Frequent staff attrition in the beauty industry is a core operational challenge for salon owners. To reduce the costs of constantly replacing new staff, it’s essential to create a thoughtful, stylist-centered recruitment and retention strategy that appeals to the best talent in the industry. 

In this article, we’ll offer practical tips on how to find stylists for your salon and keep them on board, so you can deliver reliable client services and thrive in the long term. We’ll also discuss how salon management platforms like Boulevard fit into your recruitment pipeline as a way to handle staff scheduling, performance tracking, and tips integration, all in one place.

How to Find and Attract Stylists for Your Salon: 7 Strategies

Instead of waiting for your dream hire to come through the door, create an intentional salon staff recruitment strategy that attracts top stylists. 

1. Seek Out Stylists on Specialized Job Boards

Strategically placing your stylist job advert means you’ll get a more qualified pool of candidates who are locally available. Instead of general job boards, try beauty-specific sites such as Salon Employment, Behind the Chair, Hair for Hire, and StyleCareers. Some cosmetology schools even curate their own stylist job boards, so check local websites or even post physical flyers. 

You can also hire salon staff via social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. When you write and post your ad on socials, be sure to use location tags and relevant keywords to reach local stylists. 

2. Go to Events

Scout for fresh talent at industry events, including hair shows, beauty expos, or conferences. You might even host your own event or workshop to make connections with local hair stylists and salon owners. 

3. Connect With Beauty Influencers

In the past, salon professionals subscribed to beauty magazines to keep up with industry trends. Today, they’re more likely to follow influencers on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Check with influencers near you to see if you can pay to “post” jobs on their channel. 

4. Partner With Local Cosmetology Schools

If you’re located near a cosmetology or beauty school, reach out to develop an ongoing partnership. Often these schools host stylist job fairs, guest lectures, and other types of cosmetologist hiring events that are perfect for meeting talented new graduates. 

Even better, build a deeper relationship with the school by offering a stylist assistant role or internship at your salon. Hosting an ongoing training position can get you an up-close look at talent before hiring; you can check haircut/styling skills and real-life salon fit to make sure it’s a good match for both people. 

5. Put a Premium on Quality Referrals

Current stylists on your team may have skilled friends or peers looking for work. Try offering a bonus for stylists who provide high-quality referrals. Although you’ll still need to conduct interviews, referrals are an effective shortcut for finding great talent without the hassle of weeding through stylist job applications. 

Giving a referral bonus can actually save you money, as posting on job boards, scheduling interviews, and conducting reference checks can drain your time and resources. Do some back-of-the-envelope math to see in numbers how valuable a quality recommendation is and be sure to spread the word to your staff. 

6. Get Creative on Socials

Open-to-work stylists will often check socials to decide whether a salon is a good fit for them. To attract hair stylists on socials, make sure you're giving the right impression of your salon by using high-quality images, a clear brand voice, and content that highlights your salon’s values. Check out our salon socials guide for more advice on this.

Once you’ve created a strong foundation, you can start to mix things up. Post stylist challenges, hold live Q&As, and stream walkthroughs of life at your salon. The brand buzz will arise naturally from consistent, engaging posts, attracting the right people to your space.

7. Harness the Latest Salon Technologies 

Stylists want to spend their time focusing on their clients—not struggling with clunky POS systems or time-consuming over-the-phone booking. 

When you invest in modern digital salon management software, it can be a major attraction for hair stylists, especially younger, more digitally savvy professionals. So be sure to mention the tech your salon uses in your stylist job postings, social media channels, and candidate interviews.

How to Retain Salon Staff Long-Term

You’ve hired a few great matches; here’s a salon employee retention plan that’ll help you build a long-term team.

Pay People What They're Worth 

Make your best stylists an offer they can’t refuse. The average stylist salary in the U.S. is estimated at $25/hour, so offering compensation above this rate may encourage your most talented staff to stay on. 

Your salon tech should also help your stylists garner higher tips. Set up your POS system to include options (such as 15%, 20%, and 25%) so it’s easy for clients to add tips at checkout. And providing performance-based bonuses for stylists (like if they bring in new clients or get high reviews) can be very motivating as well. 

In Boulevard, you can use our performance reporting tools to create a pay structure that’s clear and easy to track—earning the trust of your highest-achieving salon professionals. 

Build a Strong Employer Brand

Regarding retention, money matters a lot, but culture is increasingly important. Burnout is common for hair stylists, and most are looking for a positive work environment that includes friendly co-workers, flexible schedules, and continuing education. 

Focus on building a brand that puts your values front and center. Start by defining your mission; maybe it’s something like:

• Salon professionals don’t just cut hair—they help people feel confident and like the best version of themselves.

• Great service doesn't have to take all day. We value efficiency without compromising quality.

• We create an experience where every detail is thoughtfully designed to make clients feel cared for. 

• We prioritize salon professionals’ creativity and passion.

Integrate this mission into the way you present your brand on social media, review sites, and every day at your hair salon, so potential employees can easily tell whether their values align with yours. 

Craft On-the-Job Mentorship and Training Programs

Most professionals (especially the high-potential stylists you hope to recruit) want to get better at their craft. So it pays off to offer educational opportunities like training sessions, 1:1 mentorship programs, and certification subsidies.

Specifically, becoming a mentor has secondary benefits for your salon. To start, it produces better stylists who enhance your hair salon’s value. It also helps you identify which team members might fill senior roles in your organization. Finally, your stylists-in-training can take on tasks you have limited time for, which drives long-term salon growth.

These types of continuing education programs go hand-in-hand with cultivating a positive culture, where both team efforts and individual careers are celebrated. 

Center Staff Wellness in Your Culture

We’ve mentioned compensation and continuing education as two major retention factors; these contribute to the broader objective of centering staff wellness. Employees must feel like they matter—both as stylists and as people. Cultivate a sense of belonging by celebrating birthdays, taking time for team building activities, and regularly checking in with each stylist. 

You could also center staff appreciation by naming a Stylist of the Week and giving tangible rewards for great performance (whether a bonus, gift card, extra time-off, or some other perk). And offering flexible schedules and wellness days goes a long way toward retaining your most talented people. 

How Boulevard Helps You Build and Manage Your Salon Team

At the end of the day, new stylists will continually arrive, and veteran staff will eventually say their goodbyes. But if you have the right recruitment and retention strategies in place, it’s far easier to adapt to stylist turnover—and build a loyal crew that helps your salon grow and thrive.

On Boulevard, you can set up your salon’s entire hiring-to-retention lifecycle. Our platform helps you manage staff schedules, track performance, and offer client and employee incentives, so you can better support your top-performing stylists. Get started with our salon software to increase your retention rates and grow your team.

FAQ

Where is the best place to find stylists for a salon?

To find skilled salon professionals near you, use specialized stylist job boards, participate in industry events, work with local cosmetology schools, ask for staff referrals, and post on social media. 

How can I attract experienced hairstylists to my salon?

While top compensation and performance-based bonuses are important, they’re not the only factor. A positive work environment, flexible schedules, and a focus on work-life balance can appeal to experienced hairstylists. 

What do salon stylists look for in an employer?

Besides getting fairly compensated, salon stylists want to work in a non-toxic environment where they can connect with their co-workers, get trained on the latest trends, and work flexible hours. 

How does Boulevard help salon owners manage and retain staff?

Boulevard is purpose-built to help salon owners manage and retain staff. It provides a suite of features to support salon employee retention, including flexible staff scheduling, performance tracking, and integrated tips during checkout. Try out Boulevard’s salon software.