how to make something a lot more expensive

Require a license for it!

And this is serious:

Hottot says eyebrow threading is an ancient technique for removing unwanted eyebrow hairs using tightly wound cotton thread. “Threading is a booming industry in Texas because it is cheaper, faster and less painful than waxing,” he says.

But now the [Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation] has threatened this small business-based industry by requiring practitioners to obtain what Hottot says are “expensive and irrelevant licenses in Western-style cosmetology.”

It doesn't matter that the licensing law never mentions threading. Doesn't matter that requiring licensing always makes services more expensive. I guess it's about saving lives?

hattip reason.com