Eyelash extension technicians receive hundreds of hours of training in West Virginia. State regulators demand it. The problem is, little to none of the instruction is relevant.
Beauty schools often ignore eyelash extensions entirely or treat the topic as an afterthought. Yet enrollment in a state-approved program is mandatory for anyone who wants to provide the service in West Virginia. The rule applies even to niche workers who do eyelash extensions and nothing else.
Such specialization has become common in recent years, as demand for eyelash extensions has grown. Unfortunately, West Virginia has failed to keep pace with the trend. The state lacks a dedicated license for eyelash technicians, so it lumps in the occupation with other beauty professions and requires a full cosmetology or esthetician license.
Regulators don’t seem to mind the unfairness of making people pay for unnecessary, mismatched instruction—even amidst a nationwide debate on student debt and loan forgiveness. Beauty school is not cheap. West Virginia cosmetology programs can cost nearly $20,000, and esthetician programs can top $7,000.
Imagine the sticker shock for eyelash extension technicians, even when they choose the less expensive esthetician route. Unlike many of their classmates, they will never give spa treatments, apply makeup or do waxing. Yet they must master these skills anyway. The state might as well force them to learn nursing, auto mechanics or crane operation.
Even after graduation, the disconnect from the real world continues. Aspiring eyelash technicians must pass three state-mandated exams. But just like the schooling they are forced to complete, the tests have little or nothing to do with their chosen occupation. The kit for the practical exam does not even include eyelash extension materials.
Eyelash technicians who want relevant instruction must seek it on their own. In fact, industry-leading suppliers of eyelash adhesives require technicians to complete the suppliers’ own certification courses before they may purchase products. Yet that training is not part of the state’s mandates.
Eyelash technicians still need a mismatched occupational license no matter how much expertise they gain independently. Put simply, they are stuck.
The barrier to work is not only wrong but unconstitutional. People have a right to earn an honest living without unreasonable or irrational government interference. If lawmakers require licensing, the demands must serve a public interest. States often forget this when regulating the beauty industry, which gets singled out for especially onerous oversight.
The exploitation of eyelash extension technicians is just one example. “Beauty School Debt and Drop-Outs,” a 2021 report from our public interest law firm, the Institute for Justice, finds a raw deal for many salon professionals based on program costs, loan amounts, graduation rates and salaries. Nationwide, cosmetology students were more likely to take loans than the average student across all federal aid-eligible U.S. universities, colleges and vocational schools. They also borrowed more per year.
The result in West Virginia is a debt trap.
Even occupations more directly linked to health and safety have fewer barriers to entry. Chefs can work in commercial kitchens with just a food handler’s card, which requires a 30-minute online course and a $10 fee. Entry-level emergency medical technicians need 150 hours of training to treat patients in life-or-death situations. These requirements are sufficient, but beauty professionals face significantly more scrutiny. They need 600 hours of training—quadruple the state requirement for EMTs—to apply makeup or give facials. Cosmetologists who cut and dye hair need 1,800 hours of training.
Many jurisdictions have started rolling back the requirements. Some states, including Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, Connecticut, Minnesota and Rhode Island, exempt eyelash extension technicians from licensure or offer a specialty license—creating a more direct path to employment.
Meanwhile, 32 states—including West Virginia—have exempted African-style hair braiders from licensing. West Virginia is also one of 20 states that exempts eyebrow threaders from licensure. Another step in the right direction came in 2020, when West Virginia eliminated licensing requirements for shampooers.
All three of these exemptions show the state’s ability to lead on licensing reform. But work remains.
Policymakers should take a fresh look at other barriers to market entry, starting with the rules for eyelash technicians. Forced debt for irrelevant or excessive instruction is an ugly look in an industry focused on beauty.
Marie Miller is an attorney and Daryl James is a writer at the Institute for Justice in Arlington, Va.