Written for owners of hair salons, barbershops, beauty, nail, lash and brow businesses, spas and massage, tanning, tattoo and piercing studios and med spas in the United States.
The short version
- Check the provider's license covers the service.Each state sets what a license allows. Injectables are the practice of medicine everywhere, and in most states so are lasers that affect living tissue.
- Confirm the salon's license and any certification.Some services need the salon certified, such as a Texas laser hair removal facility. For medical services, state law decides who may own the business.
- Make sure your insurer covers it.Check the service is on your insurer's schedule before you add it. If you treat minors, check the age rules too.
Every state licenses the person (cosmetologist, barber, esthetician, nail technician or manicurist, often electrologist) after approved training and exams, and separately licenses the shop as an establishment. Working or operating unlicensed is an offense and a ground for fines. The questions get harder when you add a service that goes into living tissue, uses a laser or needle, or involves a prescription drug.
Who licenses what in the four biggest states
- California: the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology (Bus. and Prof. Code 7301 et seq.). Every establishment needs a license and must follow the Board's health and safety regulations.
- Texas: the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (Occupations Code ch. 1603), which inspects establishments and publishes enforcement orders.
- New York: the Department of State, Division of Licensing Services (General Business Law Art. 27 for appearance enhancement, Art. 28 for barbering). Appearance enhancement businesses need a business license.
- Florida: the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, with the Board of Cosmetology (Fla. Stat. ch. 477) and the Barbers' Board (ch. 476). Salons need a salon license.
- Massage therapy is a separate license in most states, and tattooing is licensed by state health departments or counties, not cosmetology boards. Whether a booth renter needs its own establishment or booth license differs by state: check with the board before signing a renter.
What every salon needs, whatever you offer
- A written hazard communication program, a safety data sheet for every chemical product (color, developer, relaxers, acrylic liquids, acetone, disinfectants), labels and training before first use (29 C.F.R. 1910.1200).
- Keratin or Brazilian smoothing products can release formaldehyde above OSHA limits when heated, even when labeled formaldehyde-free (29 C.F.R. 1910.1048), and California bans formaldehyde in cosmetics from January 1, 2025: test the air or drop the service.
- Local exhaust at each nail table, and no MEK or methyl methacrylate liquid monomer where your state bans it.
- Tools disinfected with an EPA-registered disinfectant between clients, and pedicure spa cleaning logs kept: inspectors cite missing logs most often.
Where esthetics stops and medicine starts
In most states esthetician scope stops at the living layers of the skin: superficial peels, facials, waxing and non-invasive devices are in scope, while microneedling that penetrates, ablative lasers, injections and anything that cuts or destroys living tissue are the practice of medicine. In California the Medical Board treats laser and IPL as medical devices that only physicians, PAs and RNs or NPs under supervision may use. Texas lets non-physicians do laser hair removal only with a state certification at a certified laser hair removal facility. As of Oct 2026.
California Bus. and Prof. Code 2052; Texas Health and Safety Code ch. 401 subch. M
Until both are in place, the service is unlicensed practice and uninsured.
Injectables and who may own a med spa
Injecting Botox or fillers and prescribing are the practice of medicine in every state. Who may own the business that provides them is the corporate practice of medicine question, and it is state law. In California a lay person cannot own the medical practice; the usual lawful model is a physician-owned professional corporation contracting with a management company owned by the business person, at a fair-market fee (Bus. and Prof. Code 2400 and 2052; Corp. Code 13401.5). New York is also strict: only physicians or a professional entity of physicians may own a practice offering medical services (Education Law 6512 and 6530). Florida has no strict rule, but a med spa may need an AHCA health care clinic license with a medical director unless an exemption applies (Fla. Stat. 400.9905 and 400.9935). Before any prescription drug is given, a practitioner allowed to prescribe in your state must examine the client: the good-faith exam.
Compounded weight-loss drugs
FDA confirmed the tirzepatide shortage resolved on December 19, 2024 and the semaglutide shortage on February 21, 2025, and the compounding grace periods ended in 2025. A 503A pharmacy may still compound for an individual patient's documented clinical need, with narrow patient-specific exceptions, but never routine copies of the approved drug. Selling compounded semaglutide as a cheaper weight-loss program is the current enforcement target, and a compounded drug may never be called FDA-approved. As of Oct 2026.
FD&C Act 503A and 503B; FTC Act s.5
Minors
California makes tattooing anyone under 18 a misdemeanor and requires a parent's presence or notarized consent to pierce a minor. Texas allows a minor's tattoo only to cover an offensive tattoo, with a parent present. Florida bans tattooing under 16 except for medical or dental reasons, and allows 16 and 17 only with the parent present, written notarized consent, and government photo ID for both plus proof of guardianship. New York makes tattooing under 18 a crime. Many states bar indoor tanning under 18. As of Oct 2026.
California Penal Code 652 and 653; Texas Health and Safety Code 146.012; Fla. Stat. 381.00787; New York Penal Law 260.21; California Bus. and Prof. Code 22706; Texas Health and Safety Code 145.008
Licenses lapse quietly. Individual and establishment licenses renew on state cycles (every 2 years in California, Texas and Florida, every 4 years for New York appearance enhancement licenses), and the establishment can be cited for each lapsed worker found on inspection. Put every worker's expiry date on the calendar. As of Oct 2026.
