The year he graduated barber school and started cutting hair was the first year Dave Broderick could afford to buy his kids Christmas presents “without maxing out [his] credit card.”
From the barber shop he now owns, Broderick has also alerted several clients to skin conditions they couldn’t see themselves, he said. Twice, the condition was skin cancer.
Barbering saves lives, both for the people who practice it and the people who pay for it, Broderick told members of the Senate Business and Labor Committee Wednesday evening — but only if the practitioners are competent and well-trained. He fears a bill passed in committee Wednesday could deliver a fatal blow to the state’s barbering industry.
“Barbering is not about cutting hair,” Broderick said. “It’s an art, a science, a profession that requires skilled precision and technical knowledge. ... Removing [the licensing] requirement diminishes the value of our trade and lowers the industry in Utah.”
Senators approved a first draft of the long-anticipated Cosmetology Modification licensing bill Wednesday evening. SB330 proposes cutting back on some of the requirements of a cosmetology license and breaking the license down into smaller licenses, or permits, for specific practices.
It’s not the total overhaul some industry professionals were afraid of when the Office of Professional License Review (OPLR) proposed restructuring the license last summer. Some of those same professionals told The Salt Lake Tribune this week that the bill is, for the most part, a fair compromise. But the bill’s proposed changes to barbering requirements have many in the industry worried about the trim.
“Don’t mess with the basic barber license. Leave it alone,” Richard Hite, owner of The Barber School in Midvale, said in an interview with The Tribune. “Working without a license is a total joke. It will kill the industry.”
“Give students and licensees greater choice”
Licensed cosmetologists in Utah are currently trained in three distinct skills: hair design, esthetics and nail technology. Students can get a “microlicense” in either one of the three categories, but those with a cosmetology license can say that they’ve been trained to safely work in the pillars of the profession and have at least 1,600 hours of instruction and practice in their aprons.
SB330 proposes keeping the cosmetology license but reducing the number of required training hours to 1,250. It also proposes offering individual licenses or permits in each skill for people who know what they want to specialize in.
“That level of programming can go into those compartments we’ve created,” said bill sponsor Sen. Scott Sandall, R-Tremonton. “If someone wants to just do nail tech, or they just want to do nail tech and eyelashes... they now will have the opportunity to just license in a small portion. Or they can license for the complete cosmetology package at a higher level of hours.”
OPLR had originally proposed slashing the required number of hours for a cosmetology license in half, from 1,600 to 800. The state’s job is to regulate safety, not skill, OPLR Director Jeff Shumway told lawmakers and The Tribune. The current cosmetology license accounts for both.
It also does not guarantee students receive adequate training in their preferred skill, Shumway said.
Sandall’s proposal is a “meaningful step forward” and a reasonable compromise between OPLR’s recommendations and industry concerns, Shumway said Wednesday.
“Our hope is that the changes give students and licensees greater choice,” he said.
Most people in the committee room Wednesday evening were opposed to at least one element of Sandall’s bill. The senator said the draft he presented was rushed and is expected to undergo some heavy revisions. He thinks lawmakers can craft a bill that takes most concerns into account, he said.
But barbers said they are concerned that Sandall’s bill effectively “deregulates” the barbering industry, and would lead to its downfall.
“It’s de facto deregulation,” Broderick said in an interview with The Tribune.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Sen. Scott Sandall, R-Tremonton, as the Senate Business and Labor Committee discusses SB 330, Cosmetology Modifications, at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025.
More than a trim
SB330 would create a master hair design and master barbering joint license, which would require 1,000 of practice and account for chemical hair treatments.
It would also create a basic barbering permit. The permit would require 130 hours of practice in a school or an apprenticeship.
Most people will take the path of least resistance, Broderick and Hite both said. Aspiring barbers will choose the easier route — the 130-hour permit — over the 1,000-hour license if they can because it’s what they can afford and what they believe will get them to their goal faster.
Barbers said they fear such a system will put the burden on already-licensed barbers to teach newcomers. And once those trainees have 130 hours of practice under their belt, they’ll start taking clients on their own but they won’t know what they’re doing.
“I have 130 hours of practice right now,” Madeline Wootton, a current hair design student, told The Tribune. “I do not feel anywhere comfortable performing in a shop today. ... I’m learning.”
“If you go into a nice restaurant and the server says, ‘Please excuse the food today, it’s our chef’s first day and he’s never cooked before,' you’re going to leave,” Hite said.
Jaz Johnson, another hair design student, said barbering skills are technical and precise, but barbering is also more than cutting hair. It’s about connecting with people and making sure they’re safe, both physically and emotionally.
Someone with 130 hours of experience may know how to sanitize “but I don’t know how to talk to people. I don’t know how to say, ‘Hey, what are you looking for, for your hair?’” Johnson said. “Instead, you’re going to sit in my chair... and I’m going to do the only thing I know how to do, which is give you a basic haircut.”
Johnson, who is trans, said he knows that sometimes a haircut is more than just a haircut. A good haircut can bolster self-esteem and improve mental health. A bad haircut can destroy it.
Sandall said he is prepared to listen to the industry’s concerns and adjust his bill as necessary. The version he presented Wednesday is “still not where we want it.” But he wanted to present it before it was too late — the last day of the 2025 legislative session is March 7.
“I’m pretty confident that we’re going to get to a good spot where most everybody is somewhat comfortable,” he said.
SB330 passed out of committee with a vote of 5-1. Sen. Evan Vickers, Cedar City, was the sole dissenting vote but said his vote was just to signal that the bill needs work, not that he doesn’t support it. It will now head to the Senate floor.
This story is developing and may be updated.
Shannon Sollitt is a Report for America corps member covering business accountability and sustainability for The Salt Lake Tribune. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by clicking here.
