Lilian Anderson operated her hair braiding and extensions business for years without a license, because she thought it cost too much to take 10 months of courses that didn’t even include instruction on braiding.
After encouragement from Lee McGrath, executive director of the new local chapter of the Institute for Justice, she became the lead plaintiff in a suit against the Minnesota Board of Barber & Cosmetologist Examiners. In a settlement reached mid-June, the board agreed to change its rules to exempt braiders, effective by April 2006.
Anderson tells why she risked jail time and a fine to fight back.
“Extensions has always been one of my passions. I enjoy doing it a lot. It’s a pleasure.
I’m from West Africa, Cameroon. I moved here in ’93. My husband is from Minnesota. He was in the Peace Corps, and that’s how we met. We ended up falling in love, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
When I first moved here, there was a store I managed, Variety Beauty Supply. I went to school in Africa, I was licensed there. Here I went to MTC, Minneapolis Technical College. I wanted to open a small business. They said you need a license.
I was fascinated with learning. The thing that discouraged me was, I noticed they didn’t have any specialists in hair extensions, or weaving and braiding. And then the amount of money they charge, up to $14,000 at the time, and it would take over 10 months.
I went to Variety and the owner said, ‘We’re thinking of bringing in a hair salon, talk to her, the manager.’ I worked with her for one year in ’94. In ’95 I took over the business to start running it.
The name Extensions Plus, I got in ’99, my own shop. I do hair weaving, braiding, extensions. Whatever they show in the magazines, I do it all. I do some famous people, like the girl from Minnesota on America Top Model. I did her hair for all the photo shoots. I used to do Kevin Garnett’s whole family.
It’s an art, yes. Extensions is really a challenge, an art. I used to go to hair schools and shows. Now once I read a magazine I know what to do. I consider myself an artist when it comes to hair extensions. The business is growing.
I love for a woman to walk in here, it doesn’t matter what color her skin. They can be going through chemo, and I go there and put a whole head of extensions on them. When they walk in, they have no hair. When they walk out, they’re excited. You see the joy.
Now, about the fight. It is a fight. This is what happened.
I get calls all the time. I do people from small towns, St. Cloud, in Iowa, they ask me, why don’t you teach it? I thought, why not have a small business doing and teaching hair extensions. But the boss is going to say, you don’t have a license.
I did research, and found that several states sued the barber and cosmetology boards, and won. But I let it go. One day I got this phone call from an attorney. He said he was Lee McGrath. I said, how did you get my name? He said he called Variety Beauty Supply and asked who the most popular braiders were, and my name was first on the list.
He wanted me to file suit. I said oh, no, no, no. I’m not going to do it. He called again in September. He called in December. I said no.
He said, ‘Can I come over and talk to you?’ He gave me the Web site of the Institute for Justice and said look at what has happened.
I just didn’t want to get into any lawsuit. I’m a small-business owner. I just do small things. I just felt like it’s going to be too much.
Well, I read about this. I kind of like this. I think I can challenge them. I will be fine. I started believing in myself more and more.
There were real penalties: It could be 90 days in jail and so much money, for operating all these years illegally, without having a license to operate a salon. My husband said, ‘If you lose, you have a lot to lose.’ My husband said, ‘I’m going to leave the decision to you. You have to believe it’s the right thing to do.’
I could be fined, I could be jailed. But I felt like, my business is regulated but I don’t do the chemical treatments [that the licensing is intended to regulate]. I feel like the law is wrong and it needs to be changed.
It was a risk to file suit, to draw attention to myself. I’ve been doing everything else by the book. I pay my taxes. I’m not an illegal immigrant. I’m a U.S. citizen. I put a lot into this community.
When we had the news conference, April 20, right here in the parking lot. I came in here that Wednesday, all of a sudden I see Channel 11’s car, Fox 9. I said, ‘Lee, you didn’t tell me it would be like this.’
I’ve had a lot of people, even people with licenses, support the idea. The majority of people said good things. It should be legalized because there are a lot of people who want to do extensions, without chemicals and bleaches. I had just one bad one. She called me two days after. She was very bitter. To her it was a race thing.
We’ve come to a settlement. I just signed the legal documents [in early June] that they’ve agreed to take braiding, extensions and weaving out of the rules and regulations.
So yes, I won. Yes. It felt good, when I got a call that the cosmetology board had settled.
I didn’t worry one single time, because I had done a lot of research. It was a good case. I was very right. It was a big risk, but I was willing to take the risk. I was willing to go to jail for the 90 days. I knew it was the right thing to do.
What have I learned through this? Stick to what you believe in. When you have a dream don’t give up.
—As told to Beth Ewen
[contact]
Lilian Anderson owns Extensions Plus in Minneapolis: 612.721.2121
