One of the most consequential initiatives shaping beauty and wellness today is the Cosmetology Licensure Compact, which lets beauty professionals work across multiple member states under a single license.
Ten states are currently participating, with 12 more planning to join, and the first multi-state cosmetology licenses are set to roll out this summer. Recently a similar Esthetics Licensure Compact has launched, extending the same benefit to estheticians.
As with the Cosmetology Compact, activation occurs once seven states pass the required legislation.
To accelerate both compacts, the Professional Beauty Association this month tapped longtime industry expert Leslie Roste as its Director of State Relations & Policy Development.
A registered nurse with a background in microbiology, Roste transitioned into the beauty and barber industry as an authority on infection control and public safety. She joins PBA from the Future of the Beauty Industry Coalition, where she advanced multi-state licensing alongside the Department of Defense, which champions these compacts in support of military families.
Roste will appear at the Be+Well | Beauty and Wellness Show in New York on March 9 to discuss both compacts and to answer questions. She also recently spoke with American Salon about her new role activating legislation that can benefit professionals, employers, and states.
American Salon: Why was it important that the PBA bring you on board at this moment in time?
Leslie Roste: Well, the esthetics compact is new. The organization I was working for, FBIC, represents cosmetology professionals only — and I needed to go somewhere where I could champion both license types equally. They were very supportive of me coming to the PBA for that.
The other important piece of my new role is that the Cosmetology Interstate Compact Commission is now its own governmental agency and as such, needs an Executive Director. Well, they don't have money yet because they haven't started issuing multi-state licenses. So I am functioning as its executive director free of charge, because it's the only way we can help them get up and running.
What does the Esthetics Licensure Compact look like?
It is identical to the Cosmetology Compact, with the exception that every place it says “cosmetology” it now says “esthetics.” In every state, cosmetology and esthetics are regulated under the same agency. They will share a database.
A lot of the states in the cosmetology compact are considering it. We currently have legislation introduced for esthetics in Alabama, Kansas, and Virginia. Some of the states that have existing legislation for cosmetology are also considering carrying the esthetics bills so both can be launched at the same time.
All occupational licensing compacts up until 2022 were healthcare related: nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, doctors, EMTs. So they really perfected what this looks like. It was great, in terms of our ability to model our legislation after it. We didn't have to reinvent the wheel.
My primary goal this session is seven esthetic states, because then we can jump-start it.
How close are we realistically to having multi-state licenses?
It’s happening. For cosmetology, those states begin testing their data system in March and will start issuing multi-state licenses this summer. This is not some far-off idea.
There could be estheticians getting multi-state licenses this year, if we can get seven states to pass it. Some states that already have cosmetology up and running, and are introducing esthetics bills this session, could arguably be up and running for esthetics as well.
What other changes are we going to see now that you're part of the PBA?
The PBA marketing group is helping us make improvements to the website for the Cosmetology Compact. We want the right information out there. The site has always been very legislative-facing, because it was made for lawmakers, so now we’re focused on making it more professional-facing so that licensees can go on there and have questions answered.
We want to put FAQs for beauty and wellness professionals front and center in order to clear up misinformation. That’s the reason I'm coming to the Be+Well show in New York. I really want people to come and find out more about these compacts and to ask me questions about it.
What is some of the faulty information you need to clear up?
Broadly, what this legislation does and what it doesn’t do. We are not telling states how to license individuals. The legislation was written specifically to be gray in certain areas to allow states to maintain their autonomy in licensing.
We’re trying to get everyone to agree: What is this service called and what does it constitute? Whether or not you allow that in your state is a different thing. We’re not trying to take away your sovereignty; we’re trying to help streamline.
How does it work when some states have different licensing requirements than others?
I use driver’s licenses as an example. In my state, someone can get a driver's license at 15, but they can drive in a state where the minimum age is 18. Their home state has determined they're safe enough to operate a motor vehicle and that is recognized from state to state.
So this is the same type of agreement. Let's say I have a cosmetology license in Kentucky, and I'm going to work in Tennessee on my multi-state license. I can do that until the point at which Tennessee becomes my domicile: where I live and pay taxes. I now have to notify the Commission that Tennessee is my home state. At that point, Tennessee can require me to do whatever they require for licensure.
