Hairdresser
Key facts
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.
As a hairdresser, you’ll be at the forefront of beauty trends, providing a range of hair services to clients. Your days will involve consulting with clients to understand their desired styles, performing cuts, colours, and styling treatments, and ensuring their hair and scalp are healthy. You'll use tools like clippers, scissors, and razors, and maintain a clean and organised workspace.
- • Consulting with clients to determine their hairstyle preferences and offering expert advice.
- • Cutting, colouring, bleaching, and styling hair using various techniques and tools.
- • Performing hair and scalp treatments, including shampooing, conditioning, and rinsing.
Where this occupation is in demand
Reported labour shortages and surpluses, by year. Published for occupation groups, not for individual job titles.
Figures cover Personal service workers — 86 jobs including this one.
In shortage: Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Hungary and 4 more.
Longest-running shortage: Denmark, 4 years.
Where it is regulated, your qualification would need formal recognition before you could practise.
Select a place on the map to see its figures.
About this source›
Source: ELA/EURES labour shortages and surpluses. Readings are published at occupation-group level, and cover Europe. Editions differ in annex layout and country coverage, so a change between years does not always mean the labour market changed. Countries in grey were not reported, which is not the same as being in balance.
What these words mean
The four things this section reports
- Reported demand
- Whether employers report needing people in this job — a judgement published by a national or EU body, not a count.
- Where it is heading
- Which way employment in this job is expected to move over the coming years, from an official projection.
- Openings
- Roughly how many openings arise — from growth and from people leaving the job.
- Typical pay
- What people in this job typically earn where the source publishes it. Blank does not mean unpaid; it means nobody publishes it for that place.
A measure is left out when nobody publishes it for that place, rather than shown as zero.
Which way the market leans for you
- In your favour
- More openings than people looking — employers are competing for candidates.
- Balanced
- Openings and candidates are roughly matched.
- Competitive
- More people looking than openings — expect to compete.
- Mixed evidence
- Sources disagree, or the same occupation group is short in one part and oversupplied in another.
Every source resolves to one of these four, so there is a single vocabulary to learn. What differs is the evidence behind it, which is printed underneath each verdict — a measured ratio of openings to jobseekers, or an assessment published by a national body.
How this job compares with other jobs in the same country
- Strong
- Among the strongest in that country
- Good
- Stronger than most jobs in that country
- Mixed
- About typical for that country
- Weak
- Weaker than most jobs in that country
This is a rank within one country, not a score you can carry across borders — the registers behind two countries count different people, so the same number means different things in each. It is also why a job can be among the strongest in a country and still show as Competitive: it leads the field in a market that is crowded overall.
Where these come from
Every figure is published by a national statistics office, a public employment service or an EU body, and each card names its source and the period it covers. Some places are counted monthly, others assessed once or twice a year, so two places on the same map can be describing different moments — the date is always shown.
None of this predicts one person’s chances. It describes a market.
Reported demand · Typical pay · Where it is heading (United States, Ireland, Australia, Malta, United Kingdom)
| Reported demand | Typical pay | Where it is heading | |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Not reported | $35,790 2025-05 | +5.6% 2024–2034 · BLS 2024-2034 |
| Ireland | Not reported | — | +16.7% 2023–2035 · Cedefop 2026 * |
| Australia | Shortage reported Jobs and Skills Australia 2025 * | — | — |
| Malta | Shortage reported ELA/EURES 2024 * | — | +1% 2023–2035 · Cedefop 2026 * |
| United Kingdom | Not reported | £15,064 2025-provisional | — |
* Published for occupation groups, not for individual job titles.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS)
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Open Government Licence v3.0
Do you guide students, clients or employees? Use this occupation data in your organisation.
Future Outlook for hairdresser
The outlook for hairdresser is exceptionally stable. While AI tools will assist with daily tasks, the core of this role relies on human judgment, resulting in a high resilience score of 81%.
How are these scores calculated?
The Resilience Score (0–100) estimates how structurally protected this occupation is from automation and AI disruption, based on task-level analysis. Higher scores mean more human-judgment-intensive tasks. AI Exposure shows the estimated percentage of task hours that current AI capabilities could affect. These are model-derived structural indicators, not predictions about individual job security.
How could hairdresser change as AI adoption grows?
Human judgement, trust, and context remain strong protectors for this role.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
Human judgement, trust, and context remain strong protectors for this role.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
Model-based estimate. Use it as a planning signal, not a guarantee.
Compare this to your profile
How AI may change this role
Deterministic, model-based interpretation of current role signals — not a guarantee of replacement.
What still depends on people
- style hair
- work ergonomically
- use equipment for hair care
Where AI may become a co-pilot
- maintain equipment
- stay up-to-date with hair style trends
- identify customer's needs
Tasks most exposed to automation
No single task here is highly automatable yet.
