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Hairstylist

Skilled Trades

Provide beauty services, such as cutting, coloring, and styling hair, and massaging and treating scalp. May shampoo hair, apply makeup, dress wigs, remove hair, and provide nail and skincare services.

You can enter this career straight after SPM. A degree is optional, not required.

General

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Keep work stations clean and sanitize tools, such as scissors and combs.
  2. 2Bleach, dye, or tint hair, using applicator or brush.
  3. 3Cut, trim and shape hair or hairpieces, based on customers' instructions, hair type, and facial features, using clippers, scissors, trimmers and razors.
  4. 4Schedule client appointments.
  5. 5Update and maintain customer information records, such as beauty services provided.
  6. 6Demonstrate and sell hair care products and cosmetics.
  7. 7Analyze patrons' hair and other physical features to determine and recommend beauty treatment or suggest hair styles.
  8. 8Train or supervise other hairstylists, hairdressers, and assistants.
  9. 9Massage and treat scalp for hygienic and remedial purposes, using hands, fingers, or vibrating equipment.
  10. 10Shampoo, rinse, condition, and dry hair and scalp or hairpieces with water, liquid soap, or other solutions.
  11. 11Operate cash registers to receive payments from patrons.
  12. 12Administer therapeutic medication and advise patron to seek medical treatment for chronic or contagious scalp conditions.
  13. 13Order, display, and maintain supplies.
  14. 14Comb, brush, and spray hair or wigs to set style.
  15. 15Develop new styles and techniques.
  16. 16Apply water or setting, straightening or waving solutions to hair, and use curlers, rollers, hot combs and curling irons to press and curl hair.
  17. 17Recommend and explain the use of cosmetics, lotions, and creams to soften and lubricate skin and enhance and restore natural appearance.
  18. 18Shape eyebrows and remove facial hair, using depilatory cream, tweezers, electrolysis or wax.
  19. 19Clean, shape, and polish fingernails and toenails, using files and nail polish.
  20. 20Shave, trim, and shape beards and moustaches.
  21. 21Give facials to patrons, using special compounds, such as lotions and creams.
  22. 22Attach wigs or hairpieces to model heads and dress wigs and hairpieces according to instructions, samples, sketches or photographs.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • Stylist
  • Colorist
  • Beautician
  • Haircutter
  • Cosmetician
  • Hair Cutter
  • Hairdresser
  • Hairstylist
  • Wig Dresser
  • Wig Stylist

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. 2

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. Typical entry

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. 5

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationPost-secondary certificate

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

BusinessDraws directly on Sales and Marketing — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EconomicsDraws directly on Sales and Marketing — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EnglishDraws directly on English Language — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
ChemistryDraws directly on Chemistry — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Principles of AccountingDraws directly on Economics and Accounting — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Customer and Personal Service89%
  • Sales and Marketing73%

    BusinessEconomics

  • Administration and Management60%

    BusinessEconomics

  • Education and Training59%
  • English Language57%

    English

  • Chemistry56%

    Chemistry

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleConstant contact
  • Dealing with customers or the publicVery high
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherAlmost never
  • Noisy environmentAlmost never
  • Time spent sittingA little
  • Time spent standingAlmost all the time

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points — not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

0%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023 — already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

Growing role in the US

US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, not Malaysian. Shown because it's the only forward-looking demand estimate we have for this job.

Pay in Malaysia

We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.

Where to check:

  • JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
  • DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
  • SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

Asasi / Foundation

One-year runway into a specific university: public via UPU or private direct entry.

12 months

International Pre-U

A-Levels, AUSMAT, IB and more. The flexible premium route, local or overseas.

1–2 years

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About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org

Programmes that lead here

Programmes from the official UPU (KPT) and MQA catalogues whose field of study typically leads to this career. Matched by field, not a job guarantee.

Public universities (UPU)

Private institutions (MQA-accredited)

Search the programme catalogue