Oregon requires hairdressers, barbers and others to obtain licenses before they go to work, and with good reason. Less reasonable is a requirement that those who wish only to braid hair have the same training.

Yet Oregon law requires just that, a process that involves some 1,700 hours of schooling and thousands of dollars to pay for it. That should change when the Legislature meets next year.

It makes sense to require those who use heat, chemicals or scissors on others to demonstrate they can do so safely. Used incorrectly, all three can do considerable damage to a person. There’s hardly a woman alive, we suspect, who doesn’t recall someone from her teenaged years who so over-treated her hair with bleach that the hair began breaking off in an alarming fashion.

Braiding involves no chemicals, no scissors and no heat.

There will be opposition to a proposal by Rep. Alissa Keny-Guyer, D-Portland, to remove the licensing requirement for hair braiders. One member of the state Board of Cosmetology told The Oregonian last week that she opposed any change to the current law. The woman, Sharon Wiser, teaches at a beauty school.

We can understand concern from licensed workers, objecting to letting even a small portion of their trade be taken over by those who can go into business simply by announcing they’re doing so. But it’s not logical for the state to require a license for braiders, and they shouldn’t have to get one.

In a state with more than enough regulations to keep anyone happy, it would be nice to see this one disappear next year.