Hairdresser
Also called wig stylist, hair cutter, cosmetologist
Hairdressers offer beauty services such as cutting, colouring, bleaching, permanent waving and styling clients' hair. They ask their clients about their hairstyle preferences in order to provide customised services. Hairdressers use clippers, scissors and razors. They provide hair and scalp treatments and shampoo, condition and rinse hair.
What you'd do
Hairdressers · ILO- Cutting, washing, tinting and waving hair
- Shaving or trimming beards and moustaches
- Giving scalp treatment
- Fitting wigs according to customers’ requirements
- Providing advice on hair care, beauty products and hairstyles
- Styling hair into dreadlocks and braids and adding hair extensions
- Arranging appointments and collecting payments
- Cleaning work areas and sanitizing instruments
- Indoors
- On your feet most of the day
- Constant contact with people, including the public
- Good freedom to decide
- Usually under 40 hours a week
- Deadlines now and then
- Some repetitive tasks
Will there be jobs?
Average prospectsA typical number of jobs will need filling by 2035.
Solid: measured. Dashed: forecast.
What does it pay?
Below averagePay depends a lot on the country: from about €900 a month (Bulgaria) to €3,900 (Denmark), before tax.
Pick a country at the top of the page to see typical pay there, for people under 30, and compared with all jobs.
Among service and sales workers in the EU, women earn 3% less per hour than men. Service and sales workers · Eurostat
What do I need to study?
Upper secondary or vocationalUpper secondary or vocational training in hair and beauty services is the usual route.
Pick a country at the top of the page to see where to study and the official course finders.
Will AI change it?
Very littleAI could take on part of some tasks, but none fully.
Average task score 0.17 on a scale from 0 (AI can't do it) to 1 (AI could do it fully).
See the score for each of the 8 tasks
Based on what AI could technically do when assessed in 2025. It is not a forecast for a future year, and not a forecast of job losses. Scores for hairdressers. Source: ILO (2025), adapted (credits).