At 19, Faith Paras performed lash services out of her bedroom, using supplies she inherited from her aunt and techniques learned from online tutorials. Paras, like dozens of other young women still in their teens — some still in high school — was unlicensed, but earning extra money doing what she loved — lashes.
For some, like Paras, beauty side hustles in lashes, nails or hair are paths to an eventual license. For others, they offer a way to make extra money being creative while they finish school or figure out their lives. Unlike working retail or babysitting, the underground beauty economy depends on social media where skills are acquired and flaunted, seen through the combined 40+ millions of posts under hashtags for nails or lashes. It’s there too where clients find them.
Paras, whose signature lash look is voluminous and wispy, learned her skills from tutorial videos and endless practice. She practiced on friends and family, created an Instagram account showcasing her skills and soon started accepting clients. “Eventually I had to stop that because I was working unlicensed,” she said, afraid she would get in trouble. “And I also became uncomfortable with bringing strangers into my home.”
In September 2024, she enrolled at HillTop Beauty School in Daly City, completing 1,500 hours of cosmetology training while simultaneously beginning her first year at City College of San Francisco. Nowadays, the 22 year old is licensed and has her own shop, “The Lashblock,” in the Mission.
But licensing for many a teen lasher or nail tech is simply too daunting and if TikTok is any indication, there are plenty operating without one. Between 2022 to 2025, statewide unlicensed violations went from 6 to 30, and disciplinary actions nearly tripled from 21 to 59.
If caught, there is a $1000 fine and you can be banned from applying for a license in the future.
Still, many see the requirements as too daunting. The California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology requires 600 hours of training for estheticians, 1,000 hours for cosmetologists, and 400 hours for manicurists — all completed at a state-approved school before a candidate is even permitted to sit for the written exam.
Moreover, there’s a hefty fee. Tuition at San Francisco’s three state-approved schools ranges from $17,000 to $21,000 a year depending on the program. That is a lot to invest for young people trying out a skill without knowing if it will lead to a profession.
Take Krysta –we’re not using her real name for safety concerns — she’s now 19 but she began doing nails out of her Mission District bedroom at 17. Unhappy with prices and services at nail salons, she initially bought a nail kit on Amazon and turned to TikTok to learn technique for her own nails. Her favorite? Vanesnail Creations, who has over 26 million likes on her nail videos and tutorials for beginners on TikTok.
“I just put all of my energy and attention into it, and started to practice on friends and family,” said Krysta, whose nails are currently in the style of classy french tips.
Like many other young entrepreneurs in the industry, Krysta tapped into the lively community on Instagram where both licensed and unlicensed operators give tips to beginners and long time veterans. They repost each other’s work, collaborate at times, and offer special deals for clients. It’s a network of mutual admiration, introductions and friend recommendations.
“It’s all from word of mouth and friends of friends,” Krysta said. “People search up SF nails on Instagram or TikTok, book with someone once, vibe with them and keep coming back. Then they tell their friends who tell others.”
Now 19, Krsta is enrolled in beauty school, which she attends four hours a day, four days a week. From there she goes to a job in the food service industry, and the rest of the day she takes nail clients out of her living room, charging $55 dollars for a manicure.
School hasn’t worked for Aminah (also not her real name), 21, who began offering beauty services at 17 as well. For her, lashes – placing them, gluing them and hyping her clients up – is what she aims to be best at.
To start, she enrolled in a two-day certification class taught by a licensed technician. By February 2024, she was taking Instagram clients in her bedroom, in a home she shared with her family.
“I’m very trustworthy as a person,” Aminah said. “But the other thing is that I had my family living right next to me. So if anything were to happen, my family is right next to me.”
A certification is not equivalent to a license — it demonstrates that someone completed a training course, but doing so is not an authorization to legally offer the services so getting caught can still mean a fine and a ban.
Nowadays, the shy, but lively young woman who always has fluffy, full lashes sets up her living room each morning to get ready for clients. They know she has no license and don’t care, she said.
Lashing has been a mainstay as she’s tried other professions. She studied business at SF State for two years and enrolled in a medical assistant program, and even though she sees others “able to live off lashing” she said, “it’s a lot of work.” Once she’s saved some money, she intends to study graphic design.
Even Paras has other plans. Although she continues to book clients through Instagram, she still has to work another job to cover rent and lashing supplies. She’s planning her next move: enrolling in a radiology program.
“Seeing the look on my client’s face when they see the final product is the reason why I lash,” Paras said. “But I know that helping others through radiology will also bring me the same happiness and joy that lashing gives to me.”
