What future for hair salons? More and more of them are experiencing failures, having to separate from their employees and going through major difficulties. They are faced with a shortage of apprentices, a generation of young hairdressers who refuse the constraints of their elders and new work spaces for independent hairdressers.
In her Parisian hair salon, Delfine preparing for a marathon day: “Every 30 minutes color, scans, the phone ringing, people coming in to ask for appointments…” This is his daily life, since the end of his apprentice’s contract three months ago. Delfine manages her Urban Cut salon alone, which has six armchairs, in the very lively 11th arrondissement of Paris.
:quality(50)/2025/11/13/20251107-110122-69161d89ac073630656405.jpg)
“I’ve had the salon for 18 years, there have always been four of us: two employees, me and an apprentice.”she explains. The Covid has been there, the team has left for other horizons and since the start of the school year they have not found anyone. “I have advertisements everywhere and no candidate is showing up.”regrets Delfine. So she tries to “maintain the figure”, “not to make money”more “because the fixed charges are there”. Obviously, the queue also gets longer. “It’s going to end like it’s going to go at the dermatologistquips Delfine ironically. Clients will have to make an appointment three months in advance.”
There are fewer young people aspiring to this profession. In Paris, for example, at least two hairdressing schools have closed down over the last ten years. Et for establishments still in place, the consequences are also very concrete. “We had to close three classes at the start of the school year.”reports Charlotte, who runs a school in eastern Paris that has existed for more than 20 years. Since Covid, eShe lost a third of her apprentices.
Charlotte notices more and more terminations of contracts during the year, often for reasons of interpersonal skills. “Benevolence, kindness… They don’t have the codes to work in a company facing customers”she believes. Apprentice hairdressers also have demands on their schedules. They want “start at such and such a time”, “finish at such and such a time”to have “one hour for lunch”, “which is not necessarily compatible with craftsmanship”she believes.
Hyperconnected young people, for whom being an employee, according to his analysis, is no longer a goal. “On makes them believe, said Charlotte, that there are so many possibilities to earn money easily from your couch without having a boss on your back… Obviously, when we ask them to work 10 hours a day, they are not interested.”
This is exactly what two of his students, Lya and Océane, who are 20 years old, describe.
“I would like it to be me who decides when I want to work.”
Lya, in hairdressing schoolon franceinfo
“In my old alternation, reports Lyaevery Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., there was no break. We snacked between the color exposure times. So I burned out because I couldn’t take it anymore. It was too much for me.” “For me, it is acceptable if there is the salary that followsengage Océane. I work Saturday and Sunday. There, I won 1200 (euros) at the end of the month. Sometimes I finish at 10 p.m. The salary doesn’t follow at all.”
:quality(50)/2025/11/13/20251107-120455-69161df9d242a167764094.jpg)
“I think that what also changes compared to beforecontinues Océane, is that now we know what we are worth and we know what our work is worth, particularly thanks to social networks. So, we know what we could get when we see the prices some people charge. A sweep can quickly add up to 600 euros and I’m still nice.”
So at the end of her training, Lya is thinking of turning to a coworking space, like Baïbaé, opened in Paris in 2018 by Bertrand Murig. “On makes availablehe details, for freelancers in hairdressing, aesthetic massage, workstations. There are several formats. There are people who are residents or who are there several days a week. And otherwise, there are independents who come either for the day or by the hour to welcome their customers.”
Self-employed hairdressers, in a pretty, colorful premises, which looks like a hair salon. There are six present today, including Nina who is taking care of a green-haired client. At 26, she experienced traditional salons and since February 2025, she has worked here four days a week. “I find myself more independent on all levels”she assures.
“I have regained my balance with my personal life. I have three-day weekends all year round. Even financially, I am paid better than when I was an employee.”
Nina, self-employed hairdresseron franceinfo
To contact her, her customers can find her on Instagram. “My showcase is my Instagram account and it works very well that way. It’s true that I have a very young, very connected clientele. I don’t have a phone ringing while I’m working.” Nina has her virtual appointment book full for the next two to three weeks.
So, inspired by this new generation, Delfine put her living room up for sale. She also plans to work in a smaller premises, or even an apartment, in the future. A choice that involves fewer fees, fewer taxes and much less pressure.
