Make-up artist to performance hairdresser
A make-up artist already meets 69% of what the performance hairdresser role asks for. The move turns on 4 required skills not yet in the profile.
32.3/ 100
1 How much of what a performance hairdresser is expected to do is already part of a make-up artist’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 9 of its required skills as things a make-up artist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adapt to artists' creative demands
- maintain wigs
- prepare personal work environment
- safeguard artistic quality of performance
- translate artistic concepts to technical designs
- understand artistic concepts
What stands in the way is 4 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 18 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 make-up artist background worth leading with.
- already held draw make-up sketches communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held design make-up effects communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held maintain wigs handling and moving
- already held advise client on technical possibilities communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held document your own practice information skills
- already held manage consumables stock management skills
All 18 carried skills, including the 9 the performance hairdresser role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 8 missing skills fall into 5 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 apply hair cutting techniques required
- still to learn perform quick hair changeovers required
- optional, not held dye wigs optional
- still to learn meet deadlines required
- optional, not held decide on wig making process optional
- still to learn hair required
- optional, not held create wigs 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 apply hair cutting techniques practise this
- 02 hair study this
- 03 perform quick hair changeovers 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 18 skills that carry over
- already held adapt to artists' creative demands skill
- already held maintain wigs skill
- already held prepare personal work environment skill
- already held safeguard artistic quality of performance skill
- already held translate artistic concepts to technical designs skill
- already held understand artistic concepts skill
- already held work ergonomically skill
- already held work safely with chemicals skill
- already held work with respect for own safety skill
- already held advise client on technical possibilities skill
- already held design make-up effects skill
- already held develop professional network skill
- already held document your own practice skill
- already held draw make-up sketches skill
- already held keep personal administration skill
- already held manage consumables stock skill
- already held manage personal professional development skill
- already held prevent fire in a performance environment skill
4 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held create wigs optional
- optional, not held decide on wig making process optional
- optional, not held dye wigs optional
- optional, not held work safely with mobile electrical systems under supervision optional
36 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 apply body paint skill
- not needed by the target role art history knowledge
- not needed by the target role attend rehearsals skill
- not needed by the target role contextualise artistic work skill
- not needed by the target role cosmetics knowledge
- not needed by the target role create lifecasts skill
- not needed by the target role decide on make-up process skill
- not needed by the target role define artistic approach skill
- not needed by the target role determine skin type skill
- not needed by the target role develop artistic educational activities skill
- not needed by the target role develop artistic project budgets skill
- not needed by the target role develop educational resources skill
- not needed by the target role develop the look of a production skill
- not needed by the target role draft styling schedule skill
- not needed by the target role ensure continuous styling of artists 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 gather reference materials for artwork skill
- not needed by the target role lighting techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain prostheses skill
- not needed by the target role make up performing artists skill
- not needed by the target role make-up techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role participate in artistic mediation activities skill
- not needed by the target role perform quick make-up changeovers skill
- not needed by the target role photography knowledge
- not needed by the target role plan art educational activities skill
- not needed by the target role present exhibition skill
- not needed by the target role repair prostheses skill
- not needed by the target role skin types knowledge
- not needed by the target role test make-up skill
- not needed by the target role work with the camera crew skill
- not needed by the target role work with the director of photography skill
- not needed by the target role work with the lighting crew 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 make-up artist become a performance hairdresser?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A make-up artist already covers 69% of what a performance hairdresser is expected to do: 18 skills carry over, 9 of which the performance hairdresser role treats as required.
What skills does a make-up artist need to become a performance hairdresser?
4 required skills are missing, plus 4 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is apply hair cutting techniques.
How hard is the move from make-up artist to performance hairdresser?
Its learning distance is 32.3 out of 100, which is the moderate 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.