Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between hair stylists and estheticians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an esthetician has an average salary of $41,419, which is higher than the $38,221 average annual salary of a hair stylist.
The top three skills for a hair stylist include cosmetology, clips and kids. The most important skills for an esthetician are customer service, excellent guest, and cleanliness.
| Hair Stylist | Esthetician | |
| Yearly salary | $38,221 | $41,419 |
| Hourly rate | $18.38 | $19.91 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 49,578 | 3,747 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 31% | Bachelor's Degree, 31% |
| Average age | 40 | 35 |
| Years of experience | 2 | - |
A Hair Stylist's role is to provide services such as haircuts, treatments, coloring, styling, and even maintenance. Most of the time, the clients choose which style or treatment they would prefer, which is why a Hair Stylist must have extensive knowledge and keep up the current trends in Hair Styling. Moreover, a Hair Stylist can also recommend styling and treatments that would suit the client, even sell Hair Care products. Aside from providing quality service, it is also essential for a Hair Stylist to build rapport with clients to ensure customer satisfaction and have a robust client base.
An esthetician is responsible for providing skincare solutions such as facial treatments, hair removal procedures, and makeup services. Estheticians must be highly-knowledgeable on various skin conditions to perform effective treatments and recommend maintenance skincare routines. An esthetician should also be strict on following hygienic procedures, ensuring sterilization of all the tools and equipment used for the procedures. They also respond to customer's inquiries and concerns regarding skincare health and sell products depending on the customers' needs.
Hair stylists and estheticians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Hair Stylist | Esthetician | |
| Average salary | $38,221 | $41,419 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $53,000 | Between $28,000 And $60,000 |
| Highest paying City | Scottsdale, AZ | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | - | Lancaster General Health |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Technology |
There are a few differences between a hair stylist and an esthetician in terms of educational background:
| Hair Stylist | Esthetician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 31% | Bachelor's Degree, 31% |
| Most common major | Cosmetology | Cosmetology |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between hair stylists' and estheticians' demographics:
| Hair Stylist | Esthetician | |
| Average age | 40 | 35 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 9.2% Female, 90.8% | Male, 6.1% Female, 93.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 7.6% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 5.1% Unknown, 6.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 8.7% White, 63.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 9% |