Every decade brings new hairstyles and trends and someone has got to stay on top of it all. Who keeps tabs on the latest looks, learning to cut, style and even CREATE them? Look no further than hairstylists and hairdressers. Regardless of what's in--be it Farrah Fawcett's feathered fringes, Jennifer Aniston's shag or Halle Berry's short crop--hairstylists are the people who snip, clip, and flip our hair into the newest styles and shapes. Working in chic hair salons or at simple neighborhood beauty parlors, hairstylists shampoo, cut and color our hair. A stylist must have a flair for design and an understanding of fashion, but must also be able to run a tight ship on the business side of things, since there are many practical tasks associated with this work, including keeping client records, making appointments and marketing to new customers. Hairstylists who run their own salons also have to hire, supervise, and fire staff, as well as keep business records, order supplies, and arrange advertising. In the course of a day, a hairstylist's duties can involve not only shampooing, blow-drying and cutting hair, but performing corrective coloring, straightening curly or kinky hair, or perming and crimping straight hair. Some stylists become so well-known for the styles and cuts that they create that they become famous in their own right, like Vidal Sassoon and Shehnaz Hussain. These days most famous actors have their own stylists. So this profession is no longer a low paid job. It has now become glamorous. Traditionally, hair stylists worked with women, while men went to barbers. Increasingly, however, stylists work with men as well as women and must be expert in both kinds of cutting and styling.

So, if you love to make people look and feel fabulous, and you're a natural with a blow dryer and scissors, grab a set of curlers and a great big apron...and dream on!