"1,800 Hours and $20,000 to Braid Hair"

Talk Story with Keli'i Akina -- ThinkTech Hawaii -- Mar 17, 2026  

Keli'i Akina & Malia Blom Hill (Grassroot Institute) Discuss Barriers to Braiding Hair for a Living

Should someone need 1,800 hours of beauty school and tens of thousands of dollars in training just to braid hair? Malia Blom-Hill, Policy Director of Grassroot Institute, weighs in on a bill Hawaii lawmakers are considering that would free natural hair braiders from burdensome cosmetology licensing requirements.

In this episode, we explore whether these rules protect the public—or unnecessarily block entrepreneurship, cultural tradition, and small-business opportunity in Hawaii.

The takeaway was: Hawaii’s debate over SB2876 asks a fundamental question: Should government licensing protect consumers—or can it sometimes stand in the way of entrepreneurship and cultural tradition?

SB2876: Text, Status

HB1697: Text, Status