wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 1874 > Original Bill

HB 1874 - Textured hair training

Source

Section 1

The legislature finds that nearly 65 percent of the world's population has textured hair, resulting in a market of approximately one billion people, yet many clients with textured hair report not having equitable access to professionally trained and licensed stylists with the skill set and experience to provide services for textured hair.

The legislature also finds that in the appearance enhancement industry, current standards for training and qualifications tend to only apply to individuals with fine, straight hair. As such, students attending schools of cosmetology or natural hair styling may complete training programs without a full understanding of how to maintain, treat, and style a diverse range of hair textures including curly, coiled, coarse, and thick hair. This institutionalized gap in knowledge can result in harm to health and damage to the hair of clients from varying cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to establish a process to empower cosmetologists with the skills and confidence to consult and work with clients with textured hair while maintaining the industry health and safety standards.

Section 2

As used in this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

  1. "Apprentice" means a person who is engaged in a state-approved apprenticeship program and who must receive a wage or compensation while engaged in the program.

  2. "Apprentice monthly report" means the apprentice record of daily activities and the number of hours completed in each course of a curriculum that is prepared monthly by the approved apprenticeship program and provided to the apprentice, audited annually by the department, and kept on file by the approved apprenticeship program for three years.

  3. "Apprentice trainer" means a person who gives training to an apprentice in an approved apprenticeship program and who is approved under RCW 18.16.280.

  4. "Apprenticeship program" means a state-approved apprenticeship program pursuant to chapter 49.04 RCW and approved under RCW 18.16.280 for the training of cosmetology, hair design, barbering, esthetics, master esthetics, and manicuring.

  5. "Apprenticeship training committee" means a committee approved by the Washington apprenticeship and training council established in chapter 49.04 RCW.

  6. "Approved apprenticeship shop" means a salon/shop that has been approved under RCW 18.16.280 and chapter 49.04 RCW to participate in an apprenticeship program.

  7. "Approved security" means surety bond.

  8. "Barber" means a person licensed under this chapter to engage in the practice of barbering.

  9. "Board" means the cosmetology, hair design, barbering, esthetics, and manicuring advisory board.

  10. "Cosmetologist" means a person licensed under this chapter to engage in the practice of cosmetology.

  11. "Crossover training" means training approved by the director as training hours that may be credited to current licensees for similar training received in another profession licensed under this chapter.

  12. "Curriculum" means the courses of study taught at a school, online training by a school, in an approved apprenticeship program established by the Washington state apprenticeship and training council and conducted in an approved salon/shop, or online training by an approved apprenticeship program, set by rule under this chapter, and approved by the department. After consulting with the board, the director may set by rule a percentage of hours in a curriculum, up to a maximum of 10 percent, that could include hours a student receives while training in a salon/shop under a contract approved by the department. Each curriculum must include at least the following required hours:

    1. School curriculum:

      1. Cosmetologist, 1,600 hours;

      2. Hair design, 1,400 hours;

      3. Barber, 1,000 hours;

      4. Manicurist, 600 hours;

    2. Esthetician, 750 hours;

    1. Master esthetician either:

(A) 1,200 hours; or

(B) Esthetician licensure plus 450 hours of training;

vii. Instructor-trainee, 500 hours, except that an instructor-trainee may submit documentation that provides evidence of experience as a licensed cosmetologist, hair designer, barber, manicurist, esthetician, or master esthetician for competency evaluation toward credit of not more than 300 hours of instructor-training.

b. Apprentice training curriculum:

    i. Cosmetologist, 2,000 hours;

    ii. Hair design, 1,750 hours;

    iii. Barber, 1,200 hours;

    iv. Manicurist, 800 hours;

v. Esthetician, 800 hours;

vi. Master esthetician, 1,400 hours.
  1. "Department" means the department of licensing.

  2. "Director" means the director of the department of licensing or the director's designee.

  3. "Esthetician" means a person licensed under this chapter to engage in the practice of esthetics.

