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March 11, 2013

Cosmetologists Vs. Hair Stylists: What’s the Difference?

Why is there such confusion regarding cosmetologists vs. hair stylists? While there are similarities, there are also notable differences between the two. Both cut, wash, perm, color or style hair, however, cosmetologists also know about applying makeup, doing facial cleansing, and nail work like manicure and pedicure.

Cosmetologists vs. Hair Stylists: Who to Approach

There are days when your hair looks fine but you still want to get pampered, and there just outright bad hair days. The solution to both these situations is the salon, but first, you need to know who to approach: cosmetologists or hair stylists.

Hair stylists, as the term implies, work specifically with hair. Cosmetologists are generally more versatile. They offer services that hairstylists can do, and then some.  For instance, they can perform a makeover that fits a customer’s physical features and recommend skin treatments and makeup. They can beautify their customers’ facial or body skin, remove unwanted hair, shape eyebrows, and even style hair wigs. Obviously, who you go to depends on the array of services you require.

Course and Licensing: Cosmetologists vs. Hair Stylists

Regardless of who you pick, however, both the cosmetologist and hair stylist are expert, licensed professionals. These professionals underwent courses and secured their licenses through displaying expertise in their areas.

The work of hair stylists are exclusively for hair care and hairdo, thus the courses for hair styling are typically shorter than the courses for cosmetology. There are hairstyling courses offered in some states where students are trained to cut and style hair for about three weeks. Then the trainees shall receive a certificate and will officially be stylists. The same hairstyle training applies to a cosmetology course but there are more areas of focus other than just hair work; hence, the need for a longer time to finish the course.

Job Opportunities for Cosmetologists and Hair Stylists

Stylists and cosmetologists receive different work titles and job descriptions which really depend on the salon they work for. The salon also decides the arrangements, for instance, if the hair stylists do the hairstyles and cosmetologists do the rest. Others hire manicurists as additional staff to do the nail work and the rest are done by the cosmetologist. While cosmetologists are capable of doing more tasks, many of their customers prefer that they focus on just one area instead of dovetail several at the same time. But again, these professionals have all proven themselves through institutions giving out specialized courses, like us at Avalon Institute.

There might be some confusion with the entire debacle about cosmetologists vs. hair stylists, but the bottom-line is that they are both professional and expert positions that pamper clients through beauty, or help customers get out of a bad hair day.

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