1. United States
2. N.Y.
3. Letter

I am writing as a concerned constituent to strongly oppose Senate Bill S5438, which seeks to reduce the Natural Hairstyling License requirement from 300 to just 40 hours. This license was established to protect consumer health, uphold professional standards, and support a thriving Black hair industry. Drastically cutting training hours would jeopardize consumer safety, weaken industry standards, and threaten the livelihoods of licensed professionals. I support the creation of a separate Braider Practitioner License to expand access for braiders. However, the existing 300-hour Natural Hairstyling License must remain intact to ensure proper training in scalp health, sanitation, and protective styling. Reducing education requirements puts consumers at risk of hair loss, scalp infections, and toxic exposure. I urge you to amend S5438 as written and instead implement a separate Braider License while preserving integrity of the current Natural Hairstyling License. Protecting professional standards is essential for public health, economic equity, and the future of the natural hair industry. I urge you to amend S5438 as written and instead implement a separate Braider License while preserving integrity of the current Natural Hairstyling License. Protecting professional standards is essential for public health, economic equity, and the future of the natural hair industry.