Texas does not require a license for eyebrow threading. You are not mandated by any law to hold a license, permit, or certificate to perform or teach threading in Texas.
Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 1502 into law on May 28, 2017, and Senate Bill 2065 into law on June 15, 2017. These two bills clarify that the practice of threading in Texas does not require a barber, cosmetologist, or specialty license.
Eyebrow threading originated in India thousands of years ago. In ancient Persia, what is now modern Iran, threading was considered a right-of-passage beauty treatment for girls attaining womanhood. However, in this age, threading is considered a clean and painless alternative to waxing or tweezing the eyebrows for a more shapely appearance.
Threading gives you greater control over brow shaping than waxing and is less stressful on the skin than tweezing individual brow hairs. Although this is a popular treatment, it sometimes finds contention in state regulations.
Some states lump it into the umbrella category of cosmetology, forcing practitioners to undertake hundreds of hours of cosmetology training and sit for the state license exam, even though it has nothing to do with their job. In recent years, the Texas Supreme Court reviewed an appeal to the regulation in the state that practitioners needed a cosmetology license.
In 2008, Texas implements new legislation that mandated threaders to acquire a cosmetology license. In 2009, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations began to crack down on the regulations, which forced eyebrow threaders to undergo 750 hours of cosmetology training and sit for two exams in order to practice.
At that point, any practitioner found without licenses was fined at least $2,000 and faced the potential closure of their businesses.
The Institute of Justice quickly stepped in to sue the state on behalf of three threaders and two salon owners. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court. After hearing the lawsuit, on June 26, 2015, the Texas Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of the threaders, according to Consumer Affairs.
With this ruling, eyebrow threading practitioners were no longer expected to go to beauty school and sit for the cosmetology license exam in order to practice in the state. This opens up threading as a lucrative career choice for many people since they no longer have to pay for the education they do not need.
Note that eyebrow threaders won the case because the regulations were unrealistic and limited many people’s ability to find employment.
Attending a beauty school can cost around $7,000 and $22,000 depending on the institution, the course length, and the supplies and textbooks. The over 750 hours required by the state included not one course on eyebrow threading. Additionally, the state exams have absolutely no questions about eyebrow threading.
The court also noted that this education also did nothing to improve the health and safety of the clients. Furthermore, it reduced the ability of many people to find gainful employment. Therefore, it only seemed right to remove the licensing regulations.
How to Become an Eyebrow Expert in Texas
The eyebrow threading process uses thread to pluck hair down to the follicle level. If done correctly, it can be relatively pain free. It also offers a better way to create the exact shape wanted for the area, and it also does not remove any skin as waxing does.
It is an ideal way to remove hair on the upper lip and eyebrows, although it is typically not used for legs, arms, and other larger regions of the body. To start this business in Texas, here are simple steps to take;
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Get Trained
Indeed you can practice eyebrow threading, also known as epilation, in Texas without an aesthetician or cosmetologist license, but you will still need the training to do good work. There are lots of training options. Your local spa or beauty salon may offer in-person classes and there are dozens of online courses to choose from.
With both, you will get a study manual and training videos (either online or recorded on DVDs), plus a threading kit with the basic supplies. Note that the only real downside to online training is you will still need some volunteers to practice on before you can reasonably expect to charge money for threading.
With an in-person course, you can be certified in as little as 5-6 hours. As a working brow threading tech, you can make good money and enjoy the professional satisfaction of helping clients feel good about themselves by enhancing their appearance.
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Get Some Experience
With something as fragile as eyebrow threading, it’s imperative you acquire enough practice to perform all sorts of brows easily. Note that a good way to do this is to apply for a job as a beauty therapist at a brow bar to start off with – this way you have other professionals to learn from and a steady income.
Within this time, you can also learn more about starting and running a threading business of your own on the side, offering your services to friends and family members at a special price. Immediately you feel comfortable enough, you can start transitioning away from your beauty bar job into your own threading business.
Please note that acquiring a couple of additional beauty therapy skills – manicures, pedicures, and the like – could also give your business an extra boost. If you become very popular, in no time you might attract enough work to start seeking trainees of your own.
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Create a Business Plan
Starting and managing an eyebrow threading business requires more than just the skill. You need to have a solid business plan to help you identify your potential costs and create a roadmap that you can follow. Ensure to create a business plan that states your potential earnings and expenses, marketing efforts, target audience, and other key aspects.
Make sure you cover every aspect of running an eyebrow threading business, from legal requirements to financing and advertising. You should also research popular eyebrow threading businesses to see what makes them successful, what services they offer, and how they promote themselves.
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Define Your Market
Find out if your eyebrow threading business will attract neighborhood residents, or will it be a destination all inclusive spa for the affluent.
The logo design, apart from other things, should be created keeping these factors in mind. Once you know your target clients better, you can also predict the demographics such as socioeconomic groups, sex, age, education, occupation, etc. which comprise a market niche.
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Register Your Business
In Texas, to be considered a legit business, you will have to register your business and choose your business structure. You should start by visiting a certified public accountant so as to get information about different business structures that are available for your eyebrow threading business.
In Texas, you are free to choose from structures such as limited liability companies, sole proprietorship, and Subchapter S corporations. You should also visit a commercial insurance agent who is an expert in liability issues.
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Find a Suitable Property
A good number of people start this business from the comfort of their homes and even from their basement. If that is the case, you have already found a suitable property.
But if not, you will have to look for a location. If you are going to rent a property, don’t forget that you often have to pay a 3-month deposit, which is quite an investment. In addition, you will also have to deal with additional bills, including gas and electricity, municipal taxes, telephone and internet costs.
If you are on your own, it is often cheaper to rent a chair or space in another salon. The cost of renting a chair can vary per city, or from one street to the next.
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Advertise Your Business
Start with setting up a business webpage. It doesn’t need to be fancy; just attractively designed with a description of your services and plenty of photographs to showcase your threading work. Create an account on Instagram devoted to your threading services. Instagram is one of the top online platforms for beauty professionals to display their work.
Take “before” and “after” photos to buttress the quality of your work. With every Instagram post, include a hashtag (example: #browthreading) so people can find your work. Without hashtags, no one can search for your services. Other ways to get new clients:
- Offer a discount to new clients.
- Set up a referral program to give discounts to returning customers who bring new clients to your door.
- Ask clients to review your services online. According to a survey, 90% of people say their buying decisions are influenced by positive online reviews.
- All new clients should complete a basic form about their interest in your brow threading services. Get their contact information so you can stay in touch and email special offers to them
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Join a Professional Group
The Professional Beauty Association offers three membership levels, bronze, silver, and gold, starting at $195 a year. Bronze is probably your best choice for an individual membership. At the gold level, for $1,500 salon owners can add up to 30 employees on the membership.
Benefits of joining include networking with other members (great for hearing about job openings), plus continuing education opportunities, conferences, and special events, and discounts on liability, health, dental, and vision group insurance.
Conclusion
Texas and many other states are starting to realize that all beauty treatments do not necessarily need to be enveloped into the cosmetology license, allowing many more people to find work in a troubled economy. Threading technicians average about $11.30 an hour currently in the United States, although a trained and licensed aesthetician can generally charge twice that amount based on skill and experience.