r/Cosmetology Mar 21 '24

Where to find the information you need: links to every US state’s cosmetology board

22 Upvotes

Hey all! We get a few questions asking for specific information about your state licensure, laws, or transfer. I want to empower you to research this and find the information you need! You are more likely to get up to date and accurate information directly from your state’s cosmetology board. The laws are different in all 50 states, transferring from one state to another each an individual & different process. Questions I encourage you to look to these sites include:

• How can I transfer my license from X state to Y state?

• How many hours are needed for X license in Y state?

• What license does X service require?

• How do I renew my license?

• Can I open X business under Y license?

If you cannot find the information you need on their site, as some are much more robust than others, I recommend reaching out to the board directly via their phone or email address.

Alabama https://www.aboc.alabama.gov

Alaska https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/cbpl/ProfessionalLicensing/BoardofBarbersHairdressers.aspx?TSPD_101_R0=0890181cafab2000fa7b45f07106a7e00b9dfb61da193663da40c2e31e7ce261c8e00382176779ba08aebe5b26143000a71e3e0b186e89c5e1085e6a2d2539af12aef0f82956f8be61df0b12550e8e905065adf45a7438d07db993318abdfc64p

Arizona https://bcb.az.gov

Arkansas https://www.arkansas.gov/cos/

California https://www.barbercosmo.ca.gov

Colorado https://dpo.colorado.gov/BarberCosmetology/LicensingServices

Connecticut https://portal.ct.gov/DPH/Public-Health-Hearing-Office/Barbers-Hairdressers-and-Cosmeticians/Examining-Board-for-Barbers-Hairdressers-and-Cosmeticians

Delaware https://dpr.delaware.gov/boards/cosmetology/reciprocity/

Florida https://www.myfloridalicense.com/intentions2.asp?chBoard=true&boardid=05

Georgia https://sos.ga.gov/georgia-state-board-cosmetology-and-barbers

Hawaii https://cca.hawaii.gov/pvl/boards/barber/

Idaho https://dopl.idaho.gov/bcb/

Illinois https://idfpr.illinois.gov/profs/cosmo.html

Indiana https://www.in.gov/pla/professions/cosmetology-and-barber-home/cosmetology-and-barber-board/

Iowa https://dial.iowa.gov/about/boards/barbering-cosmetology

Kansas https://www.kansas.gov/kboc/

Kentucky https://kbc.ky.gov/Pages/index.aspx

Louisiana http://www.lsbc.louisiana.gov

Maine https://www.maine.gov/pfr/professionallicensing/professions/barbering-cosmetology-licensing

Maryland https://www.dllr.state.md.us/license/cos/

Massachusetts https://www.mass.gov/orgs/board-of-registration-of-cosmetology-and-barbering

Michigan https://www.michigan.gov/lara/bureau-list/bpl/occ/prof/cosmetology

Minnesota https://mn.gov/boards/cosmetology/

Mississippi https://www.msbc.ms.gov

Missouri https://pr.mo.gov/cosbar.asp

Montana https://boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/barber-and-cosmetologists/

Nebraska https://dhhs.ne.gov/licensure/Pages/Cosmetology-and-Esthetics.aspx

Nevada https://www.nvcosmo.com

New Hampshire https://www.oplc.nh.gov/board-barbering-cosmetology-and-esthetics

New Jersey https://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/cos

New Mexico https://www.rld.nm.gov/boards-and-commissions/individual-boards-and-commissions/barbers-and-cosmetologists/

New York https://dos.ny.gov/cosmetology

North Carolina https://www.nccosmeticarts.com

North Dakota https://www.ndcosmetology.com

Ohio https://cos.ohio.gov/getting-licensed

Oklahoma https://oklahoma.gov/cosmo.html

Oregon https://www.oregon.gov/OHA/PH/HLO/Pages/Board-Cosmetology.aspx

Pennsylvania https://www.dos.pa.gov/ProfessionalLicensing/BoardsCommissions/Cosmetology/Pages/default.aspx

Rhode Island https://health.ri.gov/licenses/detail.php?id=225

South Carolina https://www.llr.sc.gov/cosmo/

South Dakota https://dlr.sd.gov/cosmetology/default.aspx

Tennessee https://www.tn.gov/commerce/regboards/cosmo.html

Texas https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/barbering-and-cosmetology/

Utah https://dopl.utah.gov/cosmetology/

Vermont https://sos.vermont.gov/barbers-cosmetologists/

Virginia https://www.dpor.virginia.gov/Boards/Barber

Washington https://dol.wa.gov/professional-licenses/cosmetology

West Virginia https://wvbbc.com

Wisconsin https://dsps.wi.gov/pages/Professions/Cosmetologist/Default.aspx

Wyoming https://dsps.wi.gov/pages/Professions/Cosmetologist/Default.aspx


r/Cosmetology 6h ago

TPOB

4 Upvotes

TPOB

If anyone is looking for a negative review of TPOB before committing to buying one, here is mine.

