Eyebrow threading is very popular in Arizona.  Threading is a natural and safe method of hair removal that uses a single strand of cotton thread to remove unwanted hair, most commonly from the eyebrows, with no chemicals, dyes, hot wax or sharp objects.  But state officials have decided that threaders cannot practice their trade without first obtaining an unnecessary and expensive government license.

The Arizona Board of Cosmetology is now requiring skilled threaders to obtain an aesthetician license, which requires at least 600 hours of classroom instruction—not one hour of which teaches or tests threading—and that can cost over $10,000.  But threaders do not need full-blown cosmetology training.  The Board’s irrational application of Arizona’s licensing scheme cuts the bottom rungs off the economic ladder for threaders working in a safe and sanitary occupation. 

The Arizona Constitution protects everyone’s right to earn an honest living without first having to obtain a completely unnecessary license.  That is why a group of five threaders have filed Gutierrez v. Aune, a lawsuit to vindicate their economic liberty, which is the right to earn an honest living free from unreasonable government regulation.

This lawsuit continues the Institute for Justice Arizona Chapter’s ten-year fight to vindicate economic liberty as a fundamental and constitutionally protected right under the Arizona Constitution.