New York Consolidated Laws, General Business Law - GBS § 446. Application of article

1. This article shall not apply to or affect the practice of their professions by duly licensed physicians, osteopaths, dentists, optometrists, nurses or physiotherapists, or to the practice of their vocations by hairdressers or cosmetologists, nor to any hospital which operates a barber shop solely for the convenience of its patients and which is not open to the public.

2. This article shall not be construed to apply to, affect or prevent the practice of beauty culture as now conducted in the beauty shops of the state, or the operation of beauty shops and barber schools.

3. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to furnish a means of evading the provisions of this article relating to the practice of barbering and in any prosecution for a violation of any such provision, the terms “hairdresser,” “cosmetologist,” “beauty shop,” and “practice of hairdressing and cosmetology” shall have their commonly accepted meanings.