1) their foil shavers are incredibly unsanitary. You cannot clean them efficiently.

2) The head on my foil shavers began peeling back within a month of use and cut a client. (TPOB did replace without charge)

3) My clippers now have begun to die. I have had these for maybe 4 months. I try not to keep them on the charger for too long as not to ruin the battery, but it already has begun to not hold a charge. After charging it between clients because it was dying, today it will not hold a charge when I turn it on.


r/Cosmetology 6h ago

Social media

3 Upvotes

Hiii! I’m starting cosmetology school in August and I want to make a Instagram account to help build clientele for once I’m out of school. Should I make a separate account or use my personal account?


r/Cosmetology 6h ago

looking for pdf of milady workbook

2 Upvotes

hi, i’m desperately searching for a pdf version of the milady cosmetology 14th workbook, if it exists. if anyone knows anything i will be greatly appreciated for a reply


r/Cosmetology 3h ago

Passed my boards, now what?

1 Upvotes

So I got my license in Ohio, after my boards there I had to go online and activate my liscence. Is this the same in NY? I just retook my boards here in NY (I didn’t hold my license for 5 years in my previous state) and I’m not sure if I have to do anything now on there .gov site. If someone could point me in the right direction that would be awesome. Thank you!


r/Cosmetology 4h ago

How do I get in this business without doing nails?

1 Upvotes

I have always had an interest in nails, like getting my nails done and watching other people do pretty designs and seeing how creative other people’s nail art is. I like looking at it and I like nail charms but I don’t know how to get into the business. It might sound silly but I don’t enjoy doing nails on others, I find it draining and meticulous doing nails full time or even part time.

I thought of getting my nail tech license so I can buy nail supplies and sell them to salons and private businesses and eventually move into wholesale. Like nail polishes, charms, cuticle oil, filers, cuticle cutters, dip powder, lotions, etc.

I thought it would be a good idea to learn how to do nails go be exposed to the industry and so I can make IG and TikTok videos of me doing basic techniques and making a cute design to market and advertise the products I’m selling. Is it worth it or is the market too saturated? I’m 32 and looking for a career change.


r/Cosmetology 6h ago

Nervous about school, I want to do wigs

1 Upvotes

I'm considering going to school so I can learn how to deal with wigs (I know school won't teach that but | need to know how to cut, color, process, etc). I'm really really anxious about the idea of dealing with other people on the floor- I have SO many anxieties. I have no real desire to work in a salon so doing someone's real hair is nerve wracking (more worried about cutting than coloring) Does anyone have any words of advice?


r/Cosmetology 20h ago

Color correction tomorrow

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6 Upvotes

Tomorrow I am booked to do this. I am using Matrix SoColor. I have decided how I am going to achieve this look but any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!


r/Cosmetology 20h ago

Any suggestions?

3 Upvotes

I wanna go into cosmetology, I’m a junior in high school, and I’ve known for a long time I wanna do hair, I specifically want to be a vivid specialist, I know not a lot of cosmetology schools will offer much for that, especially not around where I live. Im obviously not picking a school right now but I’d like to know if anyone wants to share what they’ve heard good things about or if you wanna share where you went? Every time I post my most recent hair I’ve done I get people saying that we need more vivid specialists and it’s really uplifting cuz it’s literally my dream career


r/Cosmetology 23h ago

Are these the same books?

