The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection on Feb. 25, 2026.
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Feb. 25, 2026, 9:32 a.m.
Hawaii State Capitol
Conference Room 229 and Videoconference
To: Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection
Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, Chair
Sen. Carol Fukunaga, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: COMMENTS IN SUPPORT OF SB2876 — RELATING TO NATURAL HAIR BRAIDING
Aloha Chair, Vice Chair and other Committee members,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii strongly supports SB2876, which would exempt natural hair braiders from state licensing requirements under certain conditions.
This bill would add much-needed clarity to current state licensing regulations, which place hair braiders in a difficult position.
Hair braiders currently fall under the oversight of the state Board of Barbering and Cosmetology. In response to Cornwell v. Hamilton, a 1999 Ninth Circuit case holding that California’s mandated cosmetology curriculum was largely irrelevant to braiders, the board determined that braiders in Hawaii require a better regulatory solution,[1] but one has never materialized.
Thus, hair braiders in Hawaii are technically required to have a cosmetology license in order to publicly practice their craft for money. Yet, that requirement is not being enforced because of questions about its legality.
In other words, the board looks the other way on braiding while still holding the position that it can — and eventually might — put forth licensing regulations for braiders.
Meanwhile, the state’s cosmetology license is — as recognized by the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology — completely unsuited to the practice of braiding.
In fact, the cosmetology license itself is onerous. At an average cost of $21,829, cosmetology programs in Hawaii are among the most expensive in the nation.[2]
A Hawaii cosmetology license also requires 1,800 educational hours,[3] but very little of that time covers braiding or the skills necessary to operate a braiding salon. Even obtaining only a hairdressing license — which requires 1,250 hours of beauty school training[4] — would necessitate that hopeful braiders spend substantial amounts of time and money on an education that is largely irrelevant to them.
This bill takes a sensible approach to this issue by exempting hair braiders from cosmetology licensing requirements as long as their activities are limited to braiding.
It is clear that there is no real risk to public health involved in allowing braiders to operate freely in Hawaii. Many other states have safely deregulated the practice, yet Hawaii has declined to establish braiding regulations for years.
Currently, 37 states completely exempt braiders from licensure, and the vast majority of those states have done so within the past 10 years.[5]
An additional consideration is that hair braiders are often women serving minority communities, with natural hair braiding often observed as a traditional cultural practice.
The Committee should support greater opportunity and entrepreneurship in these communities by passing SB2876 to eliminate unnecessary regulations for hair braiders.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ted Kefalas
Director of Strategic Campaigns
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
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[1] Email exchange between the Grassroot Institute and the Hawaii Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, Aug. 6, 2024.
[2] Mindy Menjou, Michael Bednarczuk and Amy Hunter, “Beauty School Debt and Drop-outs: How State Cosmetology Licensing Fails Aspiring Beauty Workers,” Institute for Justice, July 2021, p. 34.
[3] Ibid, p.24.
[4] “Beauty Operator Application,” Hawaii Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, accessed Feb. 22, 2026.
[5] “Natural Hair Braiding Opportunity and Freedom Act,” Institute for Justice, accessed Feb. 22, 2026.
