Opinion: Proposed federal rule would hammer beauty industry

Beauty and wellness are a staple of American culture. Thousands of citizens visit our spas and salons throughout the United States for critical, everyday grooming services they rely on. However, if the U.S. Department of Education has its way, Americans could soon have trouble finding qualified professionals to perform these traditional self-care rituals.

The department is proposing a new rule that would end access to many professional beauty programs — an important and growing trade. The department also is mistakenly labeling professional beauty programs as “low-value programs,” even though these programs offer students almost immediate employment opportunities providing professionals a flexible work-life balance.

Driven by high demand for skincare and hair services, there are currently more than 1.4 million professionals throughout the U.S. who work in the professional beauty industry. The professional beauty and wellness industry’s economic trajectory tells a story of continued and sustained growth. Growing at an annual rate of 7% from 2022 to 2024, according to McKinsey & Co., the United States ranks among the 10 fastest-growing wellness markets worldwide.

But even a robust and resilient industry like ours cannot overcome bad policy decisions that threaten an entire industry. Congress never included an accountability metric for certificate programs like cosmetology or massage therapy programs in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act does contain an accountability metric called “Do No Harm,” which is designed to keep colleges and universities that offer degree programs or graduate-level certificates accountable to the American people.

The accountability metric for degree programs, when applied to certificate programs, will eliminate opportunities for Americans to receive federal student aid, including Pell Grants, to unlock a career in cosmetology or massage therapy. The Department of Education has acknowledged using the Do No Harm provision as an accountability metric will have a severe negative impact on the cosmetology and massage schools nationwide, and determined that 92% of accredited cosmetology and massage therapy schools eventually will lose access to all federal student aid, including Pell Grants, for their students and most likely will be forced to close in the near future.

The one saving grace is that the department has not finalized its proposed rule, and it is not too late for the public to tell the department that this rule does not fit the bill for professional beauty students and schools. Comments must be received on or by May 20. You can submit your comments on the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) rule through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at regulations.gov/commenton/ED-2026-OPE-0100-0001. The department will not accept comments submitted by fax or by email or comments submitted after the comment period closes.

Any new rule adopted by the agency needs to account for the overall demographic and work-life balance goals of students and the professional beauty industry. These students and future small business owners deserve the same opportunities as students pursuing careers in other disciplines and fields.

Lynch is the owner and chief executive officer of the Poway-based Bellus Academy and the founding chair of the nonprofit Beauty Changes Lives, which awards nearly $500,000 in scholarships annually.