Guides for lash, brow and threading studios
Texas: the eyelash extension specialist license, and why threading needs none
Updated: November 15, 2026
Texas has its own eyelash extension license: 320 hours, two exams, renewed every two years. Threading needs no state license. What studios need to know.
General information, not legal advice. Rules change and each board reads them its own way, so check with the agency named here before you rely on it.
The short answer
- Lash extensions: an Eyelash Extension Specialist license from TDLR, or a cosmetology or esthetics license whose scope includes them.
- Lash lifts, tints and brow services other than threading: a cosmetology or esthetics license.
- Threading: no state license since 2015.
- The studio needs a TDLR salon license for the licensed services it offers.
The Eyelash Extension Specialist license
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) issues it. You complete 320 hours of instruction at a licensed school, pass a written and a practical exam, and must be at least 17. The license is good for two years.
It covers lash extensions only. If you also want to tint or lift lashes or wax brows, you need an esthetics or cosmetology license.
Threading
After threaders challenged the state’s license requirement in court, Texas changed its law in 2015 so that eyebrow threading no longer needs a cosmetology license. A threading bar still needs the usual city business permits.
Before you open
- Apply for the right TDLR salon license for what you offer, and keep it posted.
- Post each person’s license where clients can see it.
- Check your city’s certificate of occupancy and sign rules.
Questions
How long does the Texas lash license take?
The course is 320 hours. Full-time students often finish in two to three months; then you sit the written and practical exams.