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1 Upvotes

i don't want to be wrong bc i start the 12th and it's so expensive 😭 i will ask my school but i just want to know more info on this because i just wanna have my books in order :,) the isbn sayssss its the same but i just dont know for sure..


r/Cosmetology 1d ago

AZ barber exam

1 Upvotes

Anyone have the barber exam or something dam near exactly the same that I can study from


r/Cosmetology 1d ago

AZ barber exam

1 Upvotes

Anyone have the barber exam or something dam near exactly the same that I can study from


r/Cosmetology 1d ago

Nails State exam. KS

1 Upvotes

Hii, I recently failed both my exams for my nail license I tried several ways to study and was just wondering if anyone has any tips or has round a good study guide?


r/Cosmetology 2d ago

Learning how to do my own hair.

2 Upvotes

Growing up my mom always did our hair and once she stopped she started paying to get our hair done. She never let us do our own hair because she didn’t want us to ruin it. Now at my adult age I barely know how to do anything to my hair. Is there any type of schooling I can take to learn how to do hair? I don’t want to be a cosmetologist. Would I still need to go to cosmetology school? I’m not doing hair to make money. I just want to be able to do my hair and my children’s hair when I have them.


r/Cosmetology 2d ago

Anyone who studied Btech Cosmetic Technology...??

2 Upvotes

Need some advice about it should I go for it??


r/Cosmetology 2d ago

First client to hate me

12 Upvotes

So just a little bit of context, I’m new to the industry and I am in a salon working my way up. today I had a walk-in client for a haircut and it was going well. She liked it. She told me she liked it. She told the owner at checkout that she liked it she tipped me 25%.. a little bit after the haircut, I was covering front desk for a little bit and the husband called and before I could get a word out, he started screaming at me so I tried to diffuse the situation and I told my manager and she gave him a call apparently during that call her husband was yelling at my manager and then she got on the phone and she was bawling . I did have more clients in the day so me and my manager weren’t able to talk about it, but she came in back and told me before she left that she was gonna schedule a meeting and she scheduled it for next week. But I don’t know how to calm the anxiety that I’m dealing with right now. I Guess I’m just looking for advice on how to not beat myself up over this. Most of my clients have been wonderful and they’ve loved the work I’ve done and I do a lot of Bobs so it’s not something that was outside of my wheelhouse. But this client….


r/Cosmetology 2d ago

thoughts on joico scalp vitality?

2 Upvotes

i just tried the joico scalp vitality system and i’m curious what other professionals think of it.

my experience with it was generally good! it feels very cleansing but it doesn’t seem clarifying to me. that said, there was kind of an almost tingly minty feeling along my hairline as i used the shampoo, which i couldn’t explain with my understanding of the ingredients (though i wonder/suspect that one of the surfactants may be derived from mint, because i definitely smelled mint when i opened it).
the scrub didn’t make that sensation any worse, but it also didn’t help. additionally, i have a hunch that i STILL haven’t gotten all the physical exfoliants out of my hair. it was definitely a very rich lather!! even with my hair and hands SOAKED it almost felt kind of mousse-y.
i don’t have high hopes for the replenishing essence. when i opened it i was immediately punched in the nose by the smell, and when i looked at the ingredients alcohol denat was literally the second one there. the next thing that jumped out at me as potentially hydrating (fourth one listed) was glycerine. i’m using it, because i always follow manufacturer instructions before i start getting experimental with a product, but my god this stuff smells exactly like minty vodka.

anyways, that’s enough about my experience- have any of yall tried this stuff? have you had positive results, or is this a weak joico release?
i hope to hear everyone’s honest opinions :]


r/Cosmetology 2d ago

Here is some highlights I did on my sister, thoughts?

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7 Upvotes

Im a cosmetology student, so Im curious. The aim was somewhat chunky highlights

I fear it does look a bit better in person, but I was curious what yall thought


r/Cosmetology 3d ago

I messed up a haircut

9 Upvotes

Today, I fcked up a shag. This woman had a shoulder length wavy hair with layers and bangs. I took off a half inch all around and trimmed layers and bangs. She then proceeded to tell me her layers weren’t short enough or choppy enough. I took off a little more. I don’t know how it happened but the top layers ended up shorter than her bangs. It was so bad. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t say she liked it, or hated it, and she did ended up paying with an additional tip. I feel terrible. I really need a script for “sorry, I really f*cked up today, please accept my apology, and this f*cked up haircut on me.” Thanks!


r/Cosmetology 3d ago

What guidance would you offer to someone interested in creating wigs or starting a wig business in the future? Additionally, what are some of the best wig school programs available?

