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Beautician Salaries in Tennessee

If you are a licensed cosmetologist, esthetician, barber or nail technician in Tennessee you can opt to work either full or part-time and as a regular employee or an independent contractor. Many salons rent booths for a monthly fee, allowing you to literally be in business for yourself. If you opt instead to be a regular employee, salaries are highly competitive.

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Salary information published by the US Department of Labor generally do not include tips which, at between 10 and 25 percent of the cost of the service, add considerably to your total income. Commissions on services and products sold add even more to base salaries!

Tennessee Cosmetology Salaries

If you wish to become a cosmetologist in Tennessee you’ll have to complete 1,500 hours in beauty school learning how to cut/style/dye hair and how to give manicures and pedicures, as well as the basics of skin care and makeup application. You will also have to pass the Board of Cosmetology exam. According to the BLS (2013), the 5.040 actively employed cosmetologists in Tennessee earn the following:

Annual Salary
Entry-Level
$16760
Mean
$27430
Experienced
$44330

Annual salaries in large Tennessee cities or metropolitan areas (MAs) are as follows:

Tennessee Area
# Employed
High End
Nashville MA
1560
$46980
Memphis MA
1390
$48260
Knoxville
770
$43190
Chattanooga
610
$37220

Tennessee Esthetician Salaries

You will need to spend a minimum of 750 hours in beauty school and pass the board exam in order to become a licensed esthetician (skin specialist) in Tennessee. The BLS reports that the 600 estheticians working in Tennessee earn the following:

Annual Salary
Entry-Level
$18050
Mean
$36980
Experienced
$57360

Differences in esthetician annual salaries in important Tennessee cities are:

Tennessee Area
# Employed
High End
Nashville
170
$47890
Memphis
100
$63060
Knoxville
60
$40940

Nail Technician Salaries in Tennessee

You’ll need 600 hours of beauty school training and to pass the board exam to acquire a Tennessee nail technician license. The BLS reports that Tennessee’s 500 nail technicians earn the following annual salaries:

Tennessee Area
Entry-Level
High End
Statewide
$16810
$45120
Nashville
$17170
$77220
Knoxville
$17220
$40940

Tennessee Makeup Artist Salaries

Although you don’t need a license to be a makeup artist in Tennessee, most salons, bridal boutiques or cosmetics shops that hire makeup artists require a cosmetologist or esthetician license. Theatrical makeup artists need advanced training at a specialized makeup school. The BLS (2013) reports that Nashville metropolitan area has the nation’s fifth highest employment level for this occupation. The 30 theatrical makeup artists in Tennessee all work in Nashville which is not only the country music capital but home to an abundance of other professional theatrical productions, including plays, Shakespearian dramas, musicals, ballets and operas.

A review of Nashville want ads indicates an average annual salary of $36,000 for makeup artists and $42,000 for hair/makeup artists. Top theatrical makeup artists can earn in excess of $100,000 a year.

Barber Salaries in Tennessee

You can elect to earn either a Master Barber or a Barber Technician license in Tennessee. Master barbers must spend 1,500 hours of training at a barber school, 750 hours of which can be earned at a beauty school. After passing the Master Barber board exam you will be qualified to cut/style/dye/straighten/weave hair, shave/trim beards and give facial massages while barber technicians, who only need 340 hours of barber school, are qualified to shampoo and dye hair, manicure nails, and apply powder, oil, or lotions to body parts.

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According to the BLS (2013), you can expect to earn the following as a master barber in Tennessee:

Annual Salary
Entry-Level
$16470
Mean
$27870
Experienced
$53250

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