Cosmetologist Salary


Women as well as men, in the recent years, have heightened awareness about their physical appearance. Being fussy about their looks is not a new phenomena and almost everybody is willing to spend some extra bucks on personal grooming.

Welcome to the age of cosmetology! With increase in number of beauty and skin care centers, spas and beauty salons, skilled cosmetologists are in great demand. As career opportunities are gaining momentum in this field, competition is also increasing considerably.

While there are some aspirants who wish to be full-time cosmetologists, there are various others who wish to work in this field as a part of their hobby. Individuals having a good understanding and knack of grooming different types of individuals can definitely make an excellent career in this field. Like various professions, salary range is a dominant criteria for many prospective cosmetologists. The income of a cosmetologist is dependent on various factors like:
  • Educational qualifications of cosmetologists
  • Work experience/Apprenticeship/Training experience
  • Location of beauty care clinic
  • Revenue of skin/grooming clinic
Average Salary of a Cosmetologist

Knowledge and expertise are essential for any business related to cosmetics to thrive in this era of tough competition. Since skills of cosmetologists retain customers, they form the heartbeat of any beauty salon. Since cosmetology is an extensive field, cosmetologists may have to work on different job profiles.

Cosmetologists work in various departments of spas, hair salons and beauty care clinics. Many even work as make up artist. The salary besides above mentioned factors depend on specialization and specific job profile. Let's review a story about John, a popular make over artist having a work experience of about 20 years in the field of cosmetology. Reviewing his story will give us a practical idea about the income potential.

"The salary of a make up artist depends on the budget of client and the types of services he/she needs to get. If you are a make up artist to some celebrity, your income will be large as your client will pay you best for getting good services. Some make up artists work for fashion magazines and advertising firms, however the salary in those cases is not very high. Make up artists who work in films have better chances of earning. As an experienced make up over artist, I will advice candidates to not restrict themselves to just one or two job profile. Try gaining expertise in at least two profiles to increase chances of better salary. As far my experience goes, the make up artists salaries can range between US $500 to US $2000 per day."

John's story covers the practical facets of this job. Cosmetologists generally work on hourly and monthly basis and they are paid by salon owners as a part of percentage of the earnings per day. Different salons may have different salary procedures and calculation rates. As per the latest reports, cosmetologists having work experience of less than a year make US $7 to US $10 per hour.

Those with good work experience of about 4 to 9 years, the salary ranges between US $8 to US $14 per hour. Once established in this field cosmetologists having work experience of about 10-20 years can make as high as US $20 per hour. Since working location plays a very crucial role in the salary, those working in Florida can make anywhere between US $8/hr to US $17/hr and those in Ohio can make US $9/hr.

The salary of a cosmetologist may not seem to be financially rewarding to few aspirants unless one attains a fame like Jonathon Anton (of Blow-Out reality show). However not every cosmetologist can reach that status and fame. Still for those, who love this profession, they have the opportunity to work hard and earn well and after some work experience, many people move on to open their own skin care centers to offer their services.

Blog Archive