A stray strand in a close-up can sometimes be painted out in post, but a haircut done a week too early in the schedule stays done. The key hair stylist plans around that through prep and every shoot day, because the story's timeline and the shooting order rarely line up.
Reading the script for hair
The key hair stylist's breakdown follows each character through the story by scene and story day. It notes changes the story calls for (a character gets a haircut in act two, hair gets wet in the rain, a flashback needs a different length) and changes that come from the action (a fight, a hat that comes off, sleeping on it).
Here's a breakdown for one character in a film that jumps between two timelines:
| Scenes | Timeline | Hair |
|---|---|---|
| 3, 7, 22 | 2010 | Long, center part, highlights (wig) |
| 5, 9, 15 | 2024 | Actor's own hair, cut to shoulder length |
| 18 | 2024 | Wet from rain, then towel dried in 19 |
| 30 | 2010 | Long wig, pinned up for wedding |
The shooting schedule may put scene 30 on day 2 and scene 5 on day 3, so the key uses a wig for the earlier timeline and keeps the actor's own cut consistent for the later one. Decisions like that come out of a conversation with the director, the actor, and the costume designer before anyone picks up scissors.
Prep: tests, wigs, and approvals
In prep, the key tests looks on principal actors, ideally on camera with the DP. Wigs and hairpieces may need to be ordered, fitted, and custom-built, which can take weeks, so the key has to know early which characters need them. Facial hair can be real, grown by the actor, or laid by hand from lace pieces each day; the choice affects both morning time in the chair and the schedule if a beard has to come off for a later scene.
Any cut or color change on an actor's own hair is agreed ahead of time with the actor, director, and producers. Some actors' contracts address it directly.
A morning in the trailer
The key hair stylist and key makeup artist share the trailer and plan chairs together. A 6:30 AM crew call with three principals:
| Time | Hair chair 1 | Hair chair 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 5:00 AM | Lead actor: wig application | Supporting actor: blowout |
| 5:45 AM | Lead to makeup | Second supporting actor: braids |
| 6:15 AM | Lead back for final wig styling after makeup | Braids continue |
| 6:45 AM | Lead to wardrobe | Supporting actor to wardrobe |
| 7:30 AM | Stylist to set for first rehearsal | Stylist prepping background hair |
Hair and makeup sometimes trade places mid-process, which is why the key gives the 2nd AD time estimates that include the handoff. If a period hairstyle takes 75 minutes and makeup takes 45, the actor's call has to cover both plus wardrobe and the walk to set.
On set
A stylist follows the actors to set with a set bag: combs, brushes, pins, hairspray, a small mirror, and continuity photos on a phone or tablet. They watch the monitor, and when the 1st AD calls last looks, they fix flyaways, check that a wig lace isn't showing, and match the hair to the previous shot. After a stunt, a rainstorm, or an actor pulling off a hat, they reset from photos.
Continuity crosses departments. A hat belongs to costume but changes hair. A fight changes hair, makeup, and wardrobe at once, and the three departments compare photos after each take.
The box rental
Hair stylists rent their tools and supplies to the production through a weekly box rental negotiated on the deal memo. A hair kit might include dryers, irons, rollers, brushes, pins and clips, wig blocks and supplies, and products. Wigs bought or built for the show are production purchases, not part of the box, and belong to the production unless the deal memo says otherwise. The box rental isn't wages, so no fringes apply. Productions often reimburse consumables bought specifically for the show with receipts, separate from the box fee.
Local 706 and getting on the roster
Hollywood hair stylists are represented by IATSE Local 706, the Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild. For film, streaming, and TV work, Local 706 lists these roster routes: working 60 days a year for three different years within the last five years on non-union productions in Los Angeles County at minimum wage; working 60 days total on the same union project with a producer-requested waiver; or working 30 days on a non-union production that flips to union. Hair stylists must provide a cosmetology license, along with ID, a recent pay stub, and proof of Contract Services safety class completion.
Minimum rates are in the Local 706 wage schedules under the IATSE Basic Agreement; confirm the current year with the local or the production's payroll company. In New York, hair and makeup artists are represented by IATSE Local 798.
Getting there
Most film hair stylists start as licensed salon stylists or in theater, then build set experience on commercials, music videos, and non-union features. Wig work, period styling, and textured hair expertise all make a stylist more hireable. The key spot usually comes after years on a department head's team.
Storiara in the hair department
In Storiara's script panel, a line can be highlighted and added as a hair element, and the Assets module's Makeup & Hair category holds items with photos, availability, and cost fields, linked back to the script. That gives the hair team a scene list to check rather than build from nothing. See Props & Wardrobe.