Hair designer vs hair colorist

The differences between hair designers and hair colorists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a hair designer and a hair colorist. Additionally, a hair designer has an average salary of $37,277, which is higher than the $35,934 average annual salary of a hair colorist.

The top three skills for a hair designer include customer service, front desk and appointment scheduling. The most important skills for a hair colorist are front desk, client appointments, and product knowledge.

Hair designer vs hair colorist overview

	Hair Designer	Hair Colorist
Yearly salary	$37,277	$35,934
Hourly rate	$17.92	$17.28
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	86,536	34,025
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 25%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	2	2

Hair designer vs hair colorist salary

Hair designers and hair colorists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Hair Designer	Hair Colorist
Average salary	$37,277	$35,934
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $54,000	Between $22,000 And $57,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between hair designer and hair colorist education

There are a few differences between a hair designer and a hair colorist in terms of educational background:

	Hair Designer	Hair Colorist
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 25%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Most common major	Cosmetology	Cosmetology
Most common college	-	-

Hair designer vs hair colorist demographics

Here are the differences between hair designers' and hair colorists' demographics:

	Hair Designer	Hair Colorist
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 10.5% Female, 89.5%	Male, 18.4% Female, 81.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 7.5% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 20.7% Asian, 7.5% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between hair designer and hair colorist duties and responsibilities

Hair designer example 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.
Develop diverse cosmetology skills and expertise through education
Provide hairstylist services/professional makeup/manicures/pedicures and modeling.

Hair colorist example responsibilities.

Manage product inventory for cosmetology products, place product orders, maintain the inventory.
Provide hairstylist services/professional makeup/manicures/pedicures and modeling.
Perform cosmetology services on clients-scheduling appointments-Inventory

Hair designer vs hair colorist skills

Common hair designer skills

Customer Service, 16%
Front Desk, 16%
Appointment Scheduling, 15%
Cosmetology, 11%
Product Sales, 10%
Retail Sales, 7%

Common hair colorist skills

Front Desk, 82%
Client Appointments, 13%
Product Knowledge, 5%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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