How To Become A Hair Designer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a hair designer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted Expert

Charley Sain

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a hair designer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $17.92 an hour? That's $37,277 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 11% and produce 65,000 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a Hair Designer?

Charley Sain

Cosmetology Instructor, Program Coordinator for Cosmetology, Esthetics, and Manicuring, Cleveland Community College

My advice to a new professional would be to work hard, continue your education, and never give up. The beauty industry rapidly changes, due to modern technology, so it is imperative to continue your education and continue your professional growth. It is essential to work hard because building a clientele can be challenging, especially during these times. Do not let those challenges get you down; stay focused, and keep your eye on your goals.

ScoreHair DesignerUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $37,277

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

5.6

Growth Rate 11%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.59%

Asian 7.47%

Black or African American 10.72%

Hispanic or Latino 15.56%

Unknown 4.54%

White 61.13%

Gender

female 89.46%

male 10.54%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress Level

5.6

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

6.5

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

10.0

Work Life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a hair designer

Explore hair designer education requirements

Most common hair designer degrees

Associate

25.4 %

High School Diploma

24.0 %

Bachelor's

18.7 %

Start to develop specific hair designer skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	16.08%
Front Desk	15.75%
Appointment Scheduling	14.53%
Cosmetology	10.72%
Product Sales	10.17%

Complete relevant hair designer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New hair designers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a hair designer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real hair designer resumes.

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming a licensed hair designer usually doesn't require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed hair designer in most of states. 43 states require hair designers to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License Url
Alabama	Specific course required	State exam required	Licensed Cosmetologist
Arkansas	Specific course required	Both state and third-party exams required	Cosmetologist
California	Specific course required	State exam required	Cosmetologist
Colorado	Specific course required	State exam required	Cosmetologist
Connecticut	Specific course required	State exam required	Hairdresser/Cosmetician

Research hair designer duties and responsibilities

Manage beautiful hairstyles with the use of flat irons, curling irons, blow dryers, and other hair products.
Care for wigs and hairpieces and in some cases sell them.
Attach prosthetics to performers and apply makeup to create special features.
Aid with the build, application, and removal of prosthetics.

Prepare your hair designer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your hair designer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a hair designer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Hair Designer Resume templates

Build a professional Hair Designer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Hair Designer resume.

Apply for hair designer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a hair designer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do hair designers rate their job?

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Hair Designer reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2020

Pros

I like the satisfaction of doing someone’s hair and they love it.

Cons

Working all weekends, being in tons of social interactions a day, high stress situations, work comes home with you, getting criticism online, lots of disinfection and cleaning, lots of interaction with coworkers. Some days at work I want To go hide in the bathroom to avoid anymore social interaction and stress from dealing with the public all day.

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2019