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This is the Bureau of Labor Statistics and I plan to use this to display everything there is to know about the stats of barbering in the Govenments words

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(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.

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I can use this to display all the capabilities you need to have to be a barber and the requirements necessary to become one.

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Barbers are regulated and licensed in all 50 states (Alabama recently enacted licensure requirements for barbers; the last state to do so in the U.S.). Like other professions involving the health and beauty industry, barbers must be licensed because their work is directly related to public health.

Although each state sets forth the professional scope of the barbers it licenses, in general, barbers are licensed to provide the following services:

Shaving/trimming the beard or mustache

Cutting/trimming/shaving hair

Giving facial and scalp massages with lotions, creams, and oils

Singeing, shampooing, and arranging hair

Applying hair tonics

Applying cosmetic preparations, powders, oils, antiseptics, and lotions to the face, scalp, and neck

Chemically straightening or waving hair

Coloring or bleaching the hair

Cutting, measuring, and fitting wigs, hairpieces, or head caps

Minimum Requirements for Barber Licensing
A Formal Education/Apprenticeship
Individuals who want to meet the requirements for barber licensure must first satisfy the education or apprenticeship requirement set forth by their state's department of barbering/cosmetology. All states recognize the completion of a barbering program, while some states recognize the completion of an approved apprenticeship in lieu of a barber program. Still others, like New Hampshire, require the completion of a barber program, followed by an apprenticeship.

For example, the New York State Department of State, Division of Licensing Services allows candidates to qualify through an apprenticeship, provided it is at least two years in duration and is completed under the supervision and direction of a New York State licensed barber.

The duration of a barber program, which may be found through either a dedicated barber school or a school of cosmetology, will vary from one institution to the next. To qualify as a candidate for licensure, candidates must complete a program that is recognized/approved by the board and/or meets the practice requirements set forth by the board.

Similar to cosmetology licensure, the number of required hours varies from one state to the next. For example, the Ohio State Barber Board requires the completion of a program that is at least 1,800 hours in duration, while the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation requires the completion of a formal barber program that is at least 1,500 hours in duration.

Some states also recognize a cosmetology license as meeting part of the requirements for barber licensure. For example, candidates for barber licensure in Tennessee must complete a program of at least 1,500, while licensed cosmetologists in the state may earn their barber license by completing a program of just 750 hours.
License Examinations
Upon the successful completion of a barber program or apprenticeship, candidates for barber licensure must successfully take a state license examination, which generally consists of a written (theory) section and a practical (hands-on) section. Some states utilize the written and/or practical examinations offered through the National-Interstate Council on State Boards of Cosmetology (NIC). The Montana Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists, for example, utilizes both the written and practical NIC examinations for barber licensure.
Minimum License Requirements
In addition to satisfying the education and examination requirements, candidates must typically be of a certain age to qualify for licensure. In Texas, for example, candidates must be at least 16 years old, while in Washington D.C., candidates must be at least 18.

Most states also require candidates to either possess a high school diploma or GED or have completed at least the tenth grade. Further, candidates for barber licensure may also need to pass a criminal background investigation and pass a medical physical.
Continuing Education Requirements
As a regulated and licensed profession, barbers must renew their licenses through their state board of barbering/cosmetology. Most states require either annual or biennial license renewal. Some, but not all, states require the completion of continuing education for license renewal, such as Connecticut, which requires the completion of at least 10 continuing education credits and Illinois, which requires the completion of at least 15 continuing education credits every biennial renewal period.

Licensed barbers may complete their continuing education requirements in a number of areas, such as safety and sanitation, professional development, or business practices, depending on the requirements set forth by their state board. Many licensed barbers also seek continuing education in areas such as business management and marketing if they have aspirations of opening up and running their own barbershop practices in the future.

What is a Master Barber? Requirements for Licensure

The term "master barber" is often used, although this term may mean different things from one state to the next. Some states recognize master barbers as barbers who have held their licenses for more than 10 or 20 years, while other states allow barbers to take a master barber examination to earn the master barber designation. Finally, some states use the term master barber for those who have completed a lengthy apprenticeship.

