Style, Transform, Enhance - Hair Stylist Resumes that Showcase Your Creative Edge!

As a hair stylist, you’re not just a creator of stunning hairdos; you’re a trendsetter, a style guru, and a keeper of beauty secrets. Your talents, from chic haircuts to sophisticated coloring techniques, put you at the heart of an industry that’s always buzzing with excitement.

Here’s some good news: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says hair stylist jobs are expected to grow 8% from 2022 to 2032, with 89,400 openings projected yearly. And guess what? The median hourly wage was $16 in 2022. This shows how much people value a great haircut and style, and that’s where you shine!

Treat your resume as your portfolio, showcasing your skills and experiences. Emphasize your hair styling certifications and education, and infuse it with your passion for making clients look amazing. Demonstrate your talent with the scissors and your knack for nurturing client relationships – because a satisfied client is your best endorsement!

Please take advantage of our expert recommendations and the sample resume at the end of this guide to design a personal, energetic, and shining hair stylist resume. Read further for additional information…

What does a hairstylist do?

A hairstylist is an expert in hair care and offers services to improve clients’ appearance and confidence. Their key responsibilities include:

• Client consultations: Understanding client needs and preferences, suggesting hairstyles and treatments that best suit their look and lifestyle.

• Hair cutting and styling: Performing precise haircuts, styling hair using various techniques, and staying up-to-date with the latest trends in hair fashion.

• Coloring services: Professional hair coloring services, including highlights, lowlights, balayage, and ombre, and texturing services like perms and straightening.

• Hair and scalp treatments: Applying treatments to address various hair and scalp issues, ensuring healthy hair growth and maintenance.

• Product knowledge and sales: Recommending and selling hair care products that align with client needs, offering guidance on how to use them effectively.

• Customer service: Building and maintaining client relationships, ensuring a welcoming and comfortable experience, and managing bookings and inquiries.

• Salon maintenance: Keeping the work area clean and organized, sanitizing tools and equipment, and adhering to health and safety regulations.

• Continuous education: Staying informed about industry developments, attending workshops, and acquiring new skills to provide the best services to clients.

• Creative collaboration: Working with other stylists and beauty professionals to create complete looks for events, weddings, or fashion shows.

• Personal branding and marketing: Developing a personal brand and utilizing social media and other platforms to showcase work and attract new clients.

Crafting your hair stylist resume

Use these guidelines to assemble a hair stylist resume that perfectly reflects your expertise and journey in the hairstyling arena:

Resume layout tips 

• To create a striking hair stylist resume, adopt a format that emphasizes your hair care and styling achievements. Select from different resume formats to best display your abilities and professional growth.

• Start your resume with a precise header featuring your name, contact details, and a professional email address. Add a link to your LinkedIn profile or an online styling portfolio for a comprehensive view of your work.

• Structure your resume in distinct sections for straightforward navigation.

• Use stylish yet legible fonts to maintain professionalism and appeal.

• When sending out your resume, choose the PDF format to ensure consistent formatting across different devices.

Develop an engaging resume opener

Your resume’s opening is vital as it’s often what a salon owner or hiring manager first sees. Aim for a clear and brief resume summary that neatly presents your hairstyling skills, experiences, and significant successes tailored to the role you’re eyeing.

This also lets you highlight your enthusiasm and eagerness for the position, showcasing your capability to meet the job’s requirements.

Work experience 

Highlight how your skills have been applied in different environments, such as salons or freelance projects, instead of just listing your past jobs. Focus on skills you’ve mastered, like innovative hair styling techniques, color expertise, or customer service excellence, and show how these skills have evolved across different roles.

Share your successes, like growing a loyal clientele or boosting salon sales, and mention any additional experiences that add to your profile, like retail sales of hair care products or advanced hairdressing courses. This underscores your well-rounded skill set in hair styling. Use this format:

• Job title

• Name of the salon or employer

• Employment period

• Specific tasks and notable accomplishments in hair styling.

Remember, to make your resume stand out to hiring managers and be compatible with ATS systems, use relevant action words and terms in the job advertisement.

Educational credentials

While a formal higher education degree isn’t necessary for a career in hairstyling, acquiring a license through a state-approved training program is essential. Additionally, enhancing your resume with additional certifications can be beneficial. Earning credentials like a Master Stylist Certification or a Certified Hair Colorist designation demonstrates to potential employers your commitment to continually improving and updating your hairstyling skills.

