How Media Symbolism Kept the Hairdressing Trade Small – and Why That’s Changing Now
Whenever German news programs report on the minimum wage, a certain image seems almost inevitable: a woman with a hairdryer in her hand, pictured in a hair salon.
This image has long since become 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 hairdressing.
Hairdressers don’t just style hair, they also shape self-images—and bear social responsibility that goes far beyond the purely technical. Yet, as recently as 2024, the average wage in hairdressing still ranked at the lower end of German trades.
The median earnings were most recently around 1,800 to 1,900 euros gross per month for full-time work. Even though many businesses now pay above the standard rate, the industry remains shaped by price and competitive pressure.
This imbalance has historical reasons: for decades, hairdressing was seen as 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 seen 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. Thus, 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 COVID have brought not only economic but also mental breaks.
The number of trainees in hairdressing 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.
Yet, hairdressing stands unusually stable in this new world.
Because everything AI can do better than humans—calculating, planning, forecasting—replaces exactly the skills on which most office jobs are based.
What AI cannot do is real interpersonal contact, creative design in real time, and intuitive sense for personality and style.
Hairdressers 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:
Of all professions, the one 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
Structural changes are also underway: new collective agreements are gradually raising the industry-specific minimum wage—in some regions already to over 12 euros per hour, with higher rates for experienced professionals.
This is not a revolution, but it is a signal: hairdressing is beginning to reposition itself—between artistic work, digital visibility, and professional service.
This reorientation also brings a changed self-understanding.
Where adaptation used to prevail, now there is aspiration.
Where there used to be fear of raising prices, there is now an awareness that quality deserves its value.
And where there used to be uncertainty about the future, there is now growing confidence in a skill 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, 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 the craft visible,
- Support for training to keep young talent in the profession,
- and a societal re-evaluation that recognizes hairdressers as shapers of identity and self-perception.
Conclusion: When the Hairdryer Changes Thinking
The image of the woman with the hairdryer in her hand has shaped the discourse about 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 COVID—and the rise of AI—this image is beginning to change.
Because in the future, those who work with their hands, with their gaze, 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 their work is worth more—
because it can do something no machine will ever learn: to truly see people.