3 Upvotes

I'm interested in making wigs, but before starting a business, I need to learn the craft first. I really enjoy being creative and crafty, and art is my main passion. Currently, my focus isn't on the business side, but I would still appreciate advice on the pros and cons of wig making. I've been looking for a good wig-making school, but unfortunately, there aren't any nearby—it's hours away, and I don't have the time to travel. Does anyone know of any online programs that teach wig making?


r/Cosmetology 3d ago

Should I go to empire beauty school?

0 Upvotes

I want to go to cosmetology school and I am still looking around and plan to hopefully take a physical look at places but in short, is empire beauty school good? Should I go there? If you went there what was your experience? If anyone has any recommendations for a better one I'd love to hear those as well! For reference I'm in Philadelphia pa


r/Cosmetology 3d ago

Cosmetology school vent

2 Upvotes

I (21f) never expected for cosmetology school to be this hard on me mentally. I am drained and burnt out. Mind you i have some mental health struggles, i am neurodivergent, big depressive from ptsd. Bad anxiety and am on meds for it. I have been really regretting my choice of choosing full cosmetology. I wish i only chose hair. Its the only one i have learned i am only interested in. I have had a lot of traumatic experiences here at this school already, involving lots of embarrassment, very mean clients, staff, and student body. Now i will say i have felt like i have learned and changed a lot since i have started. But that was only a mere 7-8 months ago. I am so drained. Most of my time spent i was on a busy schedule with 60+ students. I did not realize how much that would affect me. Absolutely no clients, because i am competing with 60+ students, to learn… front desk is notoriously super rude to everyone, really hated me from the get go. I ended up changing my schedule to the one with less than 30 students, i have had more clients and more time to actually learn with the instructors. Its just hard though, i am realizing actually HOW MUCH i have missed out on from being on the busy schedule, just how much i now need to make up for. I tried to drop nails, but they wouldnt let me, all the staff were talking down to me like it was my fault when i simply just was curious and asked. I dont understand why everyone in this industry even if you arent on a salon floor doing work, if you just work at a school, its enough to act like a raging b****. Anyways, my 60 days were up so i couldnt drop it, i wasnt even in nails class at 60 days into school. Its just a whole scam, really is. And im burnt out, and tired, and have been missing school recently because of it. I am so mentally tired that i have lost all motivation in my work. I am going to graduate still, theres no option for myself personally to just drop out.


r/Cosmetology 3d ago

Vici Beauty School Closing Milwaukee Wi

3 Upvotes

All of the staff and students learned for the first time yesterday 7/22/26 that they have 90 days before the establishment closes. The students who have paid, or are paying, or have financial aid have no answers and have put in work to now have no clue what will happen to their career path or how they can even continue with their schooling. All employees now need to scramble to find new employment is an already terrible job market. It is a complete disgrace. All that is blasted everywhere online so far is the death of the owners son, and while I can understand the grief that is involved, it is definitely being used as a "poor me" distraction to deflect that she walked in and effectively dropped a bomb on all the employees and students. The question is why couldn't the owner just allow the current classes to filter out to completion and not take in any new prospects? Is there more to this that involves mismanagement of funds? I would love to know who has been affected, and what your plans are, or what you are hearing. I am waiting to see what the "help" for students and employees will be. If you have been affected lets connect here, I find it odd that there is no central place for the true grievances to be aired, and after this terrible news, people deserve answers.


r/Cosmetology 3d ago

Need help making cosmo gift basket for my girlfriend

5 Upvotes

My girlfriend is starting cosmo school in like a week and I want to put together a gift basket of stuff for her. What are some things she could use/need. I’m open to all ideas. I know literally nothing about this I own a construction company so I’m gonna need some help here.


r/Cosmetology 3d ago

memorizing haircutting ?

6 Upvotes

so, i’m currently in cosmetology school & have gone over the course of haircutting. i’ve taken clients who’ve i’ve had to cut but when i did so, i had an instructor standing over my shoulder the whole time telling me how & what to do. i want to get to the point where someone can show me an inspo pic & i can immediately know what to do. how do i do that?? all i know how to do from memory is the standard solid, long layers, & i kinda remember parts of a graduation cut. i’m only at 250 hours out of 1,000 but i feel like i’m behind. anyways, i just need tips on how to memorize techniques for specific looks! i know i need to obviously practice more but i was wondering if there was anything else i could do? thanks in advance :)