1.1 Texas Regulatory Framework & the Barbering and Cosmetology Act

Who Regulates Eyelash Extensions in Texas

Eyelash extension application is a licensed cosmetology specialty in Texas, regulated by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). Understanding which body holds which power is straightforward exam material, and it also tells you whose word is authoritative when sources disagree.

The Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation

The Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation is TDLR's governing board and policy-making body. It has seven members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Texas Senate, serving staggered six-year terms. The Commission alone:

• Adopts, amends, and repeals the administrative rules in 16 TAC Chapter 83.
• Sets licensing and examination fees.
• Issues final orders in contested enforcement cases, including suspension and revocation.

The TDLR Executive Director

The Executive Director runs the agency day to day: application intake and licence issuance, criminal-history review, inspections, investigations, and the contract with the examination vendor. The Executive Director can approve certain late renewals and sign orders delegated by the Commission.

The Barbering and Cosmetology Advisory Board (16 TAC §83.65)

Since the 2023 consolidation the advisory body is the Barbering and Cosmetology Advisory Board — not the older "Advisory Board on Cosmetology," a name you will still see on out-of-date prep sites. Under 16 TAC §83.65 the board:

• Is composed of nine persons, serving staggered six-year terms.
• Advises the Commission and the department on (1) education and curricula for applicants, (2) the content of examinations, (3) proposed rules and standards on technical issues, and (4) other issues affecting barbering and cosmetology.

Critical exam distinction: The Advisory Board advises. It does not issue licences, conduct inspections, adjudicate cases, or sign final orders. Only the Commission and the Executive Director hold binding authority.

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The Statute You Must Cite: Occupations Code Chapter 1603

This is the single most common way a stale study guide gets Texas lash law wrong.

House Bill 1560 (87th Texas Legislature, 2021) consolidated the previously separate barbering statute (Occupations Code Chapter 1601) and cosmetology statute (Chapter 1602) into one combined chapter — Chapter 1603, "Regulation of Barbering and Cosmetology." TDLR's consolidated rules in 16 TAC Chapter 83 were adopted on December 6, 2022 and took effect September 1, 2023.

The proof is inside the rules themselves: 16 TAC §83.10 now defines "Act" as "Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1603." And PSI's Eyelash Extension License Examination Candidate Information Bulletin lists the reference materials used to write your exam questions as:

1. Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 83
2. Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 1603
3. Milady Advanced Services: Eyelashes, 1st Edition, 2023

Chapter 1602 is not on that list. If a practice question, instructor handout, or blog cites "§1602.002" or "§1602.401" as live Texas cosmetology law, it is quoting a repealed statute.

The three legal layers

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What the Licence Actually Authorises

Occupations Code §1603.0011(c) provides that the practice of cosmetology includes performing or offering to perform for compensation the service of applying semipermanent, thread-like extensions composed of single fibers to a person's eyelashes.

16 TAC §83.10 carries that into the rules with two definitions you should be able to recognise verbatim:

• Eyelash Extension Application — "the process of applying and removing a semi-permanent, thread-like, natural or synthetic single fiber to an eyelash, including cleansing the eyelash."
• Eyelash Extension Specialist — "a person who holds a specialty license and who is authorized to practice the service defined in Texas Occupations Code §1603.0011(c)."

Under 16 TAC §83.70(d), a specialty practitioner may only perform the practice authorised by the specialty licence. Notice that the definition covers three verbs — applying, removing, and cleansing — and nothing else.

Eligibility: 16 TAC §83.200

Applications received on or after September 1, 2023 are governed by 16 TAC §83.200(a). (The older §83.20 still appears in the rule book because it governs applications received before that date — do not study from it.) To be eligible for a practitioner licence an applicant must:

1. Submit a completed application in the manner prescribed by the department;
2. Pay the applicable fee required under §83.201;
3. Be at least 17 years of age;
4. Have completed the hours of instruction required under §83.202 at a licensed school;
5. Pass a written and practical examination required under §83.21;
6. Not have committed an act that constitutes a ground for denial of the licence; and
7. Meet other applicable requirements of the Act and this chapter.

Trap: §83.200(a) contains no high-school diploma, GED, or ability-to-benefit requirement. Several third-party lash schools still advertise one. The rule lists seven items and a diploma is not among them.

Fees under 16 TAC §83.201

All fees are non-refundable except as otherwise provided by law or Commission rule (§83.201(k)). The law and rules book fee is already included in application and renewal fees (§83.201(l)).

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The 320-Hour Curriculum: 16 TAC §83.202(a)(4)

The eyelash extension specialist curriculum consists of 320 clock hours or equivalent credit hours, split in a way the exam mirrors almost exactly:

Compare that 80-hour theory list with PSI's written outline — Licensing and Regulation, Infection Control, Skin and Eye Diseases and Disorders, Eye and Eyelash Consultation — and the 240-hour practice block with Eyelash Application and Removal at 37.5%. The curriculum rule is effectively a second copy of the blueprint.

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Examinations: 16 TAC §83.21

• §83.21(e): All barbering and cosmetology examinations consist of a written and a practical part, and a passing grade on each part is needed to satisfy the examination requirement. Eyelash extension is not an exception — you cannot be licensed on the written exam alone.
• §83.21(c): You must pass the written examination before you are eligible to take the practical examination.
• §83.21(d): When you appear for the examination you must bring the instruments necessary to give a practical demonstration of the services distinctive to the licence you are seeking.
• §83.21(f): You must present a current, valid, government-issued photo identification showing your full name and date of birth.
• §83.21(g): Closed-toe shoes are required for the practical examination.
• §83.21(h): Models used in an examination must be at least 16 years of age — though for the eyelash practical, PSI requires all procedures to be performed on mannequins, not live models.

Early-testing trap. §83.21(b) allows early written testing for "a student enrolled in a 1,000-hour program … upon proof of the student's completion of 900 hours." That is the cosmetology operator and Class A barber curriculum. TDLR publishes no early-testing allowance for the 320-hour eyelash extension course. Any claim that you can sit the eyelash written exam at "90% of hours" or "288 hours" is not in the rule.

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Where You May Work: §83.70 and §83.71

A practitioner is restricted to working in a licensed facility (§83.70(b)) with three narrow exceptions — a customer who cannot come to the facility because of illness or physical or mental incapacitation, a customer receiving services in preparation for and at the location of a special event, and in both cases the appointment must be made through a licensed facility. §83.70(c) additionally permits digitally prearranged remote services booked through a remote service business's digital network.

Every establishment must meet the baseline equipment list in §83.71(g): a sink with hot and cold running water in the service area, an identifiable sign with the establishment's name, a receptacle for used towels and linen, a wet disinfectant soaking container large enough to fully immerse tools and implements, a clean dry debris-free storage area, and at least one covered trash container.

§83.71(h)(5) adds the eyelash-specific list. An establishment providing eyelash extension services must provide, for each practitioner present and providing services:

• (A) one facial bed, chair, or massage table — all of which must allow the consumer to lie completely flat;
• (B) one lamp; and
• (C) one stool or chair.

§83.71(j)(4) states the practitioner-side equivalent and adds one mirror. Failing to supply the bed/table is a cited violation in TDLR's enforcement plan, so treat this short list as memorisation material.