Derrell Rudd has been barbering in Utah County since 1966, and in that time he's seen the number of barbers decline drastically -- from dozens in just Provo and Orem 40 years ago to a handful in the entire county today.

Though a 1976 change in state law gets the blame, it's not the only reason. The change required combined training in cosmetology and barbering to get the needed license, meaning that aspiring barbers also had to learn to do perms and nails.

"If you wanted to go and just learn to cut hair, you had to learn all that other stuff," Rudd said. "There's not too many people would want to go to school if they had to learn all the other stuff, and had very little training in the barbering part."

That's going to change.

In the final hour of this year's session, Utah lawmakers re-established a separate licensing category for barbers and new rules for barbers-in-training.

The hope is that Utah will join in the barber renaissance that's happening across the country.

"We're at the point now where there is no barber's association, there are no barber lobbying groups," said Rep. Steve Clark, R-Provo, who carried this year's legislation. "There are only a few barbers left in the state, and they're all at an age to retire."

The push to change that started as a casual conversation at Rudd's shop in downtown Provo.

Stan Lockhart, a lobbyist for Micron, was getting his hair cut. Rudd said, "Stan, you know something about the Legislature, don't youfi" -- and proceeded to tell him how Utah barbering had been in decline for three decades.

At the end of the story, Rudd said, "I just want the opportunity to leave this business to another barber when I decide to retire."

"I'll see what I can do," Lockhart said.

Lockhart contacted Clark, who agreed to carry the bill. They worked with cosmetology interests to craft legislation everyone could accept, and included some changes the industry wanted -- for example, the "unlawful conduct" portion of the law now has an exemption for hair removal procedures on someone's naughty bits, as long as they sign a waiver.

It passed the Legislature without a negative vote and even gained a following among lawmakers and lobbyists, some of whom donated their services to the cause.

One of those was Alan Dayton, whose father is a barber in Ogden. His uncles were barbers, too.

"It's really hard to find a traditional barber," Dayton said. "You just can't find real barbers anymore because they're retiring or dying off."

The trade itself has had plenty of ups and downs.

There was a rough spot in the 1960s and '70s because of longer hairstyles for men, said Charles Kirkpatrick, executive officer of the National Association of Barber Boards of America.

"That long hair was like a recession for our profession," he said. Some barbers went under; others adapted by learning to cut long hair or finding some way to supplement their income.

At the industry's low point in the late 1970s to early 1980s, there were 190,000 barbers nationally. Since then the number has grown to 230,000, and Kirkpatrick said he expects 250,000 licensed barbers by the end of the year.

"It's on the mend," he said. "Our number is up considerably, and all the schools are full."

He credited the 1986 movie "Top Gun" with bringing shorter hairstyles back in vogue -- "Tom Cruise had a real short haircut, and everybody wanted to fly like that" -- and these days there's even a metrosexual component. There are spa packages for men that include a massage, haircut and a shave, and for many customers the full barber treatment is a first-time experience, Kirkpatrick said.

Plus, he added, "men are still men. They like to go to a manly place. Most of the time it doesn't matter if it's a lady cutting hair, but they want 'em to have sports magazines, not feminine magazines."

A barber's tools are simple -- electric clippers, a comb, scissors and a straight razor -- but it takes training and practice to learn how to use them properly, to make sure a haircut's lines are straight, that the cut is balanced, that it tapers evenly and cleanly.

Rudd worries that these skills aren't emphasized enough in current training programs. Other aspects of cosmetology training are certainly more lucrative -- Lockhart described barbering as "the low-margin part of the cosmetology industry."

But it's still an important and valuable craft, said Kirkpatrick.

"It's the most independent business in town, and it's the oldest legal profession in town," he said. "In any little town you go into, the bank's been sold, the newspaper's been sold -- everything's been sold except the barber.

"One thing barbers and cosmetologists don't have to worry about is the plant shutting down or people going to China to get a haircut."

Rudd is interested in passing on his knowledge, and plans to open a barber school once he's researched the details of the new law.

Which would bring things full circle for him. He went to barber school because he'd been advised in school to learn to do something with his hands, but he wasn't intending it to be his career.

"I wasn't even thinking about it until I moved down here," he said. "It just kind of grew on me. I must like it because I've been here 41 years."

OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR BILLS THIS YEAR

Of the 799 bills proposed in the Utah Legislature this year, 422 made it through the legislative meat grinder and are on their way to becoming law.

They cover a wide array of subjects -- business regulations, arcane legal technicalities, adjustments to keep the law relevant to contemporary life. Here are a few bills that flew under the radar but still could have an impact on your life.

Couples with children who file for divorce will have to take a divorce orientation course "to educate parties about the divorce process and reasonable alternatives," according to 1SHB128 by Rep. Lorie Fowlke, R-Orem. (It's optional for couples without children.) The bill also establishes an temporary separation order that can be filed before a divorce petition; those who file must also take the divorce orientation course.

Gift certificates must contain a notice of an expiration date and any fees associated with the certificate's use. If they don't, HB261 by Rep. Wayne Harper, R-West Jordan, says the certificate has neither an expiration date nor fees.

Anglers under 14 won't need a fishing license if they're fishing as part of a youth organization activity. Sen. Dennis Stowell, R-Parowan, pushed through 2SSB59, which defines "youth organization" as the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, or a tax-exempt organization that "promotes character building through outdoor activities."

Utah's Supreme Court has found the state's criminal libel statute unconstitutional, but it was still on the books. Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake City, managed to get a repealer bill -- SB86 -- through this year. The repealed laws made it a crime to tarnish someone's reputation, and specifically criminalized suggesting that a woman had "a lack of chastity."

Cities, counties and other public entities already have immunity from lawsuits for certain activities -- rodeo, equestrian sports, skateboarding, roller and ice skating, fishing, hiking and rollerblading -- that carry an "inherent risk" and are done on public property. SB179 by Sen. Brent Goodfellow, D-West Valley City, added skydiving, paragliding and hang gliding to that list.

-- Alan Choate

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.