Heritage tangles hair-braiding debate

“People look at braiding as a craft. It’s like a God-given talent, so why pay taxes for something that’s a craft or a gift?” Rogers said. “People like being underground.”

Nevertheless, the licensing is a step forward for the profession, she said, one that will help ensure that braiders know more about sanitation and the various related medical conditions such as alopecia, a scalp problem caused by braiding too tight.

It also means the fines will stop. From 2000 through 2005, more than 30 citations were issued to braiders in the Philadelphia area for unlicensed activity, according to the Hairbraider’s Association of Philadelphia and Vicinity.

“There’s no real health and safety issue here,” said Valerie Bayham, staff attorney with the Institute for Justice, a Washington-area group that has challenged state braiding laws across the country.

The regulation will put road blocks in front of people trying to earn a living, she said: “This is not chump change. It’s a lot of money and a lot of time.”

She pointed to states such as Florida and South Carolina have shorter programs geared toward health and safety. Kansas and Mississippi issue a one-page flier that needs to be posted in salons.

Pelzer counts herself among those torn over Pennsylvania’s new law.

It’s not a bad thing for customers to know their braider has been trained in their craft, she said. She also does believe braiders should be paying taxes and know about sanitary rules.

But can a school effectively teach part of a culture that is passed down through generations, learned on front stoops and sidewalks?

“With this, they’re trying to take it away,” Pelzer said as she starts locks on Charity Bell’s hair. “Some of this stuff you can’t be taught. When it’s cultural, it’s within, raised up in you.”

Some see the change as a perfect example of government stomping on ethnic tradition.

“I think it’s like stepping into our culture,” Bell chimed in.

Supporters, however, point out that there can be serious problems if people are not properly trained how to braid. Braiding too tight can cause hair to fall out.

Amadou Balde, the owner of Nene’s Hair Braiding and the father of Assatou and Nene, said he thinks the state’s original cosmetology license requirement was unfair. But now that the license is specifically for braiders, people should do their best to comply, he said.

“Go learn some English and try to pass the test,” said Balde, who moved to the U.S. from Senegal in 1987. “We are not in Africa anymore, we are here.”

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