For example, the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation licenses both barbers and master barbers. To become a barber, candidates must complete a barber program of at least 1,200 hours and take and pass the required license examination. Barbers must then work for at least 15 months as a Maryland licensed barber and take and pass the master barber exam to earn the title of master barber.

Some states use different terms altogether. For example, the Tennessee Board of Barber Examiners uses the term barber manager to describe a licensed master barber who serves as manager of the barber shop. The Board requires at least one barber manager at each barber shop. Barbers who do not hold the designation of master barber or barber manager in Tennessee are considered barber technicians.

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Barbers are regulated and licensed in all 50 states (Alabama recently enacted licensure requirements for barbers; the last state to do so in the U.S.). Like other professions involving the health and beauty industry, barbers must be licensed because their work is directly related to public health.

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I can use this to shock people on how far back barbering goes

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Barbering Timeline - National Barber Museum

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The National Barber Museum and Hall of Fame.

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This shows how going to the barbershop is a stress reliever and it actually lowers your blood pressure.

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Posted on by Dr. Francis Collins

You expect to have your blood pressure checked and treated when you visit the doctor's office or urgent care clinic. But what about the barbershop? New research shows that besides delivering the customary shave and a haircut, barbers might be able to play a significant role in helping control high blood pressure.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a particularly serious health problem among non-Hispanic black men. So, in a study involving 52 black-owned barbershops in the Los Angeles area, barbers encouraged their regular, black male patrons, ages 35 to 79, to get their blood pressure checked at their shops [1]. Nearly 320 men turned out to have uncontrolled hypertension and enrolled in the study. In a randomized manner, barbers then encouraged these men to do one of two things: attend one-on-one barbershop meetings with pharmacists who could prescribe blood pressure medicines, or set up appointments with their own doctors and consider making lifestyle changes.

The result? More than 63 percent of the men who received medications prescribed by specially-trained pharmacists lowered their blood pressure to healthy levels within 6 months, compared to less than 12 percent of those who went to see their doctors. The findings serve as a reminder that helping people get healthier doesn't always require technological advances. Sometimes it may just involve developing more effective ways of getting proven therapy to at-risk communities.

For Ronald Victor at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, lead author of The New England Journal of Medicine study, it all began several years ago in Texas. Victor was principal investigator of the Dallas Heart Study, which enrolled thousands of local residents with the goal of improving the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of heart disease [2]. Among the study's participants were many black men with uncontrolled hypertension, putting them at great risk for heart attack, stroke, and other potentially debilitating health problems. Victor also learned that many of them hadn't seen a doctor in years.

He got to thinking about how he could reach out more effectively and help black men take control of their health. The community advisory board at a local clinic suggested that he try black-owned barbershops. Coincidentally, Victor's wife had also seen a television segment about an author who had interviewed barbers across the country, including Oprah Winfrey's father in Nashville, TN.

It was clear that barbershops are a social hub, and many black men trust their barber and remain loyal patrons for many years. Victor wanted to get barbers involved in health promotion, conducting blood pressure checks and encouraging those customers with untreated hypertension to visit their doctors.

In 2006, Victor launched an NIH-funded study in Dallas to test whether barbershop-based health checks could lower blood pressure. To his frustration, the results were pretty discouraging [3]. The men with high blood pressure, upon being referred to their doctors, rarely received prescriptions for more medication or achieved better control [4]. This is a common issue in busy primary care practices where responsibility is shared among patients, doctors, and health systems. Meanwhile, Victor noticed recent clinical trials showing the effectiveness of pharmacists working in clinics for improving blood pressure in patients [5]. When he moved to Cedars-Sinai, Victor realized what he needed to do was to combine health promotion by barbers with rigorous, blood pressure drug therapy delivered by pharmacists.

In the new NIH-funded study, Victor and his colleagues, including barber Eric Muhammad (in the photo), enlisted 52 black-owned Los Angeles barbershops. Each barbershop was randomly assigned to either the pharmacist-led intervention in which barbers encouraged meetings in barbershops with pharmacists who could prescribe an intensive two- or three-drug therapy or the control group. In the control group, barbers encouraged customers with high blood pressure to pursue healthy lifestyle changes and see their doctors.

