# Key Hair Stylist

Source: https://storiara.com/roles/key-hair-stylist
Last updated: 2026-09-14
Author: Spencer Kaufman, Storiara

> The key hair stylist leads the hair team on a production, designing, cutting, styling, and maintaining hair for principal actors, including wigs, hairpieces, and facial hair. The key breaks down the script for hair changes, runs the hair chairs in the trailer, supervises additional stylists on big days, and keeps continuity photos. In Hollywood hair stylists belong to IATSE Local 706 and need a cosmetology license.

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](https://storiara.com/glossary/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](https://storiara.com/roles/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](https://storiara.com/roles/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](https://storiara.com/glossary/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](https://storiara.com/glossary/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](https://storiara.com/glossary/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](https://storiara.com/feature/props-wardrobe).

## Frequently asked questions

### Do film hair stylists need a cosmetology license?

Local 706's join page lists a cosmetology license as required documentation for hair stylists. State licensing rules also apply, so check the board that licenses cosmetologists where you work.

### What is the difference between the hair department head and key hair stylist?

On large productions the department head designs looks, manages the budget, and works on the lead actors, and the key hair stylist is second in charge. On smaller productions one person does both jobs and takes the key hair stylist credit.

### Can a key hair stylist cut an actor's hair?

Only with approval. A haircut can't be undone, so it's agreed with the actor, director, and producers in advance, and often written into the actor's deal. Stylists use wigs and extensions when the story needs a change the actor or schedule can't allow.

### What does a hair box rental cover?

The stylist's own tools and supplies: dryers, irons, brushes, clips, wig blocks, products, and sometimes a chair or mirror light. It's a weekly rental on the deal memo, paid separately from wages, with an inventory attached.

## Sources

- [Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild, IATSE Local 706: How to Join](https://local706.org/how-to-join-local-706/)
- [Contract Services Administration Trust Fund: Industry Experience Roster](https://www.csatf.org/rosters-lists/industry-experience-roster/)
- [AMPTP: Contracts and wage scales (Local 798 New York agreement listed)](https://amptp.org/contracts/)