Delaware Hair School and Requirements

Hairdressers in Delaware need to have a cosmetology or barber license. Unless you only want to braid hair, you can only provide hair services if you go through training.

Browse our directory of hair design schools in Delaware, or skip ahead to learn about the state's hair design licensing requirements and job outlook.

Delaware Licenses for Hairdressers: Which To Choose

You can't do hair—except braiding alone—without a cosmetology or barber license in Delaware. Hair braiders don't need a license but generally have years of informal training from friends or family members.

The most significant difference between cosmetology and barber licenses is hair length. Cosmetologists can work with long or short hair, though long hair is more common. Barbers almost exclusively work with short hair. Neither career is limited to working with one gender. However, people who identify as female are more likely to visit cosmetologists, and people who identify as male are more likely to see barbers.

Barbers in Delaware go to school for 1,250 hours or an apprenticeship for 3,000 hours, while cosmetology apprenticeships are the same length and school is only an additional 250 hours. Both focus on hair, but cosmetologists can also perform nail and skin services.

Which license you choose depends on what you want to do!

READ MORE: Learn More About Delaware Cosmetology School

READ MORE: Learn More About Delaware Barber School

Delaware Hair Professional Salary

As of 2022, hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Delaware earn an average of $38,020 annually. This doesn't include self-employed or freelance hairdressers, though, which may be what you want to be. It also doesn't show the differences between people employed by chain or boutique salons, living in rural or urban areas, or working for ten days or ten years. Talk to a current hairdresser in your area and field to learn more specifics about how much you could earn.

Contact the Delaware State Board of Cosmetology