How to become Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologist in 2024

Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologist Provide beauty services, such as cutting, coloring, and styling hair, and massaging and treating scalp. May shampoo hair, apply makeup, dress wigs, remove hair, and provide nail and skincare services.

Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologist is Also Know as

In different settings, Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologist is titled as

  • Beautician
  • Cosmetologist
  • Hair Dresser
  • Hair Stylist
  • Hairdresser
  • Hairstylist
  • Stylist

Education and Training of Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologist

Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologist is categorized in Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed

Experience Required for Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologist

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Education Required for Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologist

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Degrees Related to Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologist

Training Required for Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologist

Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Related Ocuupations

Some Ocuupations related to Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologist in different industries are

What Do Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologist do?

  • Keep work stations clean and sanitize tools, such as scissors and combs.
  • Cut, trim and shape hair or hairpieces, based on customers' instructions, hair type, and facial features, using clippers, scissors, trimmers and razors.
  • Analyze patrons' hair and other physical features to determine and recommend beauty treatment or suggest hair styles.
  • Schedule client appointments.
  • Bleach, dye, or tint hair, using applicator or brush.
  • Update and maintain customer information records, such as beauty services provided.
  • Shampoo, rinse, condition, and dry hair and scalp or hairpieces with water, liquid soap, or other solutions.
  • Operate cash registers to receive payments from patrons.
  • Demonstrate and sell hair care products and cosmetics.
  • Develop new styles and techniques.
  • Apply water or setting, straightening or waving solutions to hair, and use curlers, rollers, hot combs and curling irons to press and curl hair.
  • Comb, brush, and spray hair or wigs to set style.
  • Shape eyebrows and remove facial hair, using depilatory cream, tweezers, electrolysis or wax.
  • Administer therapeutic medication and advise patron to seek medical treatment for chronic or contagious scalp conditions.
  • Massage and treat scalp for hygienic and remedial purposes, using hands, fingers, or vibrating equipment.
  • Shave, trim, and shape beards and moustaches.
  • Train or supervise other hairstylists, hairdressers, and assistants.
  • Recommend and explain the use of cosmetics, lotions, and creams to soften and lubricate skin and enhance and restore natural appearance.
  • Give facials to patrons, using special compounds, such as lotions and creams.
  • Clean, shape, and polish fingernails and toenails, using files and nail polish.
  • Apply artificial fingernails.
  • Attach wigs or hairpieces to model heads and dress wigs and hairpieces according to instructions, samples, sketches or photographs.
  • Order, display, and maintain supplies.

Qualities of Good Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologist

  • Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
  • Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
  • Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
  • Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
  • Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
  • Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
  • Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
  • Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
  • Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
  • Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
  • Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  • Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
  • Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
  • Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
  • Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
  • Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
  • Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
  • Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
  • Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
  • Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
  • Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
  • Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
  • Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
  • Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
  • Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
  • Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
  • Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
  • Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  • Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
  • Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
  • Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
  • Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
  • Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
  • Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
  • Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
  • Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
  • Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.

Tools Used by Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologist

  • Butterfly hair clamps
  • Color application combs
  • Curling irons
  • Cuticle nippers
  • Cuticle pushers
  • Cuticle scissors
  • Desktop computers
  • Detangling combs
  • Digital timers
  • Duckbill hair clamps
  • Dye application brushes
  • Electronic cash registers
  • Fine-tooth combs
  • Fingernail clippers
  • Flat irons
  • Hair clips
  • Hair pins
  • Hair thinning scissors
  • Haircutting scissors
  • Hairstyling brushes
  • Handheld electric hair clippers
  • Handheld hair dryers
  • Heated hair curlers
  • Hooded hair dryers
  • Hot combs
  • Laptop computers
  • Nail buffers
  • Nail cleaning brushes
  • Nail files
  • Rat tail combs
  • Round brushes
  • Safety goggles
  • Shampoo bowls
  • Straight razors
  • Teasing combs
  • Tint application brushes
  • Wide-tooth combs

Technology Skills required for Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologist

  • Apple iOS
  • Appointment scheduling software
  • Customer information databases
  • Facebook
  • Intuit QuickBooks
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft Word
  • Sale processing software
  • YouTube