/hairdressing licenses prominently displayed on the walls. Which started me wondering…
Why does this profession require a license?
I freely admit I have a lot of ignorance about what goes on in hair salons and barber shops. I wear my hair long and in a blunt cut - no bleaching, dyeing, perming, crimping, highlighting, whatevering. I am assuming it is the use of bleaches, dyes, perms, and “product” - that is, chemicals of various sorts - that requires the licensing. Is that correct? Any other reasons?
Also - what is required to get a barber/hair dresser license? I’m guessing this probably varies somewhat from state to state.
I’m also guessing that really good stylists will have continuing education of some sort, like self-study of new styles and products, cuts, attendance at seminars or conventions, etc. Is that actually the case?
(For the record - today’s cut was probably the most positive experience I’ve ever had at a salon of any sort: I got exactly what I wanted, no hard sell on anything else, the conversation wasn’t vapid, the woman was both efficient and careful to do a nice job… I gave her a 50% tip partly because I could afford to do so and partly because with people having done me a lot of favors recently I wanted to do something nice for someone else. I know their business is probably suffering as much as anyone else’s, and the tip really seemed to make the gal happy.)
Health concerns are a big part of training. Sterilizing the equipment etc.
Arkansas Cosmetology Licensing Requirements
In order to obtain a license in Barbering, Cosmetology, Esthetics, Nail Technology, or Electrology in the state of Arkansas, individuals must complete the requirements listed below. Other requirements may apply.
Barber: 1500 hours
Cosmetologist: 1500 hours
Esthetician: 600 hours
Electrology: 600 hours (or 350 hours if you have a valid cosmetology license).
Nail Technician: 750 hours (or 600 credit hours)
Nail Technology: 600 hours
aceplace, I’m not really interested in how many *hours *a barber/styilst has to study but rather WHAT they have to study. I’m assuming that of those 1500 required hours they’re not spending 1200 of them on how to shave a head or make a blunt cut.
Somehow, the sanitation angle didn’t occur to me, although now that I think about it that makes total sense. Silly me, staring at that jar of Barbicide the whole time I was in the chair! I guess I just take it for granted that a salon will be clean, which is probably a product of both rules and conscientious enforcement.
I looked at several beauty school web sites. None of them describe the courses on the web site. Instead they have a request information packet link. A very old sales trick. They want names and addresses to call.
I do know most of the training is “on the job” at the school salon. Some of my friends get their hair done at a beauty school near my house because its much cheaper. They seem satisfied with the work done. Apparently the students are closely supervised.
Most styles are a lot more complicated than those. I (a man) prefer a very old-fashioned cut, and I’m very tired and annoyed by barbers who cut my hair so close that I can see my scalp through it. They don’t seem to understand the concept of a “part” either.
It’s been years since I was truly satisfied by the style that a barber gave me, though it’s been a little better since one helpful barber told me that the style I’m looking for is called a “businessman’s cut”.
My last barber moved into a hairdresser salon after his previous barbershop closed down. The one thing he told me that was different between the two was that barbers we’re not necessarily licensed to use the strong chemical hair treatments, and hairdressers weren’t qualified to use a straight razor.
N.B. I am NOT a licensed hair dresser. I did go to beauty school tho.
So, back in the day we spent a lot of time on shampooing, scalp massage, hair types, etc. We also covered colour but minimally ( colour takes a lot of extra training) perms, straightening, etc. We also spent time on blow dry techniques (did you ever wonder why it’s hard to get salon results at home?), curl techniques and a nutty amountvof time on up dos and roller applications. This was in addition to basic hair cutting including managing different types of hair, double crowns, etc.
For the chemical stuff you really want a person who’s licensed or eligable to be 'cus screw ups can result in serios burns, lost hair etc.
The actual reason is that licensing requirements restrict entry into the profession. Fewer hairdressers mean that those already in the profession can charge more. The sanitary arguement is superstructure.
There was an Ask the Hairdresser thread awhile back. I’m not sure if she answers your specific question within that thread, but maybe you can point her to this thread.
On a sidenote, it’s actually a bit harder to make a blunt cut look good than if you had layers or something. On a blunt cut, especially if you have straight hair, it’s fairly difficult to get it all even and straight, since any mistake shows.
Barbers typically get a $2-5 tip on each cut, undeclared on income tax returns. Let’s say keeping this in mind that me makes roughly 15 a cut. Three per hour, 45 an hour. Even minus upkeep/equipment, pretty damn decent.
I’m not saying I agree with the “gatekeeper” theory, but it makes sense. The business is only viable if you get a lot of customers each day. Suppose you triple the number of barbers in a city, and so each barber receives a third of the clientele. That would hurt them badly.
There are certain expectations that your barber won’t make you look like a clown or cut your neck with a filthy razor. Quality control seems to make sense. The AM radio guys love telling me, however, that (in Ontario, at least) you need less hours training and apprenticed to be a daycare worker than to cut someone’s hair.
So every barber breaks the law and does not disclose tip income? Got a cite?
Did you factor in that many barbers/hairdressers do not own their business nor are employees of a business? Instead, they “rent a chair” from a barbershop or salon, in addition to covering their own expenses. According to my neighbor (she’s a barber) after all expenses are taken into account it’s nowhere near your numbers.
Salary.com reports the average wage for a barber is $27,231. That $13.09 per hour, less than a third of your number.
Will not speak to the citation bit, since I suppose that’s anecdotal. I don’t see why you would declare it; I wouldn’t, but then I have little regard for income tax, so I suppose I’ll leave it at that…
As to your cite, is that net income, or after taxes/expenses? It could work to $45 dollars an hour, provided they worked eight hours a day and constantly cut hair. I concede that for most barbers that’s likely not the case. If we accept the time spent on a haircut somewhere between $10-15 dollars an hour, then that means a barber is averaging somewhere in the vicinity of 1-2 clients per hour, less expense, for what? 16 clients a day? Somehow that number strikes me as being a bit on the low side.
You clearly know very little about the expenses involved in running your own business.
You can chop off at least 30% right off the top for taxes. (Self-employed folk pay the 15% SS/FICA that an employer normally pays, because we ARE the employer.) Besides equipment and maintenance, you have bookkeeping, business insurance, health insurance (more expensive for the self-employed), licensing fees, probably rent/mortgage, utilities, advertising, and probably a bunch of stuff I’m forgetting. Then there are the “soft” expenses such as sick time, retirement fund, vacation time, and just plain nonbillable time that’s spent on taking care of all of the above. That $45 has to cover a lot of bennies that an employer provides for wage slaves.
I cut my gross income in half to get an idea of how much I get to keep – and most of my input comes from my brain, so my expenses are fairly low.
Mr. Barber probably isn’t as filthy rich as you think he is.
I’m no tax expert in my country, your country, or any other country, but my impression of how the income tax folk think would lead me to believe that you would have lots of “fun” in a tax audit with that attitude; I assume there is an “expected” percentage of tips just as there is for waitressing.
