I am pleased to hear that the education requirements for cosmetologists may be lowered from 1,500 to 1,000 hours, and I write in support of this rule. In my view, the only justification for cosmetology licensing requirements is the advancement of health and safety for laborers and consumers, and 1,000 hours of training is more than enough to advance these policy goals. Any review of the typical curriculum for cosmetology students will demonstrate that a relatively small amount of instruction is devoted to health and safety concerns as such, while a relatively large amount of instruction is devoted to various crafts and practices intended to improve the beauty of the consumer. Ideally, in addition to reducing the number of hours of education required for a cosmetology license, Virginia regulations in this area will emphasize and increase the portion of content in the cosmetology curriculum that focuses on education in health and safety issues and concerns .