Also called: Key Hairstylist, Department Head Hair
Styles actors' hair and wigs for film and TV, matching period, character, and continuity.
A film hairstylist recreates a 1940s hairstyle every morning, keeps it consistent through rain scenes, and takes photos to match it weeks later in reshoots.
Approximate; union film hairstylists earn far more than salon stylists (BLS median ~$36k).
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Certificate, about 1 year after high school. Cosmetology license plus set experience; IATSE Local 706.
Ways in: Trade school, Certification, On-the-job training. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Cosmetology (trade school).
Growing about average. Follows production levels.
Low risk for 10 years. Styling real hair and wigs for period and continuity on set stays hands-on and human.
Classes: Cosmetology CTE, Art, History, Theater tech crew.
Official data: O*NET occupation 39-5012.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.