On Monday, Arizona lawmakers debated the merits of blow dryers and flat irons and exactly who should be allowed to use them on paying customers.
Members of the House Committee on Military, Veterans and Regulatory Affairs voted in favor of letting employees without a license work on clients' hair at salons.
Proponents of the measure said it's unrealistic to expect someone take a thousand hours of training for a cosmetology degree to operate household devices.
"This is strictly blow-drying hair," said Republican Rep. Michelle Ugenti-Rita. She reminded her colleagues blow dryers are a common household item that "You can get at Walgreen's. There's no age restriction to buy these tools."
"I fail to understand why the state of Arizona should be regulating something that we can each do for ourselves," said Republican Rep. Mark Finchem. "That is what I find most absurd about this entire discussion."
Opponents to the plan cautioned lawmakers to consider that licenses provide cosmetologists proper training for identifying contagious skin conditions and preventing the spread of lice or other scalp diseases from one client to another.