Essential skills for a hair stylist

The skills section of your resume is crucial in landing interviews. It’s essential to prominently feature your specialized hair styling skills, as they attract and retain clients. These skills showcase your experience and adaptability and determine your suitability for the role. 

A memorable haircut can make or break a client’s loyalty. So, ensure your resume effectively highlights your practical hairstyling abilities, demonstrating your proficiency in delivering top-quality services.

• Hair cutting

• Coloring

• Treatments

• Consultation

• Customer service

• Creativity

• Time management

• Product knowledge

• Scalp care

• Teamwork

• Sales

• Sanitation & hygiene

• Administration

• Adaptability

• Problem-solving

Extra sections for the hair stylist’s resume

Elevate your hair stylist resume by including these additional segments, which spotlight your wide-ranging skills and dedication to the art of hairstyling:

• Certifications: Securing a state license is essential for a career in hairstyling. Additionally, a hair stylist’s resume that showcases one or more certifications is more noticeable. Consider enhancing your qualifications with certifications such as:

  • Board Certified Haircolorist

  • National-Interstate Council of State Boards of Cosmetology (NIC) Certification

  • Trichology Certification

  • BarberSAFE Professional Barber

• Professional affiliations: Demonstrate your dedication to the hairstyling field by highlighting your memberships in professional organizations related to hair care and styling, such as:

  • Professional Beauty Association (PBA)

  • Association of Professional Hair Stylists, Inc

  • Salon & Spa Professional Association, Inc.

  • Cosmetologists and Barbers of Iowa (CBI)

• Languages: Being multilingual is a significant advantage in the customer-oriented world of hairstyling. Include any languages you are fluent in to show your ability to serve a diverse clientele.

• Awards & Recognitions: Highlight any recognitions or awards specific to hairstyling, such as “Best Hair Stylist” or “Top Customer Satisfaction” awards, to underscore your achievements in the field.

• Training and Workshops: Include any relevant additional training or workshops you’ve participated in, whether they focus on innovative hair styling techniques, new hair care technologies, or the latest trends in hair fashion.

• Hobbies & interests: Mention personal hobbies or activities that connect with hair care and fashion, like experimenting with hair styling techniques, blogging about hair trends, attending fashion events, or keeping up with the latest in hair care advancements to demonstrate your comprehensive passion for hair and fashion.

Essential tips for a hair stylist’s resume

Engaging action verbs 

When crafting your hair stylist resume, it’s essential to use a variety of action verbs to describe your experiences. This variety adds energy and clarity, especially when outlining your skills in hairstyling, coloring, and treatments.

A diverse selection of dynamic verbs helps avoid redundancy and makes your roles and accomplishments stand out more clearly, providing a vivid and engaging overview of your professional journey.

Here is a list of action verbs perfect for a hair stylist resume:

• Styled

• Cut

• Colored

• Textured

• Treated

• Consulted

• Transformed

• Highlighted

• Designed

• Created

• Advised

• Enhanced

• Shaped

• Tailored

• Balanced

• Revitalized

• Restored

• Blended

• Personalized

• Innovated

• Educated

• Demonstrated

• Managed

• Coordinated

• Built (as in building client relationships)

• Mastered

• Perfected

• Specialized

• Extended (as in hair extensions)

• Analyzed

Cover letter

Enhance your application by pairing your resume with a cover letter that tells the story of your hair styling career. Utilize this space to add a personal touch, sharing your enthusiasm for hair care, methods for handling client needs, and professional journey.

Proofreading

Make sure your resume is flawless and professionally presented by carefully proofreading it. Go through it multiple times, read it aloud to ensure it sounds straightforward, and consider using tools like Grammarly for grammar and spelling checks. Seeking feedback from colleagues or mentors can also offer helpful perspectives for refinement.

Check out our extensive ‘How to Make a Resume’ guide for thorough instructions on resume creation.

The Resumonk Edge

Utilize Resumonk’s easy-to-use interface to jumpstart the creation of your professional hair stylist resume. With its extensive selection of tools and templates, you can effectively present your hairstyling expertise and boost your likelihood of landing your dream role in the beauty industry. You get the following features:

• User-friendly AI resume builder

• Personalized AI content rewrites and suggestions

• Easy conversion of LinkedIn profile to resume

• Simple import from PDF/DOCX files

• Tailorable resume templates, flexible design, and formatting options

• Various download options (.doc, pdf)

  p.s. Start your free trial today!

Refer to the sample resume below, created using Resumonk’s Sleek template, to start your application.