Luzier Special Formula Laboratories v. State Board of Hairdressing & Beauty Culture Examiners

248 N.W. 664, 189 Minn. 151, 1933 Minn. LEXIS 747
CourtSupreme Court of Minnesota
DecidedMay 19, 1933
DocketNo. 29,424.
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 248 N.W. 664 (Luzier Special Formula Laboratories v. State Board of Hairdressing & Beauty Culture Examiners) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Luzier Special Formula Laboratories v. State Board of Hairdressing & Beauty Culture Examiners, 248 N.W. 664, 189 Minn. 151, 1933 Minn. LEXIS 747 (Mich. 1933).

Opinion

HOLT, Justice.

Plaintiff appeals from the order overruling its demurrer to defendants’ answer and refusing a temporary injunction. The court certified that the demurrer presented doubtful and important questions.

Plaintiff is a Missouri corporation engaged in the manufacture and sale of face creams, hair tonics, face powders, depilatories, shampoos, nail polishes, skin tonics, and deodorants, its plant located in Missouri. The complaint alleges that for several years plaintiff’s manufactured goods and wares have been sold by its salesmen to citizens and residents of this state by taking orders, mailing the orders to plaintiff in Missouri, where they are filled and then sent to the purchasers in this state in original packages; that in procuring such orders its salesmen instruct the prospective cus: tomers in the application of the goods and give demonstrations on- *153 the customers as to how the same are to be used, but no charge is made to them therefor nor are they under any obligation to order or purchase any goods on account thereof; that plaintiff’s salesmen solicit customers by telephone and establish a salesroom in licensed beauty shops, and, in some cases, where the customer desires, demonstrations are made in the customer’s home; that its salesmen do not treat skin diseases, nor marcel wave hair, nor give permanent hair waves or round waving or finger waving of hair, nor do they use electrical devices in arranging or dressing hair, nor do they bleach or color hair, but sell a product to give a lighter sheen to the same. The complaint alleges that under L. 1927, p. 349, c. 245, 1 Mason Minn. St. 1927, §§ 5846-27 to 5846-47, pursuant to which defendants function, they instituted criminal proceedings against one of plaintiff’s salesmen in the municipal court of Minneapolis, where a trial resulted in an acquittal; that they instituted criminal proceedings against two others in a justice court in Wright county, but when reached for trial the cases were dismissed; and that others of plaintiff’s salesmen have been harassed with threats of prosecution and persecuted in various ways. The complaint also alleges that the act referred to unlawfully discriminates against plaintiff, a nonresident, and violates various provisions of the constitution of the United States. It also avers that the standard of training of 625 hours, required by defendants of one to be licensed under the act, is unreasonable. And plaintiff asked for a temporary and permanent injunction.

The ansAver admitted that plaintiff was in the business of manufacturing cosmetic preparations in the state of Missouri and selling the same in this state and maintains salesmen who employ the practice of promoting sales by demonstrating the use of such goods by applying the<same to the upper parts of the bodies of living persons who are prospective customers and patrons for the purposes of beautification by means of manual manipulation and otherwise; that the making of such demonstrations constituted a substantial portion of the services rendered by such agents to plaintiff in the course of their employment, for which services plaintiff has paid *154 and is presently paying compensation in the form of commissions upon sales actually made. The answer avers that the agents of plaintiff are violating the law, and asserts the intention of defendants to prosecute them unless they cease so doing.

The answer puts in issue the allegations of the complaint that plaintiff’s salesmen do not violate L. 1927, p. 349, c. 245. It avers that plaintiff’s salesmen have obtained no license to apply upon the upper bodies of its proposed customers its lotions, creams, and wares for beautifying purposes. By not denying plaintiff’s allegation that its salesmen do not demonstrate hairdressing, we take it that the violation of the act is confined to practicing as beauty culturists without license. The answer also avers that these salesmen are compensated by plaintiff, and the act does not provide that compensation must come directly from the one who receives the treatment. So the demurrer was properly overruled, unless the law is invalid because violative of some provision of either the federal or state constitution.

The act no doubt is in the exercise of the police power of the state. It seeks to regulate a lawful occupation. And as to such the regulation must be reasonable and confined to what public health and welfare demands. But hairdressing and beauty culture is of the same nature as barbering. In its practice contagious and communicable diseases of the skin, scalp, and of other parts of the body are met with, and precautions of various kinds are needed to protect public health and welfare. The reasons are sufficiently stated in State v. Zeno, 79 Minn. 80, 81 N. W. 748, 48 L. R. A. 88, 79 A. S. R. 422, in sustaining the barber law against the same constitutional objections made here.

There is, however, a new contention made by plaintiff that deserves some consideration. It is based on Baker v. Daly (D. C.) 15 F. (2d) 881, where the court enjoined the enforcement of an Oregon cosmetic therapy law because repugnant to the fourteenth amendment to the federal constitution, in that it prohibited a person engaging in one of several lawful occupations unless he qualified to engage in all. It was there said, in substance, that to justify *155 the exercise of the police power of the state in the regulation of a lawful calling public interest must require its interposition, and the means adopted must be reasonably necessary and not unduly oppressive to the individual. As we view this law, it is not aimed at more than one vocation, and hence Baker v. Daly (D. C.) 15 F. (2d) 881, does not apply. Often a vocation requires the ability to do distinct operations. The title to the act in question reads [L. 1927, c. 245]:

“An act to regulate the occupation of hairdressers and beauty culturists, to create a state board of examiners for the licensing of persons to carry on and instruct in such practices and for the approving of hairdressing and beauty culture schools to insure the better education and training of such practitioners to provide rules regulating the proper conduct and sanitation of hairdressing and beauty culture shops and schools for the protection of the public health, and to provide penalties for violation thereof.
“Section 1. It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the occupation of hairdresser and beauty culturist, or to conduct a hairdressing and beauty culture shop or school,” etc.

Section 2 contains definitions, and (a) thereof defines what constitutes hairdressing and beauty culture thus: “Any person who engages for compensation in the following practices, to-wit: arranging, dressing, curling, waving, cleansing, singeing, bleaching, coloring, or similar work upon the hair of any living person by any means, or slight hair trimming of women, as a part of women’s hairdressing; the use of cosmetic preparations, antiseptics, tonics, lotions, or creams, aided with the hands or mechanical or electrical apparatus, or appliances used in massaging, cleansing, stimulating, manipulating, exercising, beautifying, the scalp, face, neck, arms, bust or upper part of the body for purposes of beautification, shall be defined as and construed to be practicing hairdressing and beauty culture.”

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Bluebook (online)
248 N.W. 664, 189 Minn. 151, 1933 Minn. LEXIS 747, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/luzier-special-formula-laboratories-v-state-board-of-hairdressing-beauty-minn-1933.