Beauty professionals from across the country recently spent a day on Capitol Hill to educate legislators and key staffers about the importance of their constituency and the needs of their small business community. During the Professional Beauty Federation's (PBF) 8th Annual Welcome to Our World educational event, representatives from independent and chain salons, day spas, cosmetology schools, beauty product manufacturers, distributors and the industry's associations, met with their own legislators to educate them about the professional salon industry's reach and importance in their own Congressional districts.
Later that day, they continued the conversations while providing hair cuts, mini manicures, chair massages, makeup application and other services rendered in the nation's hundreds of thousands of salons every day across the country.
Two issues of immediate importance to the cosmetology industry are fairness in taxation and access to cosmetology education. H.R. 3016, the Small Business Tax Equalization and Compliance Act, would make it possible for salon owners to claim a tax credit for the FICA taxes they must now pay on their employees' tips, a benefit that restaurant owners already receive. The legislation will also improve income reporting within the industry.
On the education front, PBF thanked Congress for enacting positive provisions for students attending clock hour institutions of higher education in the Higher Education Reconciliation Act. These provisions will enable cosmetology students to enter the workforce sooner, with less potential indebtedness, enabling them to enter a job market where demand for qualified applicants exceeds the supply by more than three-to-one.
"This important event brings the entire $60 billion beauty industry to Capitol Hill in just one day," explains Eric Schwartz, president of the Professional Beauty Federation. "It provides the perfect forum for our legislators to learn about important small-business and education issues that affect millions of their constituents, while they enjoy the services that are performed by 1.6 million licensed professionals hundreds of times a day in hundreds of salons in each of their districts."
Founded in 1999, the PBF represents the political interests of the Professional Beauty Industry. Members include the Professional Beauty Association (PBA), American Association of Cosmetology Schools (AACS), the International Salon/Spa Business Network (ISBN), OPI Products, Inc., Great Clips, JC Penney Salons and Regis Corporation.
The 9th Annual Welcome to Our World is tentatively scheduled for September 10, 2008, in Washington, DC. For more information on how you or your company can participate, please contact Sam Leyvas in PBA's government affairs department at 800.468.2274 x3437 or visit probeauty.org/advocacy.
The beauty and cosmetics industry recently launched an ambitious new consumer information website that contains in-depth information about beauty product safety.
The new website, cosmeticsinfo.org, is an in-depth online resource that gives consumers easy access to safety information about cosmetic ingredients and the science behind the beauty and cosmetics products found in virtually every home in America. The site currently contains information on 13 beauty and cosmetic product categories and more than 1,500 ingredients that represent a majority of all ingredients used in cosmetic and personal care products today.
Additionally, cosmeticsinfo.org provides links to other authoritative bodies and to scientific research so consumers can confidently select the products that are right for them. The site will continue to be expanded and updated with new information.
"As consumers and professionals turn to the industry for accurate information about the products they use," said Steve Sleeper, Executive Director of the Professional Beauty Association, "this new website can be a useful and convenient educational resource."
PBA's Nail Manufacturers Council (NMC) also produces various industry specific publications written for both the consumer and the salon professional. These resources are available at probeauty.org/nmc.
For more information, contact Sam Leyvas
at 800.468.2274 x3437 or sam@probeauty.org