Cut, trim and shape hair or hairpieces, based on customers' instructions, hair type, and facial features, using clippers, scissors, trimmers and razors.

“Cut, trim and shape hair or hairpieces, based on customers' instructions, hair type, and facial features, using clippers, scissors, trimmers and razors.” is a core task performed by Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists. Among the occupation's 23 rated tasks, workers place it 21st by importance (#3 most important). About 91% of workers say it is relevant to their job.

This is a single occupation-specific task statement from O*NET. The figures below describe how central the task is to the job and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the task will be automated.

Work activities this task rolls up to

O*NET groups concrete tasks into broader work activities shared across many occupations.

• Groom or style hair. in Handling and Moving Objects

AI exposure

The OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rates this task E0. No direct exposure — current language models give little or no time savings on this task.

Exposure measures whether a model could meaningfully speed the task up — it is an estimate of overlap with model capabilities, not a measure of whether the work will be done by software. The study's intermediate score (β) for this task is 0.00. Automation potential label: T0.

How AI is actually used on this kind of task

The Anthropic Economic Index observes how people actually use AI on tasks like this one across millions of real conversations.

• 100% of interactions still needed a human in the loop

Observed AI use describes people choosing to use AI as a tool on this kind of task today. It is augmentation and assistance, not a measure of jobs replaced.

Other tasks in this occupation

• Keep work stations clean and sanitize tools, such as scissors and combs. · importance 4.6
• Bleach, dye, or tint hair, using applicator or brush. · importance 4.6
• Schedule client appointments. · importance 4.5
• Update and maintain customer information records, such as beauty services provided. · importance 4.5
• Demonstrate and sell hair care products and cosmetics. · importance 4.4
• Analyze patrons' hair and other physical features to determine and recommend beauty treatment or suggest hair styles. · importance 4.4
• Train or supervise other hairstylists, hairdressers, and assistants. · importance 4.4
• Massage and treat scalp for hygienic and remedial purposes, using hands, fingers, or vibrating equipment. · importance 4.3
• Shampoo, rinse, condition, and dry hair and scalp or hairpieces with water, liquid soap, or other solutions. · importance 4.3
• Operate cash registers to receive payments from patrons. · importance 4.3
• Administer therapeutic medication and advise patron to seek medical treatment for chronic or contagious scalp conditions. · importance 4.2
• Order, display, and maintain supplies. · importance 4.2
• Comb, brush, and spray hair or wigs to set style. · importance 4.2
• Develop new styles and techniques. · importance 4.1

See all tasks on the Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists page.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-task-636,
  title  = {Cut, trim and shape hair or hairpieces, based on customers' instructions, hair type, and facial features, using clippers, scissors, trimmers and razors.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/tasks/task-636}
}