Hair stylist to performance hairdresser
A hair stylist already meets 36% of what the performance hairdresser role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
60/ 100
1 How much of what a performance hairdresser is expected to do is already part of a hair stylist’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the performance hairdresser role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A performance hairdresser role treats 5 of its required skills as things a hair stylist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply hair cutting techniques
- maintain wigs
- perform quick hair changeovers
- translate artistic concepts to technical designs
- work safely with chemicals
What stands in the way is 8 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 9 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A performance hairdresser role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a hair stylist background worth leading with.
- already held perform quick hair changeovers assisting and caring
- already held apply hair cutting techniques assisting and caring
- already held create wigs communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held dye wigs assisting and caring
- already held decide on wig making process management skills
- already held maintain wigs handling and moving
All 9 carried skills, including the 5 the performance hairdresser role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 17 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn adapt to artists' creative demands required
- still to learn safeguard artistic quality of performance required
- still to learn understand artistic concepts required
- optional, not held design make-up effects optional
- optional, not held draw make-up sketches optional
- optional, not held advise client on technical possibilities optional
- optional, not held develop professional network optional
- still to learn work ergonomically required
- still to learn work with respect for own safety required
- optional, not held prevent fire in a performance environment optional
- still to learn meet deadlines required
- still to learn prepare personal work environment required
- optional, not held manage personal professional development optional
- still to learn hair required
- optional, not held document your own practice optional
- optional, not held keep personal administration optional
- optional, not held work safely with mobile electrical systems under supervision optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a performance hairdresser role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 adapt to artists' creative demands practise this
- 02 hair study this
- 03 safeguard artistic quality of performance practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 9 skills that carry over
- already held apply hair cutting techniques skill
- already held maintain wigs skill
- already held perform quick hair changeovers skill
- already held translate artistic concepts to technical designs skill
- already held work safely with chemicals skill
- already held create wigs skill
- already held decide on wig making process skill
- already held dye wigs skill
- already held manage consumables stock skill
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held design make-up effects optional
- optional, not held document your own practice optional
- optional, not held draw make-up sketches optional
- optional, not held prevent fire in a performance environment optional
- optional, not held work safely with mobile electrical systems under supervision optional
- optional, not held advise client on technical possibilities optional
- optional, not held develop professional network optional
- optional, not held keep personal administration optional
- optional, not held manage personal professional development optional
21 held skills the performance hairdresser role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse a script skill
- not needed by the target role analyse the need for technical resources skill
- not needed by the target role attend rehearsals skill
- not needed by the target role consult with production director skill
- not needed by the target role design hair style skill
- not needed by the target role draft styling schedule skill
- not needed by the target role dye hair skill
- not needed by the target role ensure continuous styling of artists skill
- not needed by the target role familiarise with personal directing styles skill
- not needed by the target role finish project within budget skill
- not needed by the target role follow directions of the artistic director skill
- not needed by the target role follow work schedule skill
- not needed by the target role hairdressing knowledge
- not needed by the target role history of hair styles knowledge
- not needed by the target role keep up with trends skill
- not needed by the target role lighting techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage technical resources stock skill
- not needed by the target role order supplies skill
- not needed by the target role photography knowledge
- not needed by the target role style hair skill
- not needed by the target role work with the director of photography skill
1 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn hair required
Common questions about this move
Can a hair stylist become a performance hairdresser?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A hair stylist already covers 36% of what a performance hairdresser is expected to do: 9 skills carry over, 5 of which the performance hairdresser role treats as required.
What skills does a hair stylist need to become a performance hairdresser?
8 required skills are missing, plus 9 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is adapt to artists' creative demands.
How hard is the move from hair stylist to performance hairdresser?
Its learning distance is 60 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.