Cosmetology, the practice of beautifying the face, hair, and skin, has become a deeply regulated practice in the State of Washington. Extensive, and usually poorly executed, schooling is required to test for your license, and even then, the testing is expensive and frivolous.

All practitioners of cosmetology are effected. Washington State requires a license to practice, and the license must be renewed annually. Any cosmetologist caught working without a license is fined $1,000, is permanently barred from practicing, and the salon in which the person worked is shut down. Safety practices and aesthetic ability are not taken into account.

While there is an easy solution, government bureaucracy usually doesn't allow for the easy route. Instead, I pose a compromise. Testing should be made common sense, and the fee should only cover the cost of the physical license. 

To suggest that we live in a free society, and then in the same breath demand citizens gain permission to live their lives, is hypocritical. People should be free to live as they see fit, provided they don't adversely affect others. We have a responsibility unto ourselves to make safe decisions.