In a unanimous vote, the Texas House of Representatives has deregulated natural hair braiding, ending nearly 20 years of conflict.
The fight began in 1997 when officials arrested Isis Brantley for braiding hair without the proper license. In 2007, the Texas government, lumping natural hair braiders with barbers and cosmetology practitioners, required natural hair braiders to attend cosmetology school and complete a 35-hour course on hair braiding. However, there weren’t any hair-braiding schools in the state.
On Thursday evening, Texas lawmakers struck down the current regulations, putting an end to the unfair regulations.
“This vote by the Texas House means aspiring hair braiders from across the state are one step closer to being able to practice an ancestral art that dates back centuries, and do so without a government permission slip,” said Brantley, who has been vocal in the fight to change the law, to NewsOne.
The Texas Senate is expected to vote on a similar bill next month.