Asked in Greymill
Before the first booking, you need both:
Her: the state laser hair removal certification
The salon: certified as a laser hair removal facility, with a consulting physician
Until both are in place, the service is unlicensed practice, and uninsured.
Before that first client, also check laser hair removal is on your insurer's schedule, the list of services your policy covers.
While you're at it: licenses lapse quietly. In Texas, her license and the salon's renew every 2 years (As of Oct 2026).
The salon can be cited for each lapsed worker found on inspection, so put every expiry date on the calendar.
Shall I turn all this into a checklist, in the order to do it?
Ask it about your own business
Paste this into Greymill with your own figures, and Rules & Licensing works it through for your business.
I run a salon or beauty business in [state], in the US. We are in [city]. I want to add [service, for example laser hair removal, microneedling, Botox or tattooing], done by [who, and their license class]. Tell me which licenses, certifications and establishment approvals I need, whether my state treats it as the practice of medicine and what structure that requires, the age rules, and what to ask my insurer, as a checklist in the order to do it.
More for beauty, hair and aesthetics in the US
- Pricing a color service so it still pays after commission and productPrice each service from the provider's time and product, check what commission leaves you, and track service sales per available hour before you change the menu.Read the lesson
- We sold a stack of gift cards in December. Why is cash tight now?Gift card and deposit money is service you still owe, no-shows are hours you never get back, and a 13-week cash view shows both before they hurt.Read the lesson
- Am I claiming the FICA tip credit, and do I owe tax on back-bar color?Salons can now claim the FICA tip credit on employees' tips, while back-bar product and New York City's service tax catch out owners who never checked.Read the lesson
- Memberships, auto-renewals and no-show fees: will my terms hold up?Memberships, deposits and no-show fees are lawful when the client agrees to clear terms up front, and auto-renewal laws spell out how sign-up and cancellation must work.Read the lesson
- Commission stylists, '1099' stylists and booth renters: am I underpaying or misclassifying?A booth renter must really run their own business, and every commission employee needs a minimum wage and overtime check each workweek.Read the lesson
- Getting more five-star reviews and Instagram bookings without breaking FTC rulesRebooking, reviews, portfolios and texts bring in salon clients, and each comes with federal rules on incentives, endorsements, photos and consent.Read the lesson
- A client was burned, reacted or had an injectable complication: what do I do today?The first hours after a burn, reaction or injectable complication decide the client's outcome and whether your insurance responds, so act in order and admit nothing.Read the lesson
Open the interactive lesson · Every beauty, hair and aesthetics lesson · What Greymill knows about the trade
Sources
The primary sources behind this lesson, checked Oct 2026.
- Bus. and Prof. Code 7301 et seq.; 16 CCR div. 9 (Boards, licenses and establishments: ca, tx, ny, fl)
- training hours (Boards, licenses and establishments: ca, tx, ny, fl)
- ch. 1603 (Boards, licenses and establishments: ca, tx, ny, fl)
- GBL 400 et seq. and 430 et seq. (Boards, licenses and establishments: ca, tx, ny, fl)
- Fla. Stat. 477.019 (Boards, licenses and establishments: ca, tx, ny, fl)
- cited chapters (Boards, licenses and establishments: ca, tx, ny, fl)
- Bus. and Prof. Code 2052; Medical Board of California laser guidance (Scope of practice, body art and minors)
- Health and Safety Code ch. 146; 146.012 (Scope of practice, body art and minors)
- Fla. Stat. 381.00771 to 381.00791; 381.00787 (Scope of practice, body art and minors)
- Health and Safety Code 119300 et seq. (Scope of practice, body art and minors)
- Penal Code 652 and 653 (Scope of practice, body art and minors)
- Penal Law 260.21 (Scope of practice, body art and minors)
- Occupations Code ch. 155, 157 and 164 (Med spas: corporate practice and ownership)
- Fla. Stat. 400.9905 and 400.9935 (Med spas: corporate practice and ownership)
- 45 C.F.R. 160.103 (Med spas: corporate practice and ownership)
- Civil Code 56 et seq. (Med spas: corporate practice and ownership)
- Texas Health and Safety Code ch. 401 subch. M (laser hair removal) (Med spas: corporate practice and ownership)
- Enrolled HB 3749, Occupations Code sections 172.001 and 172.051, and section 4 (Med spas: delegation, IV therapy and compounded drugs)
- FDA updates of December 19, 2024; February 21, March 10 and April 28, 2025 (Med spas: delegation, IV therapy and compounded drugs)
- FD&C Act 503A and 503B (Med spas: delegation, IV therapy and compounded drugs)
- 29 C.F.R. 1910.1200 (Health and safety: OSHA and sanitation)
- OSHA Nail Salons: Chemical Hazards, gloves and MMA entries (Health and safety: OSHA and sanitation)
- 29 C.F.R. 1910.1030(f) (Health and safety: OSHA and sanitation)
- 29 C.F.R. 1910.1048(c) and (b) (Health and safety: OSHA and sanitation)
- IRC 7503 (The us calendar: tip reporting, payroll, license renewals)
- board renewal pages (The us calendar: tip reporting, payroll, license renewals)