Salon assistant vs cosmetician

The differences between salon assistants and cosmeticians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a cosmetician has an average salary of $80,315, which is higher than the $26,083 average annual salary of a salon assistant.

The top three skills for a salon assistant include PET, cleanliness and customer service. The most important skills for a cosmetician are customer service, merchandise displays, and skin care.

Salon assistant vs cosmetician overview

	Salon Assistant	Cosmetician
Yearly salary	$26,083	$80,315
Hourly rate	$12.54	$38.61
Growth rate	11%	1%
Number of jobs	23,585	9,011
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 37%	High School Diploma, 42%
Average age	40	38
Years of experience	2	-

Salon assistant vs cosmetician salary

Salon assistants and cosmeticians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Salon Assistant	Cosmetician
Average salary	$26,083	$80,315
Salary range	Between $18,000 And $37,000	Between $51,000 And $125,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between salon assistant and cosmetician education

There are a few differences between a salon assistant and a cosmetician in terms of educational background:

	Salon Assistant	Cosmetician
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 37%	High School Diploma, 42%
Most common major	Cosmetology	Business
Most common college	-	-

Salon assistant vs cosmetician demographics

Here are the differences between salon assistants' and cosmeticians' demographics:

	Salon Assistant	Cosmetician
Average age	40	38
Gender ratio	Male, 12.6% Female, 87.4%	Male, 2.8% Female, 97.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 13.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 7.9% White, 55.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 22.5% Asian, 6.2% White, 53.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	12%	6%

Differences between salon assistant and cosmetician duties and responsibilities

Salon assistant example responsibilities.

Maintain salon appearance ensuring cleanliness, organization and manage inventory of salon products.
Color, bleach, perm and relax hair.
Assist in blow drying clients hair by holding hair dryers and brushes in place.
Maintain and style wigs and hair pieces for the production shows through grooming techniques.
Assist clients with consultations on products, braids, lock maintenance and other desire styles.
Assist in blow drying and styling activities by holding dryers and brushes and clips in place.

Cosmetician example responsibilities.

Administer make-up application to customers during cosmetic demonstrations
Administer make-up application to customers during cosmetic demonstrations

Salon assistant vs cosmetician skills

Common salon assistant skills

PET, 22%
Cleanliness, 16%
Customer Service, 15%
Appointment Scheduling, 10%
Front Desk, 7%
Makeup, 3%

Common cosmetician skills

Customer Service, 59%
Merchandise Displays, 16%
Skin Care, 7%
Cosmetic Products, 6%
Inventory Control, 5%
Product Knowledge, 4%