Louisiana Explains What’s in Scope for Licensees

Many services considered “new” or “advanced” are often left out in state laws or rules, leaving professionals wondering: Am I practicing within scope? In late December 2023, the Louisiana State Board of Cosmetology (Board) released final rules (page 2,086) that let you know if you’re offering and providing services within the limits of your license. The final rules add definitions, clarify scope of practice/prohibitions, and amend the microdermabrasion special permit renewal process.

Definitions
Previous rules lacked definitions for “esthetic services, dermaplaning, and nano-needling.” By adding these definitions, skin care professionals have a clearer understanding of what services they can provide under their license type. The final rules define these terms as follows:

Esthetic services—include, but are not limited to, makeup application, facials, superficial chemical peels, dermaplaning, microdermabrasion, nano-needling, and other similar services performed on the epidermis.

Dermaplaning—a technique to exfoliate the epidermis and remove the vellus hair with a bladed tool.

Nano-needling—a non-invasive technique for transdermal serum delivery performed using a skin needling device that does not penetrate beyond the epidermis of more than .25 mm of the outmost layer of skin.

Prohibited Services
The final rules clarify what’s in scope for licensees. No license or permit issued by the Board authorizes an individual to perform any of the following services:

• Diagnosis, treatment, or therapy of any dermatological condition
• Electrolysis
• Use of lasers
• Microneedling
• Microblading
• Services or procedures that penetrate or invade the live tissue or dermis by any means, including the use of instruments or product insertion that puncture, cut, or needle, or chemical exfoliation
• The use of any acid or acid solution to exfoliate the skin below the epidermis
• Commercial body art or the practice of physical body adornment using the following techniques: tattooing, cosmetic tattooing, body piercing, microblading, branding, and scarification
• The use of any mechanical or electrical apparatus classified as a medical device by the US Food and Drug Administration

Microdermabrasion Special Permits
The final rules remove the requirement for cosmetologists and estheticians to obtain a special permit to perform microdermabrasion. The intent behind the rule is to increase economic opportunity and job growth for licensees.

Effective Date: December 20, 2023.