Hair Design

Hair Stylist Overview

Hair stylists are the cosmetology professionals responsible for the hair styles of nearly every person you see on the street. Once known for simply cutting and trimming hair, today's professional hair stylists do much more, and often serve as advisers to clients on all types of beauty issues, including overall trends, popular treatments, complimentary colors, and home styling issues. Although the majority of stylists work for salons and spas, others choose to open their own shops, work for modeling and talent agencies, or serve as staff-stylists at major movie and television studios.

Many salons and spas require entry-level stylists to work as shampooers and assistant stylists before allowing them to take on their own clients. Some of the many treatments hair stylists should be familiar with, in addition to basic cuts and trims, include coloring, perming, relaxing, shampooing, and overall blow drying and styling techniques.

Part creative professional, part teacher, and part therapist, hair stylists should be adept at dealing with all types of people and skilled in their chosen hair specialty. Those interested in the profession should understand the time and commitment necessary to become a hair stylist, as it can take years to finish beauty school, obtain a license, and build up a strong following of devoted clients.

Hair Stylist Training & Education

All hair stylists working in the United States are required to be licensed, with the exception of shampooers. To obtain this licensure, aspiring stylists are required to have a high school diploma or GED, be at least 16 years old, and graduate from a licensed cosmetology school—which generally takes 9 months to complete.

After completing a cosmetology program, aspiring stylists must pass a state licensing exam, which consists of both written and practical styling portions, before they are legally allowed to cut and style hair in a professional salon.

Hair Stylist Career & Salary Outlook

The annual salaries of hair stylists vary greatly depending on the years of experience, skill level, size and location of the salon, number of hours worked each week, and tipping habits of the local clientele. Nonetheless, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that median hourly earnings for hairdressers and stylists, including tips and commission, were $10.25 as of 2006, while the middle 50 percent of hair stylists nationwide earned between $7.92 and $13.75 per hour.

According to the BLS, overall employment for hair stylists and all other personal appearance workers is expected to grow slightly faster than average for all occupations in the coming years. Specifically, employment for hair stylists is expected to increase by 12 percent over the next decade, due largely to an increase in demand for hair treatments for men, teens, and aging baby boomers.

Characteristics of Successful Hair Stylists

Hair stylists must have top notch interpersonal skills and a pleasant attitude to get ahead in the industry, as the ability to retain a group of devoted clients is imperative for long term success in the industry.

Because nearly half of all hair stylists are self-employed, according to the BLS, it is important that those entering the field understand the basic fundamentals of business and money management. To help facilitate this, an increasing number of cosmetology schools are offering courses in "people skills" and business to help hair stylists understand the steps needed to open their own salons and take advantage of retail hair product sales, which can be a source of additional revenues in some salons.

Finally, stylists would be well advised to keep their personal appearance looking up to date and stylish, since much of their skill will often be judged based on their outward appearance.

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