This section explains what activities count as barbering, cosmetology, skin care, and nail care in California. Barbering includes things like cutting hair, shaving, and giving scalp massages. Cosmetology covers a wide range of beauty treatments for hair, skin, and nails, like applying makeup and manicuring. Skin care involves treatments to enhance the skin's appearance without harming live tissue, while nail care includes activities like trimming and polishing nails. The section also clarifies what is not included in these practices, like wig styling, natural hair braiding, and threading, unless they are combined with regulated services. Additionally, electrolysis, which is a specific method of hair removal, is defined, and hairstyling is noted for its range of hair care services.

This law makes it illegal for anyone to practice barbering, cosmetology, or electrolysis for money without a valid license from the board, unless they're in an approved externship or working in a board-licensed place. It also mandates that professionals can only perform services within the areas they are licensed for. Breaking this rule could lead to a fine or misdemeanor charge.

This law allows licensed professionals to provide services outside of their normal place of practice if the client is too sick or unable to come in for any physical or mental health reasons. It requires that the person performing the service is licensed and comes from a licensed establishment.

This section outlines who doesn't have to follow certain rules about barbering, cosmetology, and related fields. It includes people like doctors and nurses working within their legal limits, military and public health service members during official duties, and those working in film and television who provide these services as part of that work. It also covers people who do these practices for free outside of a licensed shop, those recommending beauty products, and those working in prisons, as long as they meet certain training and health standards set by corrections agencies.

If you're a student at a board-approved school, you don't need a professional license to perform services on the public as part of your education, as long as it's done at the school where you're enrolled.

This law clarifies that the chapter does not give the right to practice medicine or surgery without the necessary medical license. Additionally, it does not provide any benefits usually given to those certified under another specific part of the law related to healthcare services.

This law specifies that metal tools can only be used for specific purposes when giving manicures or pedicures. These purposes include cutting, trimming, manicuring, or pedicuring the nails or cuticles, and for smoothing and massaging the hands and feet.

This law states that it's illegal for any licensed professional to use an X-ray machine on people either for treatment or hair removal, or to apply high-concentration phenol or mercury-based solutions on a person. Doing so is considered a misdemeanor, which means it's a criminal offense but less serious than a felony.

This law says you can't call yourself a cosmetologist unless you have a license to do everything a cosmetologist does.

If you're not officially licensed as a barber in California, you can't call yourself a barber or imply that you are one.

If someone has a professional license and they use a laser to treat a person, they're committing a crime called a misdemeanor.