OCTOBER 11, 2018

* Names have been changed

It’s just after 3 p.m. on a sleepy Tuesday afternoon as Luis Fernández places a final curler into Maria Martín’s hair. 

“I do it the old-fashioned way.” Fernández said. “Lots of stylists don’t use curlers like this anymore.”

Fernández operates a salon out of his Morrisania ground floor apartment. The salon has become legendary, privy to only those in the know. 

“How did I find out about him?” Linda Martínez said. “My friend Marie told me and her friend Jennifer told her.” 

Each day Fernández sees between five to seven clients. He performs services ranging from haircuts to balayage to blowouts. He also offers makeup and eyelash extension applications – but only to his most established clients. He has been known to do the occasional Brazilian wax.

“Only the really good ones get those.” Fernández said. 

He started the salon seven years ago by accident. Fernández regularly styled and colored two friends’ hair. One of them – Grace Lopez – asked if she could send a few of her girlfriends his way. Fernández obliged. Next thing he knew he was styling around 50 heads. 

“I never expected it to become like it did.” Fernández said. “I really only started by coloring my close friends’ hair. From there it just grew.”

Fernández never went to beauty school and never received the proper training or attained the proper accreditation to provide beauty services, let alone run his own salon. 

“I looked into it.” Fernández said. “But the thing is, I never intended to have this salon. To run an actual business. In the end it just turned out to be something I kept pushing back and eventually I never got it.” 

Hair salons are considered “appearance enhancement businesses” by the New York State Division of Licensing Services.  That means they provide at least one service licensed under Article 27 of the General Business Law. The services covered under the law include cosmetology, esthetics, nail specialty, natural hair styling or waxing. 

Stylists must obtain a license to own, control or operate an appearance enhancement business in the state. This is a requirement regardless of whether a stylist owns a salon or rents space from one. Since most hairdressers are independent contractors who rent chair space in a salon, this means they all need licenses.

According to the New York State Division of Licensing Services, the entire process can cost up to $15,000 for beauty school and up to $100,000 in licensing fees. 

In the case of Fernández, he would need both a beauty school education and a license to operate.

Fernández skipped both steps and he doesn’t regret it.

“At the end of the day I do amazing hair.” Fernández said. “I love what I do and more importantly, my clients love what I do. That’s what counts.” 

The women at Fernández’s apartment gather and speak about everything under the sun. Where to find a new job. Who can watch their kids once they get the job. Who is getting married and who is getting divorced.  

“Sometimes it feels like a giant therapy session.” Marcella Gutiérrez said. “We talk about everything and everyone.”

One thing they don’t talk about, however, is the fact Fernández is unlicensed. 

Marisol Jones doesn’t care that Fernández lacks  accreditation. 

“I guess it’s like a don’t ask don’t tell kind of thing.” Jones said. “He does an amazing job on my hair. So why should I care if he’s licensed or not?”

But according to the New York State Division of Licensing Services, Jones should be concerned.

The rules are rules for a reason, an agent with licensing services said.  Stylists and salon owners are required to gain licensure by going through the proper procedures to ensure the work environment is safe for both the clients and the stylists, according to the agent.

Fernández is quick to point out that he isn’t unskilled. 

“I grew up doing hair in Puerto Rico.” Fernández said. “Truly I did. Ask my mom and sisters. I was combing through and coloring their hair when I was nine.”

It is exactly this amateur and self-taught quality that makes salons like Fernández’s so dangerous to clients, according to Eunice Koren, a licensed hair stylist also living in the Bronx. She trained at the Carsten Institute of Cosmetology, a NYC based beauty school regarded by many in the industry as the best in the world on par only with the Aveda Institute New York. 

“I want to clarify.” Koren said. “I do not have a problem with accredited stylists doing hair on the side out of their homes for extra money. But I do have a problem with people who have received no formal training from an accredited beauty school doing hair and other services for money.”

Koren said unlicensed providers subject their clients to immense risks – risks including but not limited to infection, poor quality, and permanent damage. 

“Even the little things like how to properly clean your equipment you learn at beauty school,” Koren said. “This protects both you and your client from getting hurt or sick. Just like how learning proper techniques protects your client’s hair and prevents your client from yelling at you about how you ruined their hair.” 

Fernández’s salon is in  his kitchen. He only has enough equipment to do one client at a time or cut one client’s hair while the other sits under the dryer. He washes his tools in his kitchen sink with regular Dawn soap.  

The faint smell of burned hair wafts through the air. When asked why his kitchen smells that way, Fernández is dismissive.

“Almost all my clients are Puerto Rican or Black,” Fernández said. They’re ethnic. Ethnic hair is tough. Sometimes it burns or smells when you do it. But that doesn’t mean it’s burned or damaged.”

Kepka doesn’t believe a word Fernández says.

“Hair should never smell like it’s burning. Ever!” Koren said. “Doesn’t matter what kind of hair you have.”

Fernández firmly stands behind the claim the quality of his work is not affected by whether or not he ever attended a formal beauty school or got a license. 

“The quality of my work is not affected by whether or not I have a license.” Fernández said. “I worked at the counter of a high-end Manhattan salon for many years. Let me tell you. I am no less qualified or skilled than any of the stylists that were there. If anything, I’m better.” 

Arielle Banks has worked as a hair stylist for five years at a top Manhattan salon. 

“Burned hair?’ Banks said. “It should never happen. I have natural hair. If someone did it and it smelled like it was frying I would smack them.” 

Banks, like Koren, lives in the Bronx but makes the commute into the city to do hair.

“The money is just way better down here even if the clients are pretty high maintenance,” Banks said. “Plus, you know that your work will be associated with top quality.”

It’s the pursuit of the association with top quality that led Banks to train at Carsten’s rival, Aveda Institute New York.

“I feel like I got a great education there.” Banks said. “I learned how to do hair the right way and understand how to produce top quality styles with the most minimal damage possible. Also, I didn’t want to get punished for taking the easy way and skipping proper certification.” 

According to the New York State Division of Licensing Services the “easy way” ends with fines as high as $1000 if you get caught. 

“It is no secret the beauty industry is subjective and everyone has a different idea of ‘beautiful,’” Koren said. “That’s why beauty school and licensing are so important. Because at least this way, we all know how to do hair the safe way as we craft our own unique version of beauty.” 

Banks seconds Koren.

“Exactly.” Banks said. “And getting a license really isn’t that hard. Yes, it’s expensive, but the process itself isn’t that complicated and in the long run it pays off.”