  4. "Hair design" means the practice of arranging, dressing, cutting, trimming, styling, shampooing, permanent waving, chemical relaxing, straightening, curling, bleaching, lightening, coloring, mustache and beard design, and superficial skin stimulation of the scalp.

  5. "Hair designer" means a person licensed under this chapter to engage in the practice of hair design.

  6. "Individual license" means a cosmetology, hair design, barber, manicurist, esthetician, master esthetician, or instructor license issued under this chapter.

  7. "Instructor" means a person who gives instruction in a school, or who provides classroom theory training to apprentices in locations other than in a school, in a curriculum in which he or she holds a license under this chapter, has completed at least 500 hours of instruction in teaching techniques and lesson planning in a school, or who has documented experience as an instructor for more than 500 hours in another state in the curriculum of study, and has passed a licensing examination approved or administered by the director. An applicant who holds a degree in education from an accredited postsecondary institution shall upon application be licensed as an instructor to give instruction in a school, or to provide classroom theory training to apprentices in locations other than in a school, in a curriculum in which he or she holds a license under this chapter. An applicant who holds an instructional credential from an accredited community or technical college and who has passed a licensing examination approved or administered by the director shall upon application be licensed as an instructor to give instruction in a school, or to provide classroom theory training to apprentices in locations other than in a school, in a curriculum in which he or she holds a license under this chapter. To be approved as an "instructor" in an approved apprenticeship program, the instructor must be a competent instructor as defined in rules adopted under chapter 49.04 RCW.

  8. "Instructor-trainee" means a person who is currently licensed in this state as a cosmetologist, hair designer, barber, manicurist, esthetician, or master esthetician, and is enrolled in an instructor-trainee curriculum in a school licensed under this chapter.

  9. "Location license" means a license issued under this chapter for a salon/shop, school, personal services, or mobile unit.

  10. "Manicurist" means a person licensed under this chapter to engage in the practice of manicuring.

  11. "Master esthetician" means a person licensed under this chapter to engage in the practice of master esthetics.

  12. "Mobile unit" is a location license under this chapter where the practice of cosmetology, barbering, esthetics, master esthetics, or manicuring is conducted in a mobile structure. Mobile units must conform to the health and safety standards set by rule under this chapter.

  13. "Online training" means theory training provided online, by a school licensed under this chapter or an approved apprenticeship program established by the Washington state apprenticeship and training council, in the areas of cosmetology, hair design, master esthetics, manicuring, barbering, esthetics, and instructor-training.

  14. "Person" means any individual, partnership, professional service corporation, joint stock association, joint venture, or any other entity authorized to do business in this state.

  15. "Personal services" means a location licensed under this chapter where the practice of cosmetology, hair design, barbering, manicuring, esthetics, or master esthetics is performed for clients in the client's home, office, or other location that is convenient for the client.

  16. "Practice of barbering" means the cutting, trimming, arranging, dressing, curling, shampooing, shaving, and mustache and beard design of the hair of the face, neck, and scalp.

  17. "Practice of cosmetology" means arranging, dressing, cutting, trimming, styling, shampooing, permanent waving, chemical relaxing, straightening, curling, bleaching, lightening, coloring, waxing, tweezing, shaving, and mustache and beard design of the hair of the face, neck, and scalp; temporary removal of superfluous hair by use of depilatories, waxing, or tweezing; manicuring and pedicuring, limited to cleaning, shaping, polishing, decorating, and caring for and treatment of the cuticles and nails of the hands and feet, excluding the application and removal of sculptured or otherwise artificial nails; esthetics limited to toning the skin of the scalp, stimulating the skin of the body by the use of preparations, tonics, lotions, or creams; and tinting eyelashes and eyebrows.

