What's Being Discussed

Disciplinary cases: The board will review settlement agreements for three licensed beauty businesses — Kuhio Nails & Spa, Rainbow Nail, and Nail Story LLC — related to potential violations of their licenses.
New license applications: The board will consider applications from a barber (Patrick Hanawahine), an esthetician (Yana Kotenko), and a beauty school (IBS School of Cosmetology and Massage).
Complaint process overview: Staff from the Regulated Industries Complaints Office (RICO) will explain how complaints and settlements are handled.
State legislation: The board will discuss two bills currently before the Hawaii Legislature — one related to natural hair braiding and one related to a cosmetology licensure compact that could affect licensing across states.
Education requirement for applicants: The board will review whether its application process properly reflects the law requiring a high school diploma or equivalent.
Multilingual exams: The board will consider whether to allow licensing exams in languages other than English, since the exam provider already offers this option.
Rules update: The board will check progress on combining and modernizing its administrative rules for barbers and cosmetologists.

Decisions Expected

Approval of meeting minutes from November 2025
Final orders on the three disciplinary settlement agreements
Votes on individual and school license applications

Who Should Pay Attention

Licensed barbers, cosmetologists, estheticians, and nail technicians in Hawaii
Beauty school operators and students
Anyone applying for a barbering or cosmetology license
People who braid hair professionally or are interested in natural hair braiding regulations