[Jag]

I started up and running our Formostar Treatments 3 weeks ago. Things are going well and we even had our employees certified by a trainer of which we paid and flew in.

Three days ago an inspector with the States Commerce Department of Occupational and Professional Licensing Divison come in and informs my employees that they have a complaint that we are doing "Body Wraps". My two employees says that we are doing Infrared Body Treatments. The Inspector then says "sorry but that is only allowed by a Licensed Master Esthetician, you are taking away jobs that they are licensed to do and you are not licensed Estheticians". She writes up citations too both employees for not being licensed then also writes citation to the salon. She then waves the dollar fine on both employees but hits our business with $200.00 fine and tells us to shut it down until we hire licensed Master Estheticians to do the body wraps.

First, we have never advertised it as "Body Wraps", we call it "Infrared Body Treatments" Second, this inspector never even looked at the Infrared rooms or Formostar, she just said you cannot do Body Wraps. I the owner get on the phone with her as I am away from the salon. She tells me we are taking jobs ways and that it is controlled by the Division of Professional Licensing. WFT?? She says only trained licensed Estheticians can do "Body Wraps" I try telling her it is a Infrared Treatment, not a body wrap per say but she would not hear it. I then ask her about hand held spray on tans that are done in many salons and spa's by those not licensed, she says thats tanning not wraps. I say it is still done with a chemicals and falls under their own rules. She would not listen, wrote us up and took off.
The main guy over the department was out on vacation so I could not set up and appointment nor call him

What would you do if it were your business. I think someone jeoulse just turned us in trying to shut it down.

1- Hire Master Estheticians at a higher rate and keep the unit shut down until we can find 4 to 5 of them? (we are opened 16 hours a day)
2- Re-open the Formostar and continue doing treatments without reguard to them being over it as it is totally different then an Estheticians body wrap. Taking the change of getting caught and fined again? ($400 fine)
3- Open back up, make an appoinment on Monday with the main guy and see what happens?
4- Totally just fight this as not being a Body Wrap and defined by cosmetology board as Estheticians have never been trained in Infrared treatments and it is totally different?

My points are that this is also for Pain Management of which half are clients use it for along with the inch and weight loss. Also, you could in fact show a client how to use it and strap on the belts themselves and we would send the time to the unit through the Tmax. The bandage belts also could lay flat and a client could lay on them that way for back pain treatments.

I know of no other state that requires this, I need help or ideas of how to attack and handle this in my state. I think I am the first to have Infrared Treatments like the Formostar in the state so it is totally new to them that they have never seen or dealt with it before.

Please throw any and all ideas my way.

Thanks for all the help or advise you can give me!