Salon assistant vs hair specialist

The differences between salon assistants and hair specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a salon assistant and a hair specialist. Additionally, a hair specialist has an average salary of $36,659, 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 hair specialist are customer service, product knowledge, and wigs.

Salon assistant vs hair specialist overview

	Salon Assistant	Hair Specialist
Yearly salary	$26,083	$36,659
Hourly rate	$12.54	$17.62
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	23,585	33,950
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 37%	High School Diploma, 28%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	2	2

Salon assistant vs hair specialist salary

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

	Salon Assistant	Hair Specialist
Average salary	$26,083	$36,659
Salary range	Between $18,000 And $37,000	Between $23,000 And $56,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between salon assistant and hair specialist education

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

	Salon Assistant	Hair Specialist
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 37%	High School Diploma, 28%
Most common major	Cosmetology	Cosmetology
Most common college	-	-

Salon assistant vs hair specialist demographics

Here are the differences between salon assistants' and hair specialists' demographics:

	Salon Assistant	Hair Specialist
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 12.6% Female, 87.4%	Male, 11.3% Female, 88.7%
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, 14.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 8.2% White, 57.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between salon assistant and hair specialist 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.

Hair specialist 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

Salon assistant vs hair specialist skills

Common salon assistant skills

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

Common hair specialist skills

Customer Service, 36%
Product Knowledge, 13%
Wigs, 12%
Hair Removal, 8%
Retail Sales, 8%
Dryers, 7%