Why Hairdressers Wear Black

Hairstylist wearing black — Photo: Gemenacom/Shutterstock

Q: Why do most hairdressers wear black?

A: It sounds like such an innocuous question, but there are very deliberate reasons that many hairdressers (and salons in general) choose black as a uniform color for their staff.

First of all, black is a timeless color and is usually good for a wide range of body types. Black is slimming and creates a "chic" esthetic that many people take for granted.

Secondly, black is a neutral color and doesn't alter the perception of colors placed near it. Therefore, a stylist wearing black can stand behind her client, and look at them in the mirror and know that they are seeing a truer representation of the client's color. Wearing any other color might make the client's hair appear different because of the refraction of the light and color in the hair.

It is also a high-contrast against lighter hair colors and allows the client and stylist to see the silhouette that is created by the cut and style more readily. In cases where the clients' hair is darker, the stylist will often stand to the side so that the dark hair doesn't meld into the backdrop of the black clothing the stylist is wearing.

Finally, as stylists are often working with hair colors and styling products that find their way onto the stylists' clothing, having black means that the stains are less likely to show and if they do (often due to the use of bleach), they can usually be "fixed" with the application of a laundry marker of fabric dye to restore the black color.

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