Party Crashers

[photo courtesy of On the Go Spa]

I swear that back in 1995 when I originally sat down and read the entire California Cosmetology Act (and most of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1906 for reasons not relevant to this rant) that buried in the fine print regarding licensed/unlicensed activity, there was a nifty — and perfectly rational — caveat that allowed a licensed practitioner to operate within a 50 mile radius of their "primary station" as long as they were, indeed, associated with a licensed establishment.

So, essentially, as long as I work in a properly licensed salon on a normal basis, I'd be able to take my kit down to a local church or hotel in order to do mani/pedis for a bridal party on the day of the wedding. A hairstylist would be able to do hair on-site for a wedding, as long as she was within 50 miles of the salon where she normally works.

I thought that was fair. It made a reasonable allowance for performing services outside of licensed establishments.

I'm not sure when or why I revisited the rules for working outside the salon, but I did.

Now, it could be that I am totally wrong about that 50-mile rule. Or, more likely, it's a case of it's been nearly 20 years since I read it. Either way, it seems that the state of California — somewhere along the line — conveniently erased all mention of this.

The plain and simple fact today is that if you are caught performing services that fall under the jurisdiction of the State Board of California in any place that isn't a licensed establishment, you're guilty of "unlicensed activity" and subject to up to a $1,000 fine.

This means NO hair/nail/make up services at weddings — at least not if you're getting paid, or compensated in any way. This means you can't offer pamper parties at someone's home. No princess parties for little girls unless they and all their friends come down to the salon. No pedis for bridal or baby showers — unless it's at the salon.

And if you have a mobile salon? No. This does not mean you can go perform services at someone's home. A mobile salon means that you can take your properly outfitted and licensed RV to your client's home, park it in front of her home, honk your horn a couple of times to let her know you're there and then she has to come out of her home, get in your "salon" and have all services done in the RV.

This means that even doing hair and nail services on sets for television, movies, and photo shoots — if you are getting paid for the services — is "unlicensed activity" in California.

Oh! And what about those final hair and nail appointments for the recently departed? I don't know many people who are doing manicures at the local funeral parlor for free, but I don't see how it would be feasible to bring dead people to the salon.

I know I hold a controversial position on licensing in general — but certainly most of us can see that this might be a little overkill on regulation?

My state congresswoman's office is on the other side of my ceiling — I think I'll start banging on it with a broomstick in protest ... or at least make a trip upstairs to throw my two cents in the pot.