Salon sweep finds more than 100 license violations

Officials from the state board that oversees salons and beauticians stopped in Costa Mesa on Monday to announce a weekend sweep for license violations in Orange County netted more than $50,000.

The California Department of Consumer Affairs’ Board of Barbering and Cosmetology conducted unannounced inspections of more than a dozen barber shops, nail and hair salons in Santa Ana Saturday and found more than 100 violations of businesses and people practicing without a license, officials from Paul Mitchell The School in Costa Mesa said.

State officials chose the Costa Mesa cosmetology school because it’s state-accredited and serves as an example of proper licensing practices, officials said.

“We could have done this anywhere” and gotten similar results, said board spokesman Kevin Flanagan.

State officials inspect anywhere between 10,000 and 15,000 businesses and beauticians in a year, Flanagan said. Nearly 200 people have been cited so far this year, he said.

— Joseph Serna