Are You Lashing As A Business Or A Hobby?

Are You Lashing As A Hobby Or A Business?

This is a question every beauty professional should be asking themselves. Many of us start out doing lashes as a hobby and a way to bring in extra money. However, with all the regulations surrounding this practice, treating it like a hobby can lead to some unwanted outcomes and unnecessary situations. Even as a hobby, lash technicians need to protect themselves and their clients. Insurance is just the first step in that protection.

Insurance alone doesn’t cover protection. Education and care are also necessary to protect our clients. Without knowledge of the procedures we are conducting, we may very well leave clients with lasting damage opening us up to liability beyond anything we are able to cover. Are we staying up to date with the constant changes in this industry? We have the chemistry of adhesives and their affects, lash types and sources, the health of a clients’ natural lash, allergies and contraindications, and so much more to worry about when accepting a client.

This lends itself to the need for consent forms, but not only that, the information in your consent form needs to be accurate and legal in your state. This is one of the reasons I am opposed to people copying the consent forms of other lash technicians without any additional research to cover themselves. I am a huge advocate of information sharing, but we also have to do our due diligence and cover ourselves.

There are also the requirements and regulations that pertain to the location in which a technician performs their services. For example, here in California, lash services must be completed in a State Board Licensed location. In home services are allowed in the event that the client is incapacitated and unable to travel to your location. Mobile services are an entirely different ball game. I initially wanted to be a mobile technician and after speaking with State Board, I realized that was an investment that I wasn't willing to make at that time. I revisited the idea after a year, and also realized that I prefer having a location that allows for me to do my services in a controlled environment.

Eyelash Extension application isn’t something that falls under the cosmetology or esthetics curriculum at most beauty colleges. It’s an extended education specialty that wasn’t eve regulated in California until 2015. The regulations stemmed from numerous cases where clients were injured by a technician with very little knowledge of the process. Many would buy a kit off EBay, apply a few lashes to a strip lash, and consider themselves educated. There were also training courses available, but they were mostly eight hour courses, compared to two day course that are now more common.

I haven’t even gotten into the advertising or accounting sides of this business. How do we get more clients in the door? Advertising! Whether it is word of mouth referrals or social media, it’s advertising. Openly advertising for something that isn’t 100% above board has its risk. State Board has access to social media and with most technicians having public profiles; they are able to identify those who may be operating outside of regulations. Reference this; a few years ago the State of California made brow tinting illegal for any beauty practitioner, even cosmetologists, due to the dye used. Professionals continued to offer this service and openly advertise. After about a year, State Board began handing out sanctions and fines. Some even lost their licenses and had to pay exorbitant fees to have them reinstated. I’m not willing to risk my license OR my investment in myself for a small fee in comparison to what I paid to get my business up and running.

So, ask yourself, are you lashing as a hobby or a business?