This bill amends the Tennessee Cosmetology Act of 1986 relative to eyelash services, as described below.
Under present law, "cosmetology" means certain practices, including, but not limited to, arranging, dressing, curling, waving, cleansing, cutting, singeing, bleaching, coloring or similar work on the hair of a person; manicuring; placing or applying artificial eyelashes; shampooing; and natural hair styling.
This bill adds to the above list "providing eyelash services," which are defined as applying and removing a semi-permanent, thread-like, natural or synthetic single fiber to an eyelash, including cleansing of the eye area and lashes prior to applying and after removing extensions.
Present law places certain requirements on shops, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) A shop must display a valid license issued by the board of cosmetology and barber examiners ("board");
(2) A shop must designate a manager; submit the name and license information of its manager upon application and renewal; and operate, at all times, under the direction of the manager or designated manager;
(3) Prior to the opening of a new shop or the relocation of an existing shop, a shop must pass an initial inspection after submission of a complete application for a license to operate the shop, accompanied by a fee for licensure and a fee for inspection;
(4) A shop must be inspected at least annually; and
(5) A shop must comply with rules of sanitation as promulgated by the board.
This bill applies the same requirements of shops to eyelash services shops. This bill also authorizes eyelash services shops to be mobile shops under the same conditions and requirements of mobile shops.
This bill requires a person who desires an eyelash specialist license to submit an application for examination to the board on a prescribed form, which must be accompanied by:
(1) A nonrefundable, nontransferable application/examination fee as set by the board;
(2) Satisfactory proof that the applicant is at least 16 years of age and has completed and passed a course of instruction of no less than 300 hours in classroom instruction and practical experience, including at least eight hours of theoretical instruction, and that includes instruction in the following areas:
(A) Recognizing infectious or contagious diseases of the eye and allergic reactions to materials;
(B) Proper sanitation practices;
(C) Occupational health and safety practices;
(D) Eyelash extension application procedures; and
(E) Eyelash extension isolation and separation procedures; and
(3) Satisfactory proof that the applicant successfully completed, as part of the hours of instruction described in (2) above, up to one hour of online or in-person training, at no cost to the applicant, on domestic violence that focuses on how to recognize the signs of domestic violence, how to respond to these signs, and how to refer a client to resources for victims of domestic violence.
Present law authorizes the board to promulgate rules necessary to allow for a shop where services are performed or offered to be performed in more than one field of cosmetology, including aesthetics, natural hair styling, and manicuring, or in both cosmetology, or a field of cosmetology, and barbering to operate as a dual shop, including, but not limited to, rules to allow a dual shop to pay a single licensure or renewal fee and to undergo a single inspection. This bill applies those rules to a shop offering as one of its services eyelash services.
Present law requires the board to establish rules for separate schools that specialize solely in natural hair styling, manicuring, and the practice of aesthetics as long as such specialized schools remain subject to the requirements otherwise applicable to schools operated in accordance with the Tennessee Cosmetology Act of 1986. This bill applies those rules to schools that specialize in eyelash services.
Additionally, this bill requires the board to do the following:
(1) Establish rules to enable schools to offer courses of instruction that consist of 50 percent of the hours needed for an eyelash specialist license to be obtained from apprenticing; and
(2) Provide written notice of the requirements in this bill to all applicable licensees and schools under the jurisdiction of the board through the board's website, e-blasts, print mailings, and license renewal communications.
This bill authorizes the board to promulgate rules to effectuate this bill.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 62-4-102(a)(3), 62-4-102, 62-4-102(a)(4), 62-4-102(a)(6), 62-4-102(a)(17), 62-4-102(a)(24), 62-4-102(a), 62-4-110, 62-4-118(m), 62-4-118, 62-4-120(i), 62-4-120