The first year of Gov. Jeff Landry’s term brought sweeping changes to Louisiana aimed at spurring economic growth and to better the lives of current and would-be Louisiana families. While big, flashy, multi-billion-dollar contracts with corporations like Meta and Hyundai are one kind of progress, politicians shouldn’t ignore smaller changes that could better the lives of thousands of Louisianians practically overnight.

This past session, the legislature missed a big opportunity to do just that when it failed to reform burdensome hair braiding license requirements that are holding back entrepreneurial Louisianians.

“The license is just too much of a barrier,” said Ashley N’Dakpri, owner of Afro Touch Braiding Salon in Harvey, La., who spoke while tending to her clients on a busy Friday evening. “The braiding industry, right now, well, as you can see, I’m the one doing the most work around here. It’s hard to find licensed braiders who can work in a salon, and that means I don’t have a lot of time to focus on growing and managing my business.”

Currently, Louisiana’s Board of Cosmetology requires would-be braiders to acquire a special alternative hair design permit before legally offering services to the public. Although natural hair braiding mostly relies on combs and hands to style hair without the use of chemicals, the hair braiding permit requires at least 500 hours of training from an accredited hair braiding program, passing an exam, and paying an annual licensing fee.

The average cost to attend one of these programs, which are offered in only a handful of locations in Louisiana and take months to complete, is around $14,000, including tuition and supplies. “School is expensive,” said N’Dakpri as she restocked supplies after seating her client underneath the dryer. “People can’t afford the time or the money. You’re trying to make a living, and now you have to go to a school you can’t afford. And while you do all that, you have to maintain your livelihood.” Most who obtain the permit finish the program with about $8,000 in debt.

Given these high barriers, many braiders in Louisiana have no choice but to work extra-legally. “I mean, it’s limiting them,” N’Dakpri asserted, “and it’s not allowing them to really do their jobs and gain financial success. They have to work secretly and hide it.”

It’s no wonder that D’Napkri has such a hard time filling hair braider openings in her salon: Louisiana has only 40 people permitted to braid hair across the entire state according to Meagan Forbes, a Louisiana native and director of Legislation and Senior Legislative Counsel at the Institute for Justice, a national public interest law firm that has worked across the country to deregulate hair braiding. With so few permitted braiders available, it’s difficult for salon owners, like D’Napkri, to expand their businesses. The licensing requirements end up hurting more than they help.

Louisiana is one of only 13 states that require a license to braid hair, and many states have deregulated with no issues. “It’s cultural, it’s safe, and it’s being safely practiced in many states right now with no safety issues,” Forbes said in an interview.

Across the border in Mississippi, for example, there are over 6,700 registered hair braiders despite having 1.7 million fewer people than the state of Louisiana. Since enacting hair braiding licensing reform 20 years ago, thousands of Mississippians have gained career success as natural hair braiders and small business owners. Today, becoming a natural hair braider in Mississippi requires only a $25 registration fee, following basic health guidelines, and a sanitation self-test.

“It’s really time for Louisiana to change its laws in this space, and protect the ability for people to earn a living and build businesses,” said Forbes. “I’ve worked all over the country and have seen the impact these laws and reforms have for people, and I would love to see that in my home state.”

Aiming to replicate Mississippi’s and other states’ hair braiding success, Republican Rep. Michael Bayham of Chalmette, La., introduced HB 370 earlier this year to reform Louisiana’s permit requirements. The bill, introduced for the second year in a row, would have drastically reduced the barrier to obtaining a hair braiding permit and required only a $25 registration fee, a review of sanitation and safety guidelines, and passage of a 20-question sanitation and safety test annually.

“This is another avenue for making money,” Bayham said while wrapping up the end of the 2025 session in Baton Rouge. “You know, we want to encourage entrepreneurship.”

HB370 passed a vote on the Louisiana House floor along with a similarly deregulatory hair braiding bill, HB 509, sponsored by Democrat Rep. Pat Moore of Monroe, but neither bill made it out of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and International Affairs.

When asked why the bills were blocked, Bayham replied bluntly: “This is a classic case of special interest versus public interest. You know, these people want to keep making money off their beauty colleges or to get these kids taking out these expensive loans, and that’s their source of income. They’re very protective, and that’s not what we should be doing. We should not be protecting through statute people’s money-making operations when they are contrary to the free market and stifle opportunity – particularly amongst people that have a trade and an artistic skill that they could monetize.”

While change can be slow, Forbes believes there is a will to enact change. “I think that the legislature right now is very supportive of economic liberty and helping small businesses and supporting entrepreneurship,” Forbes explained, noting that the bill went further this session than it has ever gone before with bipartisan support. “My hope is that we’ll continue to see movement in the right direction.”

Bayham’s hair braiding reform bill has failed two years in a row now, but he said he’s not giving up. “This is a battle worth fighting for,” Bayham declared. He plans to bring the bill back every year until it’s finally passed, even if the legislation isn’t as “sexy” as other economic proposals.

“People should not be saddled with tremendous student loan debt because beauty schools don’t want to lose their monopolies,” he explained. “We can’t honestly say Louisiana is open for business while not removing frivolous roadblocks to people bettering their lives and providing a service that’s in high demand.”

As for Afro Touch Braiding Salon, N’Dakpri said the current requirements are ridiculous. “It doesn’t make any sense,” she said over the noise of her bustling salon. “I’ve been braiding for years. It’s traditional and part of our culture. If you already have natural skills when it comes to [braiding], who’s going to teach us, the ones that already know how to braid and have better skills than those in the industry trying to teach us how to braid?”

“Everything I know now,” N’Dakpri continued, “comes from experience.”