There is, and should continue to be IMHO, a difference between a barber and a cosmetologist.  In New Jersey, as in many states across the US, they have eliminated the seperation between the two professions, requiring that a barber, who strictly cuts hair and shaves (no styling, no nothing else), attend cosmetology school where he or she will be required to learn about nail care, skin care and many other completely useless (to a barber) “salon” techniques and services.  The New Jersey legislature is finally doing something about their mistake:

Previously licensed barbers were grandfathered under the law, but now, as those older barbers retire or die, this proud and necessary profession is suffering. Fewer potential barbers are willing to shell out the time and money to attend cosmetology school to learn non-haircutting skills they will never need. The result: Traditional barbers and old-fashioned barbershops are disappearing.

But now, thanks to Assemblyman Craig Stanley’s barber, the Legislature may fix the problem it created in 1984. After hearing about the problem while getting a haircut, Stanley, D-Essex, introduced a bill that would once again create a separate state license for barbers.

Under the bill, which has been approved by the Assembly, high-school graduates who complete a 12-month apprenticeship in a licensed shop and pass a state exam can become barbers — without ever having to learn how to do a bikini wax.

Stanley says his bill would both increase the ranks of barbers and cut down on unlicensed shops opened by barbers trying to avoid going to cosmetology school.

The bill makes sense. Both Pennsylvania and New York license barbers separately from beauticians. New Jersey should do the same. Bad haircuts grow out. Bad laws need to be changed.

Source:  PressofAtlanticCity.com