The Apprentice Program
For cosmetology school graduates and early-career stylists in the DFW area. Learn behind the chair in a working salon, with continuing education paid for by the salon and an Education Director on staff to teach it.
The first year out of school is where most stylists either get built or get burned. This program exists so it is the former.
Where Apprentice Sits
Apprentice is the first rung of our six-level stylist ladder: Apprentice, then Hybrid Level 1 Stylist, Level 2 Stylist, Level 3 Senior Stylist, Level 4 Senior Lead Stylist, and Level 5 Master Stylist. It is a real position on a published ladder, not an indefinite holding pattern with a job title attached.
Apprentices train alongside our senior team in advanced color, cutting, and extension techniques while building clientele in a supportive environment. You are learning in a salon that does the work at volume — balayage, foils, babylights, blonding, gray coverage, color correction, hand-tied and keratin bond extensions, keratin smoothing, and event styling — rather than practicing on mannequins and hoping.
This path is not hypothetical. Izzy came through our apprenticeship and is a Level 1 stylist here today.
Who Teaches You
We have an Education Director on staff. Dawn has been an instructor for the Schwarzkopf color company for 15 years, traveling across the US to teach classes to other salons about color and technique, and she has more than 30 years in the industry. She also runs classes inside our salon on hair extensions, color, and blonding.
That matters for an apprentice more than almost anything else on this page. Education at most salons means whatever a busy senior stylist can explain between clients. Here it is somebody's actual job.
Continuing education is paid for by the salon. You are not funding your own development out of a first-year paycheck, and you are not choosing between paying rent and staying current.
Beyond the classes, the onboarding and mentoring team is a standing part of how this salon works — Grace, a Level 4 Senior Lead Stylist, is our Onboarding Manager, so there is a named person responsible for bringing new team members up to speed.
Three Product Lines You'll Learn
We work with Aveda, Schwarzkopf, and Iles Formula. Learning three professional lines properly early in your career is worth more than it sounds — it teaches you to think about chemistry and outcome rather than about one brand's instructions.
For graduates of the Aveda Institute specifically: this is an Aveda salon, and the Aveda training you already have travels with you here rather than being set aside on day one. Schwarzkopf is the backbone of our color work — and our Education Director is a Schwarzkopf instructor, which is about as direct a line to that education as exists in this market. Iles Formula is what we reach for on damaged hair.
The salon supplies all color. See the full shelf on our products page.
From Apprentice to Hybrid Level 1 Stylist
The rung above Apprentice is Hybrid Level 1 Stylist — the first level on our published price list. New stylists receive a guaranteed paycheck while they build their book, and the salon advertises and brings in new clients for stylists who are building. That is the answer to the question every cosmetology graduate is actually asking, which is what happens between finishing school and having a full column.
From there the ladder continues through Level 2, Level 3 Senior Stylist, Level 4 Senior Lead Stylist, and Level 5 Master Stylist, with six cross-team tracks running alongside it — bridal travel, bridal coordinating, party and social planning, social media and marketing, onboarding and mentoring, and Aveda educator. The whole path is written out here, and the pricing attached to each level is published on our pricing page.
What we ask of an apprentice
- ✓Active Texas cosmetology license (or in the final months of school)
- ✓Strong work ethic and willingness to learn
- ✓Professional appearance and communication
- ✓Team-oriented attitude
The Rest of It
Weekly pay. No booth rental — our bridal team works on contract, everyone else does not rent a chair. A 401(k) and Aflac supplemental insurance, which is supplemental coverage rather than health insurance. Discounts on products and services for you and your family.
Full-time concierge staff at the front of the salon and support staff in the back. Great natural light, a beautiful salon, and fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies for clients. A culture built on respect and teamwork — and a salon that protects its stylists from aggressive or rude clients rather than expecting them to absorb it.
Start Your Career Here
Apply online and choose “Apprentice” on the form, or call (972) 378-0091 and come see the salon first.
Already licensed with experience behind the chair? See hair stylist jobs in Plano.