The Braiden Maidens will go back to plaiting tresses at the Renaissance Festival after a judge decided in their favor Friday.
After weeks of using their nimble fingers on garlic, the Braiden Maidens will be back to plaiting hair this weekend at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival.
"We're just delighted to have them back," said Carrie Shoptaw, the festival general manager.
Friday, a Shawnee County district judge ruled in favor of part-time hair braiders Deb Jennings, Lawrence, and Wendy Moody, Bonner Springs, over the Kansas Board of Cosmetology.
District Judge Eric S. Rosen said that the board's order for the women to stop braiding hair at the festival was invalid because the pair were not licensed cosmetologists, and the board has authority to give such orders only to license-holders.
"It is obvious that the State Board of Cosmetology has no authority to issue a cease-and-desist order to petitioners," Rosen wrote in his decision.
The cosmetology board ordered the two to stop braiding Sept. 12, soon after the fair opened for the year, citing a complaint from a licensed cosmetologist. Moody and Jennings stopped their plaiting but, to keep their booth open, began braiding strands of garlic and hair extensions.
"We can't tell you how many times we've heard 'I came here especially to have my hair braided,'" Jennings said. "We've had little girls cry in front of the booth."
Braiden Maidens filed a request for a temporary restraining order against the board's edict. The judge's decision in their favor means that the two will be back in business for the final two weekends of the festival.
"There's been hair braiding out there for 23 years, and there's never been one complaint, except little girls whose hair is too short," Jennings said.
Rosen more or less agreed in his statement.
"The hair braiding activity has operated at the Renaissance Festival for the last 23 years and not presented a direct public health threat," he wrote.
The board said its order served as notice to Moody and Jennings that they were violating the law. It claimed that unlicensed practice can lead to the transfer of head lice, scalpworm and other problems. The board's executive director, Mary Lou Davis, was unavailable for comment Friday.
The judge's decision allows the two to weave elaborate hairdos for the last two weeks of the festival but didn't address the 26-page petition the two filed on an issue at the heart of the matter -- whether the cosmetology board has jurisdiction over hair braiding. Braiden Maidens hopes to have the Legislature clarify that issue.
Jennings and Moody's lawyer, David Brown of Lawrence, said the matter could be taken up again later by the judge, but probably won't be before the Legislature has a say. Braiden Maidens is already gearing up to make a case for regulation-free plaiting.
-- Felicia Haynes' phone message number is 832-7173. Her e-mail address is fhaynes@ljworld.com.
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