You attract and hire quality stylists by shifting from reactive recruiting to proactively building a salon culture that pulls top talent toward you through standout compensation, a real selection process, and onboarding that actually makes people want to stay. Here's the thing most owners get wrong: they keep posting job ads and crossing their fingers, then wonder why the same cycle repeats every six months. The stylists are out there. You're just not giving them a reason to pick you.
I talk to salon owners every single week who tell me the same thing. "I just can't find good people." And I get it. It feels like everyone decent is either already locked in somewhere or going solo in a suite. But after working with hundreds of salons, I can tell you the owners who stopped chasing and started building something worth joining? They don't have this problem anymore.
This post breaks down the full system I use with my coaching clients. Culture, pay, how to actually interview, and the 90-day window that determines whether your new hire becomes a lifer or a flight risk.
The Attraction Funnel: How to Become the Salon Everyone Wants to Work At
Think of this as four stages that feed into each other. Skip one and the whole thing falls apart.
When these four pieces work together, you stop being the salon that's always hiring. You become the salon that has a waitlist of stylists who want in.
Stage 1: What Does Your Culture Actually Look Like From the Inside?
Before you write a single job post, sit with this question: why would a great stylist choose your salon over the three others within a mile of you? If the only thing you can come up with is your commission rate, that's a problem.
Here's what I see over and over. Stylists don't usually leave for more money. They leave because they feel stuck. They stop growing, nobody's investing in them, and every day starts to feel the same. When I ask stylists who've jumped ship why they left, the answer almost always comes back to "there was nothing for me there long term."
A culture that attracts top talent isn't about pizza parties or a cute Instagram wall. It's about growth, communication, and knowing where you're headed.
What this looks like in practice:
- Make your mission and values specific enough to filter people. Not "we believe in excellence." That means nothing. What do you actually stand for? Who do you serve? When your values are clear, the right people feel it and the wrong people self-select out.
- Create visible career paths. Show a stylist what their trajectory looks like from New Talent to Senior Stylist to Educator. When somebody can see a ladder, they want to climb it. When all they see is a chair, they start looking for the exit.
- Build communication into your week, not just when there's a blowup. I use a weekly meeting framework with my clients that keeps everyone aligned and kills drama before it starts. Most salon "drama" is really just a communication breakdown that nobody bothered to fix. If you're looking for ways to bring ongoing education into your team culture, it starts with making growth part of your weekly rhythm, not a once-a-year class.
Stage 2: Is Your Pay Structure Actually Competitive or Just Average?
Money isn't the only thing, but let's not pretend it doesn't matter. Your compensation model tells a stylist exactly how you think about them. Are they an expense you're trying to minimize, or a revenue driver you're investing in?
A commission rate somewhere in the 40 to 50 percent range is standard, but just matching what the salon down the street pays isn't a strategy. That's treading water. You need a structure that rewards the behavior you actually want to see and aligns with how you want to build your salon business.
Each model has trade-offs. Salary gives stability but can kill motivation. Pure commission drives hustle but creates anxiety. Hybrids can work great but get complicated fast. The right answer depends on your salon's stage and the kind of team you're building.
What actually moves the needle beyond the split:
The stylists you want, especially the younger ones coming up right now, are looking at the full picture. They're asking about education budgets. They want to know if you cover any health insurance. They care about scheduling flexibility because burning out behind the chair by 30 isn't the plan anymore.
- Education stipends that show you're willing to invest in their skills.
- Health benefits and retirement options that a suite rental can never match.
- Retail commission in the 5 to 10 percent range that encourages them to think about the full client experience.
- Performance bonuses tied to things that actually grow your business, like pre-booking rates, client retention, and rebooking percentages.
Stage 3: How Do You Stop Hiring the Wrong People?
A strong culture and solid pay will get people interested. But if your interview process is basically a 20-minute chat and a gut feeling, you're going to let the wrong ones in. And one bad hire can wreck a team faster than almost anything else.
I've watched salon owners lose thousands of dollars and their best stylists because they rushed a hire when they were desperate. The interview isn't a conversation. It's a filter. Treat it like one.