This is not intended to give people the ability to pick and choose the state they want to get licensed in. You get licensed in the state in which you reside, and can then use that multi-state privilege.
What requirements are currently needed to get a new license from state to state?
It varies, and it’s just incredible what’s required in many states. Sometimes it’s completely out of your hands. You’re counting on one state to e-mail your license verification to the new state, and that can take weeks. In some cases, you need official transcripts from your school, mailed to the state in a sealed envelope; so now you’re asking a school to do this. Go pull transcripts from 15 years ago and print them and mail them in the U.S. mail.
It’s just way too cumbersome. I would have a hard time doing all the steps and I have a computer, I have a printer, I have a bank with a notary, I have access to transportation. I have $200 to pay the fee. I have all these things, and I would still find the process overwhelming and time-consuming.
One of the things we talk about in this industry is how many licensees are women and how many are potentially single mothers, potentially fleeing domestic violence or being displaced by disasters such as fires and floods and hurricanes.
In this industry, we could put someone to work today and they could have money in their pocket tonight to get a hotel room, to buy groceries, to keep their family supported. But with all these roadblocks, they just can't do it.
The nursing compact is active in 45 states. It’s frustrating to know that as a nurse, I can demonstrate once to my state that I met all these requirements and then I can go work in nursing in 44 other states, but that's not true for a hairstylist or esthetician.
Obviously these compacts are good for beauty and wellness professionals. What's the biggest case to be made as to why it would benefit a state to join?
There is a problem with fraud around both these license types — much more so in cosmetology than esthetics — but with the rise in the popularity of esthetics, I suspect we'll see more of that.
People are out there poaching legitimate information and making licenses illegally. And the ability for the compact to define where people are working, where their addresses are, that kind of thing — it reduces license fraud.
Another thing is: That long, cumbersome list of requirements for me to get licensed in your state? You’re paying for someone to not only receive all that information, but also to send that information out to other states. These agencies are chronically understaffed but they have people pushing a bunch of paper. Being part of this compact can really streamline administrative processes.
Also, being in this compact puts you at the table with other states to have regular conversations about shared problems and shared solutions. Working together with other states is not just a minor thing, it's a big deal.
Besides licensees and the state, who benefits from this compact?
Employers do, in a big way. If you sit on the border of another state, this makes a way to spread a bigger net for talent. It empowers multi-state employers to be able to move people around during high or low seasons.
Schools close to other states are starting to see the potential for having more interested students being able to cross the state line and take their courses.
I think people are rightfully very leery about new legislation and they question: who's making money off this?
The thing is, nobody “owns” this. The Commission owns itself. There's no financial gain for anyone. To me it's like a very pure form of legislation. You can walk me down any path you want, and I can prove to you that nobody profits off this.
What can people do to increase state participation?
When we go into states and have hearings, people providing written testimony or even in-person testimony is always desired. Or being willing to write to your legislator.
Honestly? I'll write the letter to your legislator for you. And if they say they're interested, I'll take the ball from there. I can't tell you how many bills we've gotten started just from people saying, I want this in my state and I'm willing to tell my story.
Why does it make a difference when people tell their story?
At first, I didn't think about some of these unintended populations — the displaced workers, the domestic violence survivors — until I had a salon manager tell me, I have had at least three women in the last five years who left an abusive relationship and came to me looking for work. They have a license in another state. They came to this state because they have family here. They desperately needed a job, but I couldn’t give them one.
I started thinking about the fact that not everybody can just go to a safe place and start over, because the obstacles are so great.
This is a very loving industry. There’s a community and mentorship in beauty that I’ve never experienced in other industries. Cosmetologists will advocate for each other. The hardest part of this, and the most important for me, has been to find larger groups — a couple thousand people here and there — who are willing to push this up on their agenda and say this is important.
I think those groups are out there and once they become involved, we’re going to see real progress.
Leslie Roste will answer questions & provide information during “How the Cosmetology and Esthetics Licensure Compacts Affect You” at Be+Well New York on Mon., March 9 at the Glam & Glow Stage. Registration is here; use the promo code EDSALON20 for 20% off education classes.