Kansas hair braiding rules

Do you need a license to braid hair in Kansas?

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

No license needed. Hand braiding needs no cosmetology license if no dyes or chemicals are used and the braider completes the brochure self-test; a licensed cosmetologist may also braid. Hours and fees for each full license are on the Kansas cosmetology license page.

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

No license needed. Locking hair is excluded from cosmetology when no dyes or chemicals are used, and a licensed cosmetologist may also lock hair. Hours and fees for each full license are on the Kansas cosmetology license page.

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

No license needed. Weaving and extending hair is excluded from cosmetology when no dyes or chemicals are used; a licensed cosmetologist may also do it. Hours and fees for each full license are on the Kansas cosmetology license page.

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

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

No license needed. Hand braiding needs no cosmetology license if no dyes or chemicals are used and the braider completes the brochure self-test; a licensed cosmetologist may also braid. Below: locs (no license needed), hair extensions and sew-ins (no license needed) and wig installs (not stated), each answered from Kansas'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: No license needed
Wig installs: Not stated

Licensed by the Kansas Board of Cosmetology.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 Kansas?

No license needed. Hand braiding needs no cosmetology license if no dyes or chemicals are used and the braider completes the brochure self-test; a licensed cosmetologist may also braid.

License needed: No license needed
Licenses that allow it: Cosmetologist
Exemption: Hand braiding is excluded from cosmetology if no dyes or reactive chemicals are used and the braider completes the brochure self-test.

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

Locs

Do you need a license to do locs in Kansas?

No license needed. Locking hair is excluded from cosmetology when no dyes or chemicals are used, and a licensed cosmetologist may also lock hair.

License needed: No license needed
Licenses that allow it: Cosmetologist
Exemption: Locking hair is excluded from cosmetology if no dyes or reactive chemicals are used.

Kansas 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 Kansas?

No license needed. Weaving and extending hair is excluded from cosmetology when no dyes or chemicals are used; a licensed cosmetologist may also do it.

License needed: No license needed
Licenses that allow it: Cosmetologist
Exemption: Weaving and extending hair is excluded from cosmetology if no dyes or reactive chemicals are used.

Kansas is one of 11 states whose official pages exempt hair extensions and sew-ins from licensing.

Wig installs

Do you need a license to install wigs in Kansas?

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

License needed: Not stated

Good to know

What else Kansas asks of braiders

A braider who wants the exemption must complete the self-test in the state's hair braiding and threading brochure and keep it where they braid.
Using dyes or reactive chemicals to change hair color or structure takes the service outside the exclusion.

Sources

What Kansas's official pages say

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

Hair braiding: “A service that results in tension on hair strands or roots by twisting, wrapping, weaving, extending, locking, or braiding by hand or mechanical device”
ksrevisor.gov
“Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to preclude a licensed cosmetologist from performing the service described in this paragraph”
ksrevisor.gov
“so long as the service does not include the application of dyes, reactive chemicals or other preparations to alter the color of the hair”
ksrevisor.gov
“such individual shall complete the self-test part of the brochure and keep the brochure and completed self-test available at the location where the individual is braiding hair or threading.”
ksrevisor.gov
Locs: “A service that results in tension on hair strands or roots by twisting, wrapping, weaving, extending, locking, or braiding by hand or mechanical device”
ksrevisor.gov
“Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to preclude a licensed cosmetologist from performing the service described in this paragraph”
ksrevisor.gov
“so long as the service does not include the application of dyes, reactive chemicals or other preparations to alter the color of the hair”
ksrevisor.gov
Hair extensions and sew-ins: “A service that results in tension on hair strands or roots by twisting, wrapping, weaving, extending, locking, or braiding by hand or mechanical device”
ksrevisor.gov
“Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to preclude a licensed cosmetologist from performing the service described in this paragraph”
ksrevisor.gov
“so long as the service does not include the application of dyes, reactive chemicals or other preparations to alter the color of the hair”
ksrevisor.gov
Also good to know: “such individual shall complete the self-test part of the brochure and keep the brochure and completed self-test available at the location where the individual is braiding hair or threading.”
ksrevisor.gov
Also good to know: “so long as the service does not include the application of dyes, reactive chemicals or other preparations to alter the color of the hair”
ksrevisor.gov