More than seven in ten hairdressers have already invested in technical or specific courseswhile 84% consider specialization “extremely important” for their career in beauty. This is what research carried out by Wella Professionals in partnership with NielsenIQ indicates.
In an expanding market, which registered a historic milestone by surpassing the US$ 1 billion in exports during 2025according to the Brazilian Association of the Toiletries, Perfumery and Cosmetics Industry (ABIHPEC), professionals are increasingly seeking to specialize.
The research interviewed 200 professional hairdressers from São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro between November and December 2025, with a sample that includes .
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In smaller salons, the study showed that . This professional can combine customer service, customer relations, operation organization and management support.
As the business grows, the structure tends to be organized in a more segmented way, but the entrepreneurial character remains. In medium-sized salons, the average is 3.52 functions per professional; in large ones, 3.81.
At the same time, salons not only gain functions, but the business evolves in management maturity, with greater capacity to structure functions, invest in staff, organize stocks and implement more consistent routines.
In a profession historically without its own university degree, research indicates that most hairdressers have been building, in practice, a . Of salon professionals, 77% have already completed technical or specific courses and 21% have had some type of academic training.
Already specialization in colorimetrywhich studies how colors will be applied to hair, 79% sought technical courses and 20% followed academic training in the area. This is also the area with the highest added valuewhere professionals with this specialization get better payments.
This is shown in client behavior: in large salons, 86% of clients seek frequent advice on color and 64% turn to professionals for guidance on style and technique.
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“What we observed in the salons in Rio and São Paulo is a portrait of a broader movement: more informed customers, surrounded by digital references and interested in understanding the process. This reinforces the role of the hairdresser as an expert consultant, someone the client trusts to make decisions about her image, her expenses and her care routine”, highlights Nathalie Honda, CMO of Wella Company in Brazil.
