From https://beautyschoolprograms.com/cosmetology-licensing-requirements/ https://beautyschoolprograms.com/cosmetology-licensing-requi... you can see that some

From https://beautyschoolprograms.com/cosmetology-licensing-requirements/ https://beautyschoolprograms.com/cosmetology-licensing-requi... you can see that some states have licenses available with lower requirements. Two examples from the link: * Idaho has "Barber – Barber-stylist 1800 hours; Barber (no chemicals) 900 hours" * Wyoming has "Barber – 1250 hours with chemical services, 1000 without chemical services" Maybe 900 or 1000 hours still seems like a lot to you, I don't know. Given the politics of these states it's unlikely their governments are being strong-armed by labor cartels or over-regulating on general principle.