  18. "Practice of esthetics" means the care of the skin for compensation by application, use of preparations, antiseptics, tonics, essential oils, exfoliants, superficial and light peels, or by any device, except laser, or equipment, electrical or otherwise, or by wraps, compresses, cleansing, conditioning, stimulation, superficial skin stimulation, pore extraction, or product application and removal; temporary removal of superfluous hair by means of lotions, creams, appliance, waxing, threading, tweezing, or depilatories, including chemical means; and application of product to the eyelashes and eyebrows, including extensions, design and treatment, tinting and lightening of the hair, excluding the scalp. Under no circumstances does the practice of esthetics include the administration of injections.

  19. "Practice of manicuring" means the cleaning, shaping, polishing, decorating, and caring for and treatment of the cuticles and the nails of the hands or feet, and the application and removal of sculptured or otherwise artificial nails by hand or with mechanical or electrical apparatus or appliances.

  20. "Practice of master esthetics" means the care of the skin for compensation including all of the methods allowed in the definition of the practice of esthetics. It also includes the performance of medium depth peels and the use of medical devices for care of the skin and permanent hair reduction. The medical devices include, but are not limited to, lasers, light, radio frequency, plasma, intense pulsed light, and ultrasound. The use of a medical device must comply with state law and rules, including any laws or rules that require delegation or supervision by a licensed health professional acting within the scope of practice of that health profession.

  21. "Salon/shop" means any building, structure, or any part thereof, other than a school, where the commercial practice of cosmetology, barbering, hair design, esthetics, master esthetics, or manicuring is conducted; provided that any person, except employees of a salon/shop, who operates from a salon/shop is required to meet all salon/shop licensing requirements and may participate in the apprenticeship program when certified as established by the Washington state apprenticeship and training council established in chapter 49.04 RCW.

  22. "School" means any establishment that offers curriculum of instruction in the practice of cosmetology, hair design, barbering, esthetics, master esthetics, manicuring, or instructor-trainee to students and is licensed under this chapter.

  23. "Student" means a person 16 years of age or older who is enrolled in a school licensed under this chapter and receives instruction in any of the curricula of cosmetology, barbering, hair design, esthetics, master esthetics, manicuring, or instructor-training with or without tuition, fee, or cost, and who does not receive any wage or commission.

  24. "Student monthly report" means the student record of daily activities and the number of hours completed in each course of a curriculum that is prepared monthly by the school and provided to the student, audited annually by the department, and kept on file by the school for three years.

  25. "Textured hair" means hair that, rather than lying straight, naturally has a distinct shape or pattern such as coils, curls, kinks, spirals, or waves that make it harder for natural scalp oils to travel down the hair shaft, creates potential breakage points at each twist or bend, and tends to have high porosity requiring hydration, sealing, and protection. Textured hair also includes hair that has historically been styled in cornrows, locs, twists, box braids, afros, and bantu knots.

Section 3

In addition to any other duties imposed by law, including RCW 18.235.030 and 18.235.040, the director shall have the following powers and duties:

  1. To set all license, examination, and renewal fees in accordance with RCW 43.24.086;

  2. To adopt rules necessary to implement this chapter;

  3. To prepare and administer or approve the preparation and administration of licensing examinations;

  4. To establish minimum safety and sanitation standards for schools, instructors, cosmetologists, barbers, hair designers, manicurists, estheticians, master estheticians, salons/shops, personal services, and mobile units;

  5. To establish curricula for the training of students and apprentices under this chapter, including training for cosmetologists, barbers, estheticians, and hair designers on the care, styling, and treatment of textured hair which must include:

    1. Techniques for cutting, styling, and chemically treating textured hair;

    2. Instruction on products and tools specifically designed for textured hair;

    3. Best practices for hair health and scalp care for clients with textured hair; and

    4. Cultural competency and historical education on the significance of textured hair in diverse communities;

  6. To maintain the official department record of applicants and licensees;

  7. To establish by rule the procedures for an appeal of an examination failure;

  8. To set license expiration dates and renewal periods for all licenses consistent with this chapter; and

  9. To make information available to the department of revenue to assist in collecting taxes from persons required to be licensed under this chapter.


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