10/25/2026
🚨Ulta/JCPENNEY/ Independent licensed cosmetologist🚨
🚨‼️ **PLEASE UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE‼️** 🚨
**THIS IS NOT ABOUT LICENSED COSMETOLOGISTS‼️ THIS IS ABOUT UNLICENSED INDIVIDUALS WHO CALL THEMSELVES HAIRSTYLISTS WITHOUT THE PROPER PROFESSIONAL TRAINING, CREDENTIALS, OR LICENSING REQUIRED BY THEIR STATE.**
(https://www.facebook.com/100068086944765/posts/1257967973149422/?mibextid=Nif5oz)
Let's tell the truth about what has happened to our industry!
COVID-19 contributed to a major increase in people entering the hairstyling business without obtaining the proper professional education or licensing required for the services they offer. Many individuals learned certain techniques through YouTube, social media, and hands-on practice, including sew-in weaves, curling iron techniques, and other styling methods. However, learning a particular technique does not automatically make someone a licensed cosmetologist!
**THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LEARNING A HAIR TECHNIQUE AND BECOMING A LICENSED COSMETOLOGY PROFESSIONAL‼️**
Licensed cosmetologists invest time, money, education, and hands-on training to develop their professional skills. We study sanitation, infection control, hair and scalp care, chemical services, and other areas of cosmetology, according to our state's licensing requirements.
Yet today, some consumers are booking appointments with individuals who have never obtained the credentials required for the services they perform. Some clients are even instructed to arrive with their hair already shampooed, dried, and braided because the person providing the service may not be authorized to perform those additional services.
**CONSUMERS, PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT A PRESENTABLE HAIRSTYLE DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN SOMEONE IS A LICENSED PROFESSIONAL!**
Just because someone's work looks good on social media does not mean they have received the education, training, or licensing required to provide every service they advertise.
‼️ **ASK QUESTIONS BEFORE YOU BOOK!** ‼️
✔️ Ask whether the stylist is licensed when a license is required for the services being offered.
✔️ Ask to see their current professional credentials.
✔️ Research the licensing requirements in your state.
✔️ Make sure the person performing your service is legally authorized and properly trained to do so.
✔️ If you suspect someone is practicing illegally, contact your state's cosmetology board or licensing authority to report your concerns.
For decades, licensed cosmetologists have worked hard to establish professional standards and protect the integrity of our industry. We should not have to watch those standards become blurred simply because consumers cannot distinguish between a licensed cosmetologist and someone who has learned a few styling techniques.
**WE MUST PROTECT OUR CRAFT, OUR PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIALS, OUR LIVELIHOODS, AND OUR CONSUMERS‼️**
I am a LICENSED COSMETOLOGIST with WELL OVER 30 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE. I understand what it takes to build a career in this profession. This is not just about doing hair. It is about education, training, sanitation, professionalism, accountability, and respecting the standards that govern our industry.
I have also worked for JCPenney and Ulta. I have witnessed firsthand the demands placed on cosmetologists working in corporate salon environments. I believe we must also have honest conversations about how Black cosmetologists' skills, labor, and contributions are valued within the beauty industry. Our knowledge, creativity, and craftsmanship deserve recognition, respect, and fair compensation.
**WE HELPED BUILD THIS INDUSTRY, AND OUR CONTRIBUTIONS MUST NEVER BE OVERLOOKED‼️**
This is bigger than one stylist. It is about preserving the integrity of a profession that many of us spent years studying, training for, and working hard to enter.
Consumers, please do your research. Stop assuming that everyone who calls themselves a hairstylist has the same qualifications.
**KNOW THE DIFFERENCE. ASK FOR CREDENTIALS. PROTECT YOURSELF. PROTECT OUR PROFESSION.**
And to my fellow licensed cosmetologists: continue to stand proud of your education, your experience, your license, and your craft!
‼️ **SUPPORT LICENSED PROFESSIONALS. RESPECT THE LICENSE. PROTECT THE INDUSTRY.** ‼️
**I SAID WHAT I SAID‼️**
