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

What is a hair specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Kathy Grant

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a hair specialist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $17.62 an hour? That's $36,659 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 specialist?

Kathy Grant

Instructor, Cosmetology, Guilford Technical Community College

Research salons and make sure that you pick one that is willing to help advance and improve on the skills you have acquired in school. Continuing education should be relevant to them. Don't be afraid to start as an assistant. Make sure the salon is a good fit for you financially. Some salons offer hourly pay while others offer commission or booth rent. And lastly, there are so many directions you can go in with your degree. You are not limited to working in a salon behind a chair.

ScoreHair SpecialistUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $36,659

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.6

Growth rate 11%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.56%

Asian 8.23%

Black or African American 14.23%

Hispanic or Latino 15.23%

Unknown 4.38%

White 57.37%

Gender

female 88.69%

male 11.31%

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 specialist

Explore hair specialist education requirements

Most common hair specialist degrees

High School Diploma

27.7 %

Bachelor's

27.7 %

Associate

18.8 %

Start to develop specific hair specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	36.33%
Product Knowledge	12.68%
Wigs	11.64%
Hair Removal	8.26%
Retail Sales	7.61%

Complete relevant hair specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New hair specialists 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 specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real hair specialist resumes.

Research hair specialist duties and 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

Prepare your hair specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your hair specialist 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 specialist 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 specialist resume templates

Build a professional hair specialist 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 specialist resume.