Colorado hair braiding rules

Do you need a license to braid hair in Colorado?

Q: Do you need a license to braid hair in Colorado?

No license needed. Braiding by hand needs no license if no cutting, dyes or chemicals are used.

Q: Do you need a license to do locs in Colorado?

No license needed. Starting or maintaining locs by hand needs no license if no cutting, dyes or chemicals are used.

Q: Do you need a license to do hair extensions or sew-ins in Colorado?

Yes. Applying hair extensions needs a Hairstylist license unless it is natural hair braiding (woven or extended, with no cutting, dyes or chemicals). Hours and fees for each full license are on the Colorado cosmetology license page.

Q: Do you need a license to install wigs in Colorado?

Not stated. Colorado's official pages we read do not say whether installing wigs on a client needs a license. Ask the Colorado Office of Barber and Cosmetology Licensure before you offer it.

No license needed. Braiding by hand needs no license if no cutting, dyes or chemicals are used. Below: locs (no license needed), hair extensions and sew-ins (license needed) and wig installs (not stated), each answered from Colorado's own statutes, rules or board pages, read on October 29, 2026, with the state's own words.

Braiding: No license needed
Locs: No license needed
Extensions: License needed
Wig installs: Not stated

Licensed by the Colorado Office of Barber and Cosmetology Licensure.The board's site Hours and fees for each license The state's own words

Hair braiding

Do you need a license to braid hair in Colorado?

No license needed. Braiding by hand needs no license if no cutting, dyes or chemicals are used.

License needed: No license needed
Exemption: Natural hair braiding is exempt if no cutting, dyes or chemicals are used.

Colorado is one of 35 states whose official pages exempt hair braiding from licensing.

Locs

Do you need a license to do locs in Colorado?

No license needed. Starting or maintaining locs by hand needs no license if no cutting, dyes or chemicals are used.

License needed: No license needed
Exemption: Locking is natural hair braiding and is exempt if no cutting, dyes or chemicals are used.

Colorado is one of 25 states whose official pages exempt starting and maintaining locs from licensing.

Hair extensions and sew-ins

Do you need a license to do hair extensions or sew-ins in Colorado?

Yes. Applying hair extensions needs a Hairstylist license unless it is natural hair braiding (woven or extended, with no cutting, dyes or chemicals).

License needed: License needed
Licenses that allow it: Hairstylist
License for this work alone: None
Exemption: Hair extensions woven or extended as natural hair braiding are exempt if no cutting, dyes or chemicals are used.

Wig installs

Do you need a license to install wigs in Colorado?

Not stated. Colorado's official pages we read do not say whether installing wigs on a client needs a license. Ask the Colorado Office of Barber and Cosmetology Licensure before you offer it.

License needed: Not stated

Good to know

What else Colorado asks of braiders

Natural hair braiders are exempt from the Barber and Cosmetologist Act.
A Hairstylist license requires 1,200 contact hours of training.
Hairstyling, which includes applying hair extensions, requires a license.
A place of business offering these services must be registered with the director.

Sources

What Colorado's official pages say

Each answer above, in the words of Colorado's own statutes, rules or board pages, read on October 29, 2026. Rules change: confirm with the Colorado Office of Barber and Cosmetology Licensure before you start charging for a service.

Hair braiding: “A person who provides the service of natural hair braiding.”
leg.colorado.gov
“as long as the service does not include hair cutting or the application of dyes, reactive chemicals, or other preparations to alter the color of the hair or to straighten, curl, or alter the structure of the hair.”
leg.colorado.gov
Locs: “"Natural hair braiding" means a service that results in tension on hair strands or roots by twisting, wrapping, weaving, extending, locking, or braiding by hand or with a mechanical device”
leg.colorado.gov
“A person who provides the service of natural hair braiding.”
leg.colorado.gov
“as long as the service does not include hair cutting or the application of dyes, reactive chemicals, or other preparations to alter the color of the hair or to straighten, curl, or alter the structure of the hair.”
leg.colorado.gov
Hair extensions and sew-ins: “Cutting, arranging, applying hair extensions to, or styling the hair by any”
leg.colorado.gov
“"Hairstylist" means a person who engages in any of the practices of hairstyling.”
leg.colorado.gov
“"Natural hair braiding" means a service that results in tension on hair strands or roots by twisting, wrapping, weaving, extending, locking, or braiding by hand or with a mechanical device”
leg.colorado.gov
“as long as the service does not include hair cutting or the application of dyes, reactive chemicals, or other preparations to alter the color of the hair or to straighten, curl, or alter the structure of the hair.”
leg.colorado.gov
Also good to know: “A person who provides the service of natural hair braiding.”
leg.colorado.gov
Also good to know: “Hairstylist: 1,200 contact hours”
coprrr.colorado.gov
Also good to know: “It is unlawful for any person to engage in, or attempt to engage in, the occupation of barbering, hairstyling, or cosmetology or to provide esthetician or nail technician services in this state unless the person first obtains a license as provided in this article 105.”
leg.colorado.gov
Also good to know: “It is unlawful for a place of business to offer barbering, cosmetology, hairstyling, or esthetician or nail technician services in this state unless the place of business is registered with the director.”
leg.colorado.gov