At the start of the study, all participants had a systolic blood-pressure level of 140 mm Hg or higher on two separate days, indicating they had high blood pressure. In fact, the average systolic blood pressure was about 152 mm Hg. Systolic blood pressure is the first number in a typical blood pressure reading. It measures the pressure in the blood vessels when the heart beats. A healthy blood pressure is now defined as below 130/80 mm Hg.

At 6 months, patrons of barbershops assigned to the pharmacist-led intervention had reduced their systolic blood pressure by 27 mm Hg on average to less than 126 mm Hg. In contrast, patrons of the control barbershops, who received treatment from their usual doctors, lowered their systolic blood pressure by only about 9 mm Hg to about 145 mm Hg. More than 63 percent of participants in the intervention group ended the study with a healthy blood-pressure level of less than 130/80 mm Hg. There were also no serious treatment-related adverse events.

Victor said that in addition to more intensive drug therapy, there are likely several reasons for the intervention's success. The pharmacists made it convenient for men to access the needed treatment. But, he said, you can't overestimate the value of the barbers and their strong endorsement of the program. It's not uncommon for barbershop patrons to visit the same barbers every other week for a decade or more. That consistency also made it much easier for patrons and pharmacists to manage their new hypertension medications.

The study is now being extended for another 6 months to see how well the observed improvements in blood pressure are maintained. The research team is also gearing up to expand the study to more cities around the country, including Nashville, home to the Winfrey's famed barbershop. They will also begin enrolling individuals with milder elevations in systolic blood pressure in the 130 to 140 mm Hg range, which is in keeping with guidelines issued late last year that lower the definition of high blood pressure to encourage earlier intervention and treatment [6]. Victor says he is already speaking with several health systems about potentially adopting this new model as an effective way to reach more patients in need of hypertension care.

These findings are a useful example of the power of programs that reach at-risk populations in their own communities for improving health and reducing health disparities. It's a lesson we'll take to heart as more than 1 million people living in the United States will soon begin sharing information about their health with the NIH's All of Us Research Program to accelerate research and improve health.
References:
[1] A Cluster-Randomized Trial of Blood-Pressure Reduction in Black Barbershops. Victor RG, Lynch K, Li N, Blyler C, Muhammad E, Handler J, Brettler J, Rashid M, Hsu B, Foxx-Drew D, Moy N, Reid AE, Elashoff RM.N Engl J Med. 2018 Mar 12.

[2] Dallas Heart Study. UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.

[3] Effectiveness of a barber-based intervention for improving hypertension control in black men: the BARBER-1 study: a cluster randomized trial. Victor RG, Ravenell JE, Freeman A, Leonard D, Bhat DG, Shafiq M, Knowles P, Storm JS, Adhikari E, Bibbins-Domingo K, Coxson PG, Pletcher MJ, Hannan P, Haley RW. Arch Intern Med. 2011 Feb 28;171(4):342-350.

[4] Differential treatment of hypertension by primary care providers and hypertension specialists in a barber-based intervention trial to control hypertension in Black men. Rader F, Elashoff RM, Niknezhad S, Victor RG. Am J Cardiol. 2013 Nov 1;112(9):1421-1426.

[5] The impact of interventions by pharmacists in community pharmacies on control of hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Cheema E, Sutcliffe P, Singer DR. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2014 Dec;78(6):1238-1247.

[6] New ACC/AHA High Blood Pressure Guidelines Lower Definition of Hypertension. American College of Cardiology. 2017 November 13.
Links:
High Blood Pressure (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute/NIH)

Ronald Victor (Smidt Heart Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles)

All of Us Research Program (NIH)
NIH Support: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
Posted In: Health, Science

Tags: African American health, All of Us Research Program, barbers, barbershops, black barbershops, blood pressure, cardiology, clinical trial, Dallas Heart Study, diagnostics, health disparities, health education, healthcare delivery, heart, heart attack, high blood pressure, hypertension, lifestyle, pharmacists, stroke, systolic

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Can Barbers Help Black Men Lower Their Blood Pressure?

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You expect to have your blood pressure checked and treated when you visit the doctor's office or urgent care clinic. But what about the barbershop? New research shows that besides delivering the customary shave and a haircut, barbers might be able to play a significant role in helping control high blood pressure.