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April 2012- Oregon
The Board of Cosmetology's regular board meeting will have especially invited speakers presenting information regarding:"The Impact of old and new Form 1099 Reporting Requirements on the Cosmetology Industry" and "The Misclassification of Independent Contractors." Presentations are by Small Business & Self-Employed Operating Division of the IRS, The Department of Consumer & Business Services, and the Oregon Department of Revenue.
Date: Monday April 23, 2012 Time: 9 am
Place: Oregon Health Licensing Agency, Rhoades Conference Room (Third Floor)
700 Summer Street N.E. , Salem, Oregon 97301
Please visit: http://egov.oregon.gov/OHLA/COS/meetings.shtml for current meeting information and updates.
Salons offering threading services as an alternative to waxing are on the rise in Oregon, especially in the larger cities of Portland and Eugene, according to the amount of inquiries that the agency has been fielding lately. The most popular use of the ancient art of threading, for Westerners soliciting these salons, appears to be in the shaping of their eyebrows. Westerners are lured into the salon with promises of painless eyebrow plucking. Once in that environment clients are able to observe that other previously waxed areas, such as the upper lip, are also performed much more painlessly. Right up there with exotic milk-baths, massages, and henna tattoos, I find the romance of beauty treatments from ancient foreign {think Persia! India!}climes appealing. And if the method works, all the better!
The key to this simple-looking technique is the experience of the practitioner. Sure, it's just a string of cotton thread with a couple of twisted knots, but the method, degree of accuracy, and related painlessness is in direct correlation to the experience of the person wielding that string. Threading is very much a cultural phenomenon brought to the West by native practitioners who have been taught the art at a very young age. Indeed, according to my research, the practice has ties to the rites of womanhood in many middle eastern countries.
It's interesting that it has taken this long for Westerners to "discover" this form of hair removal. All the claims are very appealing! Most of the local Oregon salons I perused on the web tout that the process is Natural! Precise! Painless! Gentle on the Skin! You may have one hair removed as you would with a pair of tweezers or multiple hairs all at once. There are also claims of the process being kinder to the skin of those clients who use topical retinoid, acne medications, or have rosacea. I checked out the WebMD online article, "Eyebrow Shaping: the 411 on Threading" by Shelly Levitt, and they substantiated the claims regarding retinoid and acne as a safe alternative to waxing that may "sometimes take off layers of skin that have been thinned by those drugs." It stands to reason that a gentler process would also benefit those of us with rosacea, but rosacea wasn't mentioned in the article.
The tips section of the WebMD article regarding threading promotes the use of a licensed cosmetologist if you are thinking of having the procedure done. In Oregon it's the law. Hair removal is certainly within the scope of practice for estheticians and you must be a licensed esthetician to perform threading. As pointed out in the same article, "any tearing of skin can make you vulnerable to skin infections" and, as with all esthetic procedures, safety and sanitation are paramount. Which leads me nicely into some of the questions that the agency has been fielding lately:
Question: What if I open a salon strictly for threading? Do I need a facility license?
Answer: Yes. Just the same as opening a salon just for barbering, nails, or hair design. Since hair removal is under the scope of practice of esthetics you must have a facility license to set up shop the same as if you were just giving facials.
Question: Threading is a cultural practice. Do I need to be licensed?
Answer: Yes. Currently, threading falls under esthetics for the removal of hair. You are required to have:
A. An esthetics practitioner's license to work in Oregon and;
B. In addition to the esthetic practitioner's license, an Independent Contractor's license if just renting your booth and you are not an employee of the salon or;
C. In addition to the esthetic practitioner's license, a Freelance license; which is a written authorization allowing a practitioner to practice outside of or away from a licensed facility.
Here's to the pursuit of the perfect brow.
Bad addresses are the bane of the agency's Licensing Division's existence. Currently, there are approximately 65,190 active licensees. Out of that number approximately 7– 10 renewed licenses are returned to the agency every day for a "bad address." That's 35 – 50 licenses a week, 140 – 200 a month, 1680 – 2400 per year . . . you get the picture. Those are just the licenses that were renewed online or payments received in the mail for renewal. All sent to us without anyone bothering to update their address. The number of returned courtesy renewal notices is soooo much higher!
There's some very important information you may be missing if we don't have a current address: the notices that go out regarding administrative rule changes. So many times we hear, "how come I wasn't notified that there was administrative rulemaking going on?" Whenever there are changes in current rules being considered, and again, when those new administrative rules become permanent, all licensees are notified by mail. Therefore, you are responsible to be following all the current laws and rules. It would be a shame to be cited for a new rule violation because you simply did not update your address. A simple piece of standard information can certainly cause an avalanche of troubles when it's not kept up.
Courtesy renewal notice reminders always go out to your last home address of record. That would be whatever address you last personally provided to the agency. You may provide change of address and employment using the online form or send the agency a change through the mail or fax (sorry the agency cannot take any changes over the phone it must be in writing).
But here's a harsh truth: State Mail is NEVER forwarded – it's just returned to the agency. That is true EVEN if you provided the United States Post Service (USPS) with a change of address. The reason is to prevent fraud. I do hope you've given the State Department of Revenue a current address or you may be waiting a long time (as in forever) for your state income tax refund to arrive. Meanwhile, here sits your already paid-for-renewed-license that will never find its way home to you unless you think to call and ask about it. The repercussions of not providing the agency a current address may also be costly ones!
Did you know that by administrative rule you must report your new address within 30 days of moving? {ORS 331-010-0040 Notification Requirements}
Did you know an Independent Contractor must always update the agency not only with changes in address but also changes in employment?
NOTE: Don't ever change your address to your "shop" address because the shop may not receive street address mail nor have the proper receptacle for USPS. Plus, if you ever leave, will you remember that your license is tied to that shop?
So now perhaps you see the importance of such a simple little item like address changes. Who knew?
How many practitioners and facilities are active in Oregon? (Numbers in parentheses +/- change from March 5, 2012) According to Oregon Health Licensing Agency (OHLA) records as of March 30, 2012:
Practitioners — 31,389 (+4)
Facilities — 4,615 (-8)
Independent contractors — 7,784 (-57)
Freelance (previously CID) — 564 (-2)
Barbering — 4,311 (-20)
Esthetics — 13,545 (-2)
Hair Design — 21,615 (+1)
Nail Technology — 13,533 (-9)
Looking for past Board News? Visit the archives page.
Oregon Health Licensing Agency
700 Summer Street NE, Suite 320 • Salem, OR 97301-1287
Licensing Office (503) 378-8667 • Enforcement Unit (503) 378-4294
www.oregon.gov/OHLA
OHLA Agency Staff:
Randy Everitt, Director
Bob Bothwell,
, Regulatory Division Manager
Board of Cosmetology:
Herb Hirst, North Plains, Chair
Sharon Wiser, Lake Oswego, Vice Chair
Peggy Zepp, Salem
Heidi Zuniga, Springfield
Tiffany Galvan, Salem
Lisa Bonner Brown, Portland
