Kentucky cosmetology students have many requirements to receive their license, including logging more than  1,000hours at their school and taking a two-part exam, which can be stressful. A bill that was recently signed could help alleviate that stress. 

Gov. Andy Beshear signed Senate Bill 22 in late March that will give cosmetology students unlimited attempts to take the exam and allow the exam to be taken a month after failure. 

Before the bill was signed, if a student took the exam three times and failed, they had to wait six months until they could take the exam again and take an 80-hour course. 

The Great Ambitions School of Cosmetology owner and instructor Amanda Morris said she used to have test anxiety, and it took her three times to pass. She thinks the new law will help future students. 

“I feel like there’s less pressure put on them, and I feel like they study better that way,” Morris said. 

The Kentucky State Board of Hairdressers and Cosmetologists requires a written and practical exam for cosmetologists to receive their licenses. The written exam is two hours long and has 120 questions covering 12 topics, including safety, infection control, client consultation and hair and nail analysis. 

The practical exam is performed on a mannequin head showing how to cut,  perm,  color hair and do facials. A student must make a minimum of 70 percent on the theory and practical exam to receive their license. 

Morris says that it is not fair to the students who struggle with the exams, but succeed at their job. 

“You know, they went to school for all this time, but yet they can’t do what they love to do because of a test that is tripping them up,” Morris said. 

Although Morris is in favor of the law, Kirsten Gregory, a young hairdresser, said that she thinks students should not be allowed to take the exam multiple times. 

“The products [or] chemicals used shouldn’t be used by just anyone,” Gregory said. “You are in charge of someone else’s skin, hair, nails, etc., and using the wrong product or mixing the wrong chemicals can easily be harmful to the student and their client.”

Gregory said she remembers how demanding cosmetology school can be, but believes students who put the effort in can succeed.

“Paying attention in class, asking questions [and] studying while you’re in school can help a lot instead of waiting to study till you graduate,” Gregory said. 

The new law has taken effect immediately.