Film Career · Make-Up
Key Hair Stylist
Make-Up · IATSE hair and makeup locals
- Union
- IATSE hair and makeup locals
- Day rate
- ~$546–$1,000/day
- Experience
- 8–18+ yrs
What does a Key Hair Stylist do?
A key hair stylist leads within the make-up department, answering for its output while managing the people and logistics behind it.
On union productions the position falls under IATSE hair and makeup locals, which sets the rates, hours, and conditions the role works within. The role is engaged show by show, and careers in make-up are built on the department heads and crews who hire the same trusted people back.
What does a Key Hair Stylist make?
- This is a department-head chair, toward the top of its department's range.
- Hair and makeup crews are paid by the day with overtime and kit fees: artists roughly $546-$1,000 a day, and department heads $700-$1,500.
- Roughly $75K-$220K a year (IATSE Local 706).
Film work is gig based, so crew are paid a day or weekly rate rather than a salary. These are realistic 2024-2025 ranges grounded in union rate cards and industry data; actual pay swings with budget tier, market, overtime, and reputation.
Sources & how we estimate pay
Union scale is the floor; the ranges above also reflect market day rates above scale. They are grounded in the following 2024–2025 sources:
Union rate cards & wage schedules
Official guild scale — the floor each craft is paid from.
- IATSE — 2024 Basic Agreement wage scales (PDF) ↗
- IATSE Local 600 (International Cinematographers Guild) — camera rate cards ↗
- DGA — minimum salary rate cards (director, unit production manager, assistant directors) ↗
- WGA — schedule of minimums (writers) ↗
- SAG-AFTRA — theatrical & background rate sheets (cast, stunts, background) ↗
- Teamsters Local 399 — basic feature wage rates, 2024–27 (transportation, locations, wranglers) (PDF) ↗
You’ll like and be good at this job if:
Hard skills
- You have hair or makeup skill and a steady hand
Soft skills
- You can lead a crew, hold a budget, and answer for the department
- You are as comfortable managing people as doing the craft
The ladder
Related chairs in this craft family, ordered from entry toward leadership:
- 1Assistant Hair Stylist
- 2Hair Stylist
- 3Key Hair Stylist (this role)
Career progression
Within this craft family the recognized progression runs from assistant hair stylist toward key hair stylist, with each step earned through set time and the trust of the chairs above. Where this role sits on that ladder is less important than how the make-up department works: people move up when the department already believes they can do the next job.
A typical path, from entry to the top of the craft. Times are rough and vary by market, luck, and how steadily the work comes.
~$75K–$220K/yr
~$75K–$220K/yr
- Key Hair Stylistyou are here
~$75K–$220K/yr
How do you become a Key Hair Stylist?
The path here is internal: the make-up department promotes this position from within, based on a track record built in its junior chairs. Start at the department's entry level and let the work argue for you.
On covered productions, rates, hours, and conditions for the role are set by IATSE hair and makeup locals contracts.
Covered by a union? The joining a film union guide explains how each one takes members.