The Owner's Shortcuts and a Montana License on the Wall
You are six months into your first cosmetology license in Montana, working at a 10-chair salon. On a busy Friday the owner asks you to: (a) let the unlicensed front-desk receptionist "just shampoo and apply toner" during the rush, at $3 per service bonus; (b) add dermaplaning to the menu using #10 surgical blades the owner bought online, with a 20-minute video as training; (c) perform a "quick trim" on a raised, dark mole on a client's scalp before his haircut; and (d) skip documenting a patch test because "nobody checks." The owner also says, "Montana has no continuing education, so you don't need to read the rules." The receptionist is eager. Your license and the salon's are displayed at the front.
1. Sort each request into clearly prohibited, outside your scope until confirmed, or acceptable, and explain the reasoning principle you used.
Read the worked answer
Clearly prohibited:
- (a) Unlicensed receptionist shampooing and applying toner. Those are cosmetology services. Practicing without a license is a violation, and letting someone else do it under your supervision exposes both of you; your license is individual and cannot be lent or delegated.
- (c) Trimming a mole. Removing or cutting a lesion is medical, not cosmetic. A raised, dark mole needs dermatologic evaluation because of melanoma risk; cutting it could cause bleeding, infection, or delay diagnosis.
- (d) Skipping the patch-test record. If the color line or salon policy requires a patch test, omitting or backdating the record is falsification and an ethics violation, and it removes the evidence that you protected the client.
Outside scope until confirmed with the Board:
- (b) Dermaplaning. It is blade-to-skin exfoliation that can cause bleeding, so it sits near the medical/cosmetic boundary. Some states place it in esthetics, some restrict it. Do not perform it until the Montana Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists confirms in writing that it is within your license and you have hands-on training.
Principle: scope of practice comes from statute and board rules (see Montana Code Title 37, chapter 31, and the Board's administrative rules; verify the current text), not from an employer's menu or a video.
2. How do you respond to the owner in the moment, and what do you put in writing?
Read the worked answer
In the moment: keep it short and private. "I can't do those three -- they're outside my license or they're falsifying a record. Here's what I can do instead." Offer solutions: a licensed staff member covers shampoo, the receptionist handles scheduling and retail only, dermaplaning comes off the menu until confirmed, and the client with the mole is referred to a physician with a note.
Do not argue about the $3 bonus. The bonus does not change the rule, and "the owner told me to" is not a defense in a board proceeding.
Put it in writing -- a dated email or text to yourself and the owner:
- What was requested and what you declined, with the reason.
- The alternatives you proposed.
- That you asked for Board confirmation on dermaplaning.
- The client referral for the mole.
- The patch-test documentation requirement.
Keep a copy off-site. If the owner insists, ask for the instruction in writing; that request alone often ends the conversation, and if it does not, you have a record.
On continuing education: even where Montana does not mandate CE hours (verify the current rule), every licensee is responsible for knowing and following current law and rules. No CE requirement is not permission to be uninformed.
3. What are the consequences, and what reporting or exit considerations apply if the owner insists?
Read the worked answer
Consequences:
- You: board discipline against your individual license -- reprimand, fine, probation, suspension, or revocation -- plus civil liability and possible insurance denial if a client is injured. Unlicensed practice and falsified records are the kind of violations that follow a licensee.
- The salon: establishment license discipline and reputational harm.
- The client: infection, scarring, delayed diagnosis of a skin cancer, or an allergic reaction with no documentation.
If the owner insists: document the directive, refuse in writing, and consider whether you can continue working there. Do not perform the service while you "figure it out." You can contact the Board for guidance on scope and on how to report unlicensed practice; follow the current complaint process listed by the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, Business Standards Division.
Exit considerations: line up another position before resigning if possible, keep copies of your records and client releases, and leave professionally. A license is portable; a disciplinary finding is not something you can leave behind.