How media symbolism kept the hairdressing trade small – and why that is now changing
Whenever German news broadcasts report on the minimum wage, a certain image seems almost inevitable: a woman with a hairdryer in her hand, photographed in a hair salon.
This image has long been more than just an editorial routine. It has become a cultural symbol – one that, over decades, has shaped both the public and internal self-image of an entire profession.
The hairdressing profession – a symbol of passion and price pressure
Hardly any other trade in Germany so exemplifies high emotional competence with low pay as the hairdressing trade.
Hairdressers not only style hair, but also self-images – and bear social responsibility that goes far beyond the purely technical. Nevertheless, the average wage in the hairdressing trade was still in the lower range of German trades in 2024.
The median earnings were recently around 1,800 to 1,900 euros gross per month for full-time work. Even though many businesses now pay above the standard wage, the industry remains shaped by price and competitive pressure.
This imbalance has historical reasons: for decades, the hairdressing trade was considered a profession pursued “out of love for people” – an attitude that was romanticized by society but economically hollowed out.
The collective self-image: friendly, modest, but undervalued
This persistent undervaluation has created not only structures but also mindsets.
Many hairdressers developed a self-image based on modesty and customer loyalty, not on self-confidence and price-worthiness.
This led to price increases often being perceived as a moral risk – even when they were economically necessary.
“We want to make people beautiful, even if we can barely afford life ourselves.”
This attitude was reinforced by media images that almost always show hairdressers as examples of low earners. In this way, a quiet cultural habit emerged that still has an effect today.
Change through crisis, AI, and new generations
But this habit is beginning to dissolve. The years after Corona have brought not only economic but also mental upheavals.
The number of trainees in the hairdressing trade has dropped dramatically in the last 15 years – from over 40,000 to less than 14,000. This shows how many young people no longer saw the profession as secure for the future.
At the same time, however, the composition of this smaller group is changing significantly:
The proportion of men has risen from about 10 percent to around 30 percent.
This shift comes at a time when the rapid development of artificial intelligence is calling many professions into question.
But the hairdressing trade, of all things, is unusually stable in this new world.
Because everything that AI can do better than humans – calculating, planning, forecasting – replaces exactly those skills on which most office jobs are based.
What AI cannot do is genuine interpersonal contact, creative design in real time, and the intuitive sense for personality and style.
Hairdressers thus embody something that is becoming ever more valuable in the AI society: human presence, touch, and individuality.
So, in the paradoxical logic of progress, it becomes clear:
Precisely the profession that was long considered “simple” and “low-paid” is one of the few that cannot be automated – and thus one of the most future-proof trades of all.
Collective agreements, transparency, and a new self-understanding
Something is also changing structurally: new collective agreements are gradually raising the industry-specific minimum wage – in some regions already to over 12 euros per hour, with higher classifications for experienced professionals.
This is not a revolution, but a signal: the hairdressing trade is beginning to reposition itself – between artistic work, digital visibility, and professional service.
This reorientation is also accompanied by a changed self-understanding.
Where adaptation used to prevail, today there is aspiration.
Where there used to be fear of pricing, there is now an awareness that quality is allowed to have its value.
And where there used to be uncertainty about the future, there is now growing confidence in an ability that no machine can replace: making people more beautiful by truly seeing them.
What will remain – and what must change
The current development shows two opposing forces:
On the one hand, many small salons are fighting for survival because they are caught between rising costs and price-sensitive customers.
On the other hand, a generation is growing up that is no longer willing to continue the old myth of the “modest creators of beauty.”
To stabilize this change, the following are needed:
- Transparent pricing that makes the value of craftsmanship visible,
- Support for training to keep young talent in the profession,
- and a societal re-evaluation that recognizes hairdressers as creators of identity and self-perception.
Conclusion: When the hairdryer changes the way we think
The image of the woman with the hairdryer in her hand has shaped the discourse on wages in Germany for decades. It was a symbol of diligence without financial recognition.
But slowly, with new generations, new collective agreements, the experience of Corona – and the rise of AI – this image is beginning to change.
Because those who work with their hands in the future, with vision, voice, and empathy, will not be replaced by algorithms.
Instead, they remain the place where humanity lives on.
Perhaps in a few years, when the minimum wage is reported on again, the hair salon will no longer serve as the symbolic image.
Instead, it will be that of a person who knows that their work is worth more –
because it can do something that no machine will ever learn: to truly see people.
