California lash and brow rules
Do you need a license to do lashes in California?
Yes. Lash extensions need a cosmetologist or esthetician license; California has no eyelash extension license. Someone who does the work without compensation outside a licensed establishment is exempt under BPC 7319(d). Below: lash lifts, tinting and brow lamination (license needed), waxing (license needed) and eyebrow threading (no license needed), each answered from California's own statutes, rules or board pages, read on October 23, 2026, with the state's own words.
- Lash extensions
- License needed
- Lifts and tints
- License needed
- Waxing
- License needed
- Threading
- No license needed
Licensed by the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology.The board's site Hours and fees for each licenseThe state's own words
Lash extensions
Do you need a license to do lash extensions in California?
Yes. Lash extensions need a cosmetologist or esthetician license; California has no eyelash extension license. Someone who does the work without compensation outside a licensed establishment is exempt under BPC 7319(d).
- License needed
- License needed
- Licenses that allow it
- Cosmetologist, Esthetician
- License for this work alone
- None
- Exemption
- Someone who does the work without compensation outside a licensed establishment is exempt under BPC 7319(d).
Lash lifts, tinting and brow lamination
Do you need a license to do lash lifts, tinting or brow lamination in California?
Yes. Tinting and perming of eyelashes and brows need a cosmetologist or esthetician license; California has no separate lash or brow license. Someone who does the work without compensation outside a licensed establishment is exempt under BPC 7319(d).
- License needed
- License needed
- Licenses that allow it
- Cosmetologist, Esthetician
- License for this work alone
- None
- Exemption
- Someone who does the work without compensation outside a licensed establishment is exempt under BPC 7319(d).
Waxing
Do you need a license to do waxing in California?
Yes. Waxing needs a cosmetologist or esthetician license; California has no separate waxing license. Someone who does the work without compensation outside a licensed establishment is exempt under BPC 7319(d).
- License needed
- License needed
- Licenses that allow it
- Cosmetologist, Esthetician
- License for this work alone
- None
- Exemption
- Someone who does the work without compensation outside a licensed establishment is exempt under BPC 7319(d).
Eyebrow threading
Do you need a license to do eyebrow threading in California?
No license needed. The Board says threading is not within its jurisdiction, so no Board license is required for threading.
- License needed
- No license needed
- Exemption
- Threading is excluded from the practices of barbering, cosmetology and hairstyling under BPC 7316(e)(3), and the Board says it is outside its jurisdiction.
Good to know
What else California asks of lash and brow artists
- California has no waxing or eyelash extension license; these services are done under a cosmetologist or esthetician license.
- Doing barbering, cosmetology or electrolysis for compensation without a valid license is unlawful.
- Practice done outside a licensed establishment without compensation is exempt from the chapter.
Sources
What California's official pages say
Each answer above, in the words of California's own statutes, rules or board pages, read on October 23, 2026. Rules change: confirm with the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology before you start offering a service.
- Lash extensions
“Tinting and perming of the eyelashes and brows, or applying eyelashes to any person.”
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov “Except as provided in this article, it is unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to engage in barbering, cosmetology, or electrolysis for compensation without a valid, unexpired license issued by the board”
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov “Estheticians can perform facials, remove hair by tweezing or waxing, and apply makeup and false”
barbercosmo.ca.gov “Persons engaged in any practice within its scope when done outside of a licensed establishment, without compensation.”
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov - Lash lifts, tinting and brow lamination
“Tinting and perming of the eyelashes and brows, or applying eyelashes to any person.”
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov “Except as provided in this article, it is unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to engage in barbering, cosmetology, or electrolysis for compensation without a valid, unexpired license issued by the board”
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov “Persons engaged in any practice within its scope when done outside of a licensed establishment, without compensation.”
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov - Waxing
“Removing superfluous hair from the body of any person by use of depilatories, tweezers, sugaring, nonprescription chemical, or waxing”
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov “California does not have a waxing or eyelash extension license.”
barbercosmo.ca.gov “facials, remove hair by waxing or tweezing, apply makeup and false eyelashes, and provide nail”
barbercosmo.ca.gov “Persons engaged in any practice within its scope when done outside of a licensed establishment, without compensation.”
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov - Eyebrow threading
“makeup, massage, threading, tanning, and acupuncture.)”
barbercosmo.ca.gov “Threading is a technique that results in removing hair by twisting thread around unwanted hair and pulling it from the skin and the incidental trimming of eyebrow hair.”
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov “The practice of barbering, the practice of cosmetology, and the practice of hairstyling do not include any of the following:”
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov - Also good to know
“California does not have a waxing or eyelash extension license.”
barbercosmo.ca.gov - Also good to know
“Except as provided in this article, it is unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to engage in barbering, cosmetology, or electrolysis for compensation without a valid, unexpired license issued by the board”
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov - Also good to know
“Persons engaged in any practice within its scope when done outside of a licensed establishment, without compensation.”
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
Questions
California lash and brow licenses, answered
Do you need a license to do lash extensions in California?
Do you need a license to do lash lifts, tinting or brow lamination in California?
Do you need a license to do waxing in California?
Do you need a license to do eyebrow threading in California?
What do you need to open a lash or brow studio in California?
Plan the rest
Licensed and ready to book clients
- Hours, exams and fees for each California license
- What California requires to open a studio of your own
- What California inspectors check in a salon or studio
- Microblading or permanent makeup in California: the license it needs
- Can estheticians do microneedling, peels or laser in California?
- Renting a room or a chair? Start from a booth rental agreement
Lash and brow rules in other states
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