Vital Signs & AI Vectors
AI Exposure Vectors
0-100%Exposure to content generation, creative augmentation, and large language model tools
Exposure to physical automation, robotics, and sensor-driven task displacement
Exposure to AI-assisted analysis, pattern recognition, and predictive modelling tasks
Exposure to workflow automation, decision-support software, and process digitisation
Technical Details
NexFuture v3.0 estimates automation exposure natively from ESCO essential-skill groups, weighted by skill mass and calibrated against expert anchors. Scores are probabilistic estimates, not guarantees. See the NexFuture Methodology White Paper for full details.
Measures automation exposure. It does not measure pay, demand, or how many jobs exist near you.
What people in this role usually do
Arts, Entertainment, & Design
A typical day as a hairdresser
09 09:00 · Morning curl hair
10 10:30 · Mid-morning advise on hair style
12 12:00 · Midday identify customer's needs
14 14:00 · Afternoon stay up-to-date with hair style trends
15 15:30 · Late afternoon use equipment for hair care
17 17:00 · Wrap-up wash hair
Task order is illustrative. Individual days vary.
What you need to do this work
The skills, knowledge and tools this role calls for — and the traits and rewards that come with it.
-
style hair
Style a person's hair using the appropriate techniques and products.
-
use equipment for hair care
Use tools to cut, trim or shave hair, such as scissors, clippers, razors and combs.
-
wash hair
Use shampoo to clean clients' hair and scalp, use hair conditioners to create volume or make hair more smooth and shiny and afterwards dry the hair with a blow dryer or a towel.
-
curl hair
Curl a person's hair using the appropriate techniques and products.
-
dye hair
Dye hair using a special solution to change its colour.
-
maintain customer service
Keep the highest possible customer service and make sure that the customer service is at all times performed in a professional way. Help customers or participants feel at ease and support special requirements.
-
satisfy customers
Communicate with customers and make them feel satisfied.
-
communicate with customers
Respond to and communicate with customers in the most efficient and appropriate manner to enable them to access the desired products or services, or any other help they may require.
-
work ergonomically
Apply ergonomy principles in the organisation of the workplace while manually handling equipment and materials.
-
maintain equipment
Regularly inspect and perform all required activities to maintain the equipment in functional order prior or after its use.
-
advise on hair style
Make recommendations to customers about suitable hair styles, based on their preferences and your own professional judgment.
-
identify customer's needs
Use appropriate questions and active listening in order to identify customer expectations, desires and requirements according to product and services.
-
process payments
Accept payments such as cash, credit cards and debit cards. Handle reimbursement in case of returns or administer vouchers and marketing instruments such as bonus cards or membership cards. Pay attention to safety and the protection of personal data.
-
stay up-to-date with hair style trends
Keep abreast of current and future fashion trends in hair styles.
hair
Human hair, its composition and interaction with various chemicals, environment factors and health issues.
- hair colouring
- hair products
Path to become a hairdresser
What it typically takes to qualify: education level, where it is a regulated profession, and where to study.
Primary education
Regulated in 15 countries on record. Minimum EQF 3–4, depending on the country.
Reflects the EU regulated-professions database. Not legal advice — confirm requirements with the relevant national authority before relying on this for a career or immigration decision.
The closest officially recognised professional qualification in the Flemish qualification structure:
- Kapper Flemish level 3
A closest match, not an exact equivalent: a qualification is often narrower than the occupation. Source: AHOVOKS, Flemish government (Kwalificatiedatabank), reused under the Flemish Open Licence for free reuse.
524 programmes in 23 countries teach the core skills of this job. Plus 244 short courses that build single skills.
A few examples, taught in the language of this page:
Advanced Certificate in Barbering
LCETB Administrative Centre · Ireland
Turun ammatti-instituutti · Finland
Higher Certificate in Arts in Business Studies with Beauty and Spa Management
Technological University of the Shannon · Ireland
Belfast Metropolitan College - Titanic Quarter · Ireland
These are 6 of 768.
Sources
- 1. Source: Europass Qualification Dataset Register (European Commission)
- 2. Source: Opintopolku.fi (Finnish National Agency for Education)
- 3. Irish course data from Qualifax (qualifax.ie), run by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI).
- 4. Source: Study with New Zealand (studywithnewzealand.govt.nz), Education New Zealand. Copyright in the material is owned by Education New Zealand (All content (c) Education New Zealand). Listings are provided by the education providers, are for information and promotional purposes only, and are not endorsed by Education New Zealand; each provider is responsible for its own content.
Growth Pathways & Similar Roles
Explore typical career progression paths, adjacent skills, and similar roles to plan your next transition.
Where does hairdresser fit?
—
Similarity scores based on skill overlap from ESCO data.
For organisations
The data on this page, working for your students, clients and staff.
Frequently asked questions
What skills are important to succeed as a hairdresser?
Can I be a self-employed hairdresser?
What kind of work environment can I expect?
How much does Hairdresser pay in the United States?
Is Hairdresser a regulated profession?
Sources: ESCO O*NET ELA/EURES Cedefop BLS Data updated October 19, 2026 About our data