A Lawyer and Entrepreneur, Madam Elsie Appau-Klu, has called for the establishment of a dedicated Cosmetology Council to regulate professional practice and strengthen standards within Ghana’s rapidly expanding beauty and wellness industry.
She said the absence of a clearly defined professional regulatory framework was preventing the sector from fully developing its potential, despite supporting millions of livelihoods through hairdressing, barbering, makeup artistry, skincare and spa services.
Madam Appau-Klu, Founder of Ezel Fashion, made the call at the Ghana Beauty and Wellness Report Workshop organised by Makeup Ghana in Accra.
The workshop was held on the theme: “Formalising Beauty: Data, Policy and Growth for Ghana’s Wellness Economy.”
According to her, Ghana’s regulatory framework currently addresses different aspects of the industry through separate institutions, but there is a need for a dedicated body to oversee professional practice and ensure consistent standards among practitioners.
She noted that while the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) was responsible for regulating products and local assemblies issued business permits, professional cosmetology and wellness practice required a more specialised regulatory structure.
“Product standards are the responsibility of the FDA, while professional practice must also be properly regulated,” she said.
Madam Appau-Klu therefore urged industry players and other stakeholders to intensify advocacy for the creation of a cosmetology council or equivalent professional regulatory body that could establish standards, support training and promote professionalism across the sector.
She said formalisation should also be viewed as a means of creating opportunities for practitioners and businesses rather than simply as a way for government to collect taxes.
“The beauty and wellness industry is more than glamour. It is jobs, entrepreneurship, dignity and revenue,” she said.
Madam Appau-Klu, who is also a Technical Advisor to the Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), said the Authority was prepared to collaborate with industry stakeholders to promote business registration and improve tax education.
She explained that the GRA currently obtains information on registered businesses through its Taxpayer Identification Number database, tax returns, turnover declarations and compliance records. However, beauty and wellness businesses are broadly classified under beauty and personal care, making it difficult to obtain comprehensive sector-specific information.
She said reliable data was necessary to determine the actual size of the industry, the number of businesses and practitioners involved, turnover, employment contribution and the scale of informality.
Such data, she added, would enable government and regulators to design policies and systems that reflected the realities of beauty and wellness businesses.
Madam Appau-Klu further identified poor record-keeping, heavy reliance on cash transactions and limited understanding of tax obligations as some of the challenges confronting operators.
She said association-led tax education had already shown potential in improving business registration, engagement and voluntary compliance, and encouraged stronger collaboration between government institutions and industry associations.
She stressed that a properly formalised and regulated industry would also make it easier for businesses and practitioners to access credit, contracts and other opportunities.
She therefore called for the findings of the Ghana Beauty and Wellness Report to provide credible evidence for policy development, regulation and stronger collaboration between government and industry stakeholders.
Madam Appau-Klu said transforming the sector required moving beyond its traditional image as an industry centred on glamour and recognising its contribution to employment, entrepreneurship and national economic development.
