Source: Washington Post
by Sarah Harbison
“Ashley N’Dakpri grew up watching her aunt run Afro Touch, a New Orleans hair-braiding shop. She learned the craft as a child and eventually took over Afro Touch’s Gretna, Louisiana, location, building a thriving business as natural hair styling boomed. Then the state stepped in. The Louisiana Board of Cosmetology informed her that without an ‘alternative hair design’ permit — requiring 500 hours of government-mandated training — she was braiding hair illegally. Even though N’Dakpri had spent years perfecting her trade and helping her customers, she needed a government permission slip to keep working. … a bill moving through the 2026 Louisiana legislative session would actually increase the training requirement from 500 to 600 hours …. There’s a motive hiding in plain sight: 600 hours is precisely the federal threshold that unlocks Title IV student loan funds for vocational programs. More red tape, more debt, more cosmetology school revenue — and fewer braiders.” (04/01/26)