In 2001, braiders, twisters and lockticians came under the purview of the state Department of Professional and Financial Regulation. Prior to that, they'd just done their thing; suddenly, they were required to go to cosmetology school and be licensed in techniques they had no interest in practicing. This week, the Reader profiles, among others, Taalib-Din Uqdah, who calls himself a "modern-day abolitionist," and Amazon Smiley, the local "queen of the braiders," as they seek to emancipate themselves from the Illinois Barber, Cosmetology, Esthetics and Nail Technology Act.