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Narration 1:
AMBI: African hair braiders talking in mother tongue
African hair braiding shops line the streets of Harlem and neighborhoods around the city.
And with each stylist required to take 300 hours of training, you'd think many of the beauty schools in the area would offer classes.
But only two schools offer the licensing course because there is poor demand. Some hair braiders forgo the training because of the $2,000 fee. And many simply refuse to pay to be taught techniques that are as common to Africa as apple pie is to America.
Vikki Jacobs is a licensed cosmetologist from Liberia. She says many braiders are indignant about having to conform to New York State's requirements.
AX1: JACOBS: I learn it on my own. That's how everybody else would do braiding. They learn it on their own. But the state require [sic] for you to get a license because they want for you to pay tax.
Narration 2:
But Jacobs says she did pay to get her license, just to make her life easier. The Department of State Licensing Services Division can fine an unlicensed braider with a first offense up to $500. The penalty can climb to $1,000 for a second offense, and $2,500 for three or more violations.
Peter Constant Akes represents the Department of State. He says hair braiders are not above the law. Article 27 of the general business law clearly states that no person shall engage in the practice of nail specialty, waxing, natural hair styling, esthetics or cosmetology without a license.
AX2: Constant Akes: A lot of it has to do with hygienic practices, disinfectants and things like that to protect public health.
Narration 3:
Yet a lot of braiding salons operate illegally - and in unsanitary conditions. Veronica Forbes is a licensed cosmetologist who says many shops near her Harlem salon defy the hair braiding-health standards. She says she sometimes lets braiders wash their hands and customers' hair in her sinks. Many of the shops without sinks are breeding grounds for contaminants like lice. Forbes says this risk is magnified in many of these shops because of the way hair is braided.
AMBI: Braiders talking in African language
AX3: FORBES: You go into these salons and you don't have one person working on you. You have three and four people working on you at the same time. It's unsanitary. But//the people keep them in business. If they didn't have customers, their doors wouldn't be open.
Narration 4:
Customers say they brave these conditions because they can pay a quarter of the price for a style. But they sometimes get more than what they bargain for. Temporary hair loss often results from braids that are done too tight.
Proponents of licensing say proper training reduces the risk of hair loss. However, countless unlicensed braiders discount this, looking to legal victories that encourage their cause.
Nearly a decade ago, civil rights lawyers in New York State challenged the law, resulting in the 900-hour class requirement being dropped to 300 hours.
Attorney Valerie Bayham works with the Institute for Justice, which filed a similar suit last year against Mississippi. Bayham commends a recent proposal by the Mississippi House of Representatives to exempt braiders from more than 3,000 hours of training.
AX4: BAYHAM: I think//legislators want people to be able to earn an honest living and make money and support their families and live the American dream. And some of these regulations prevent that.
Narration 5:
Legislators are not currently looking into changing the New York requirements, but many of the "so-called" illegal hair braiders say regulators ought to factor in cultural considerations when drafting their policies.
SOC: Valencia Grant, Columbia Radio News.