What It Takes to Take On the State Regulators
JoAnne Cornwell is an associate professor at San Diego State University who has taught French and African studies since 1984. She, like most African American women, found that her hair-care needs were not being met by mainstream cosmetology, so she began experimenting with natural hair styling herself, developing a hair-locking method based on certain cultural traditions. But when she began teaching other people how to style tightly coiled hair, she realized that her business could be shut down by state regulators unless she got a cosmetology license.
She joined a legal fight against the licensing requirement after a San Diego braiding salon was cited by the Board of Cosmetology. As a member of the American Hair Braiders and Natural Hair Care Assn., she met with lawyers who named her business lead plaintiff because they felt the cosmetology licensing regulations unfairly restricted her business from growing past the home salon stage into the professional arena.
Although the judgment, handed down last August in U.S. District Court in San Diego, is limited to her business, it is expected to set a strong precedent for similar businesses in the future. Winning a legal battle against regulation is a costly--and time-consuming--trial for a small business, says Cornwell. She talked with freelance writer Karen E. Klein about how she persevered.
The main drive of my business is to empower people. Along with styling hair and training others to do it, I sell a small line of hair-care products and accessories. For African Americans in this country, the norm is to alter our hair, either by chemical- or heat-straightening. My method embraces the natural texture of African hair with braiding and hair-locking techniques that are really beautiful but not widely known.
In 1997, I and the owners of a local braiding salon met with a public-interest law firm based in Washington, the Institute for Justice. The braiding salon had been cited by the California Board of Cosmetology for not being licensed.
The problem is that in order to get a license, you have to take 1,600 hours of training in hair care that is totally unrelated to what we do. Most of the training relates to working with chemicals, which we don’t do at all, and the braiding techniques they teach are for straight hair. We would also have to learn nail care, pedicures, eyebrow arching and other services that I would never do. Less than 1% of the training, which can cost between $5,000 to $7,000 and take up to two years, has anything to do with general hygiene or sanitation.
We filed a lawsuit in federal court against the state board in mid-1997, alleging that the cosmetology regulations were unconstitutional as applied to people who practice hair care as we do, with nonchemical and noninvasive methods.
I was named as a principal plaintiff. We used my home-based business as an example of why we don’t need over-regulation when our industry has the potential of growing and thriving on its own.
The case went on for more than two years. I had to turn over my training materials to the board and fight to get an order from the judge requiring them to promise not to disclose any of my trade secrets. The final ruling was Aug. 18. We won the case on a summary judgment. If I hadn’t had a law firm willing to do the work pro bono, I would never have been able to pursue the lawsuit. I would have been put out of business.
As it is, I’ve been unable to open a public place of business, though now I have the potential to do that. I think the business is going to grow and realize its full potential now that I don’t have to deal with the stress and financial strain of the legal case. Even though the attorneys’ fees were covered, I had to go to Sacramento to speak on behalf of bills that were being proposed to exempt businesses like mine from the regulatory process, and each trip cost me at least $500 out of pocket. Thankfully, I do have my university job.
Lots of businesses that fall outside of the mainstream--from vendors to taxi drivers--may find themselves overburdened by government regulations. Fighting battles like this is really for the common good, and it helps break down barriers, especially for other small start-up businesses.
It’s difficult and time-consuming, but in the long run, it’s worth it.
If your business can provide a lesson to other entrepreneurs, contact Karen E. Klein at the Los Angeles Times, 1333 S. Mayflower Ave., Suite 100, Monrovia, CA 91016 or at kklein6349@aol.com. Include your name, address and telephone number.
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AT A GLANCE
Company: Sisterlocks
Owner: JoAnne Cornwell
Nature of Business: “Natural” hair care.
Location: PMB 355, 5663 bALBOA aVE., sAN dIEGO, cA. 92111
Web site: https://www.sisterlocks.com
Year founded: 1993
Employees: 1 part-timer
Annual revenue: $45,000