Here's the process I walk my clients through:
- Phone screen, about 15 minutes. Don't bring someone in until you know the basics line up. Schedule, license, what they're looking for compensation-wise. If any of that's a dealbreaker, you just saved yourself an hour.
- In-person interview, about an hour. This is where you dig. Ask behavioral questions: "Tell me about a time a client was unhappy and what you did about it." "What does a slow Tuesday afternoon look like for you?" Their past behavior is the best predictor of what they'll do in your salon. Then ask culture questions: "What kind of environment brings out your best work?" See if what they need matches what you've built.
- Technical audition, two to three hours. Have them work on a model. Watch their hands, sure, but also watch how they talk to the client, how they manage their time, and how they carry themselves at a station. Skills can be coached. Attitude is a lot harder to fix.
- Team meet and greet, about 30 minutes. Let a couple of your key people spend time with the candidate. Your team will catch things you miss. They always do.
Stage 4: What Happens in the First 90 Days That Makes or Breaks a New Hire?
This is where most salons completely drop the ball. You go through all the effort of finding and vetting someone great, then you hand them a product manual, point them toward an open chair, and wonder why they're gone in four months.
The first 90 days are everything. This is where a new stylist decides whether they made the right choice or started quietly looking again. A real onboarding process proves that you're as serious about their success as they are. And when you get this part of hiring and delegation right, your new hire needs less hand-holding and earns your trust faster.
How I structure the 30-60-90 with my coaching clients:
- Days 1 through 30: Get them plugged in. This phase is all about systems, culture, and connection. They should be learning the booking software inside and out, getting comfortable with your product lines, and building real relationships with the team. Weekly one-on-ones during this phase are non-negotiable. Don't assume everything is fine just because nobody's complaining.
- Days 31 through 60: Build momentum. Now you start setting clear performance goals. You're reviewing their pre-booking numbers, their retail attachment, their client retention. Where are they strong? Where do they need coaching? This is where you earn loyalty by showing them you're paying attention to their growth, not just their output.
- Days 61 through 90: Step back and mentor. Transition from managing to mentoring. Start talking about where they want to be in a year, in three years. Map out how they get there inside your salon. When somebody sees a real future with you, they stop entertaining other options.
Frequently Asked Questions About Attracting and Keeping Stylists
How much should I pay a new stylist?
It depends on where they are in their career and how your business is set up. For someone newer, a guaranteed hourly rate plus tips and performance bonuses tends to work well because it gives them stability while they build a clientele. For an experienced stylist who's bringing a book of business, a tiered commission in the 40 to 50 percent range that climbs with performance gives them something to push toward. Either way, the number alone won't close the deal. The full package, including education, benefits, and a growth path, is what separates you from every other option they're considering.
Where do I actually find good stylists?
You stop trying to find them and you make them find you. When your culture is legitimately great and your team is posting about it, when you're building relationships with local cosmetology schools, when your reputation in the market is that your salon is the place to be, the right people start reaching out to you. Your salon's reputation becomes your best recruiting tool, and that reputation is built from the inside out.
How can I compete with booth rental suites?
You compete by giving stylists everything a solo suite can't. A team that has their back. Advanced education that's paid for. Marketing that fills their book without them having to figure out Facebook ads at midnight. Health benefits. No overhead stress. You're not selling a chair. You're selling a career path and a community. That's a completely different conversation, and for the right stylist, it's not even close.
What is the biggest red flag you see in stylist interviews?
A stylist who blames every past employer, every coworker, and every difficult client for their problems. That's a pattern, not bad luck. It shows a lack of ownership and it will absolutely show up in your salon too. The other one is a candidate who has zero questions for you. If they're not curious about your culture, your goals, or what success looks like in your salon, they're not serious about building something with you. They just need a chair.
Ready to Stop the Hiring Cycle and Build a Team That Actually Stays?
If this resonated, you already know the revolving door is costing you more than just money. It's draining your energy, your reputation, and your ability to grow. The system works when you commit to all four stages and stop treating hiring like an emergency you react to.
If you want help building this out for your specific salon, that's exactly what I do inside my coaching program. Let's build your Personal Economy together.