Mayor Bowser Launches New Professional Licensing Initiative at the Grand Opening of Yeleen Beauty Makerspace

(Washington, DC) - Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser and District leaders launched a new professional licensing initiative at the grand opening of Yeleen Beauty Makerspace, a co-manufacturing facility and tech hub in Ward 7. The initiative, Fast Beauty, led by the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), is designed to ease licensing requirements to help aspiring professionals in the beauty industry enter the field more quickly and earn a living sooner.

"Our Growth Agenda is about making it easier to do business in DC so that we can grow our economy and get people connected to great jobs," said Mayor Bowser. "We have a thriving beauty industry in DC and this new initiative and this new makerspace will ensure we keep more of those dollars in our community and in the pockets of DC residents."

The initiative will transform the District's beauty industry licensing process. Currently, some cosmetology and barbering professionals must fulfill a minimum amount of training hours in several disciplines, even if they plan to only focus on one. The initiative will reduce those requirements, saving some beauty professionals from having to fulfill hundreds of unnecessary training hours. The licensing changes were recently approved by the DC Board of Barber and Cosmetology and DLCP plans to submit formal rulemaking in the fall.

"The changes reflect DLCP's ongoing commitment to removing barriers, lowering costs, and expanding opportunities for entrepreneurs by streamlining processes and modernizing standards to help beauty professionals launch careers and grow businesses," said DLCP Director Tiffany Crowe. "Initiatives such as Fast Beauty advance Mayor Bowser's vision for a thriving, inclusive local economy."

The Mayor's announcement occurred during the grand opening of Yeleen Beauty Makerspace in Ward 7's River Terrace Neighborhood. The Makerspace-a recipient of a $640,000 DC Locally Made Manufacturing grant-is lowering barriers to market entry for plant-based beauty entrepreneurs by providing manufacturing, business, and educational support for early-stage companies that manufacture and/or sell hair, skin, and body products.

Rahama Wright, Founder and CEO of Yeleen (Shea Yeleen and the Yeleen Beauty Makerspace), manufactures pure plant-based shea butter body care products and empowers her company's producers by creating living wage jobs for women in Ghana. Wright is also the founder of the DC Pop-Up, a collective of women and minority-owned businesses in the DC metro area that are a part of the Made in DC Program.

The DC Locally Made Manufacturing grant program, led by the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, supports local businesses like Yeleen that are located in a Great Streets corridor and that engage in light manufacturing. Grants provide funding for capital or tenant improvements of commercial property with a designated industrial use.

Over the past decade, Mayor Bowser has made substantial investments in local businesses to help grow the District's economy. Since launching the Green Book initiative in 2015, the Bowser Administration has dedicated billions of dollars to District spending with DC businesses-including having committed to spending more than $1.1 billion annually over the past four fiscal years. Through the Food Access Fund, the Mayor has also awarded $23.4 million to support 26 businesses in Wards 5, 7, and 8, and her administration has invested in retail corridors throughout the city through the District's Great Streets program.

The Mayor's FY26 Budget, Grow DC, builds on these investments to continue growing the District's economy. The Mayor's Growth Agenda for DC is a bold plan to increase business attraction efforts, make it easier to open a new business in DC by reducing red tape, and make it easier for businesses to stay open by cutting taxes and introducing programs like the Fast Beauty Initiative. Learn more about Mayor Bowser's FY26 Budget at budget.dc.gov.

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