Careers at Elleven Salon · Huntsville, Alabama
Our Master Stylists were built here, not hired.
We teach stylists the craft properly, pay them while they learn it, and move them up when the skill is there. If you want a mentor and a path rather than a chair and a rent cheque, start here.
Four roles, four honest descriptions
Pick the one that matches where you are. Each says what the work is, what we ask, and what it pays — before you spend any time applying.
Associate stylist
This is the role we are actively hiring for. It suits someone who is licensed, or about to be, and would rather be coached hard for a year than guess for five. You want to learn colour properly, on real guests, with someone senior watching.
What you’ll do
- Assist a Master Stylist on their guests — formulation, application, finishing
- Take your own guests on opportunity days, as each skill clears its checkpoint
- Train on L’ANZA colour and the salon’s finishing standards
- Build a clientele on a plan, with the front desk and the floor helping you fill it
What we ask
- Two evening shifts a week, and every other Saturday
- Coachability — it is the single best predictor of who finishes this program well
- Reliability: you are there when you said you would be
- Ambition. Wanting to earn well quickly is a good sign here; the only ask is that you do the reps
Stylist
For a licensed stylist already working who wants a room that keeps raising the bar — education budgeted rather than promised, a colour line with somewhere to go, and colleagues who will tell you the truth about your work.
What you’ll do
- Take your own guests, consultation through finish
- Work L’ANZA colour, cutting and finishing; specialise into extensions or bridal if that is your direction
- Mentor an associate once you reach Senior — and be paid for that time
- Help set the standard newer stylists are measured against
What we ask
- Your licence, and standards you will not quietly drop on a busy day
- Availability that covers the hours guests actually book, evenings included
- Integrity with guests and with the team — shared guests, shared credit
Shampoo tech
A real way onto a salon floor. You will learn how a busy room runs from the inside, working next to every stylist in the building on their fullest days — and you get first look at associate openings when you are ready.
What you’ll do
- Shampoo, condition and treat, and make that the best five minutes of the visit
- Keep the floor moving so stylists stay on time
- Learn the L’ANZA range well enough to recommend it honestly
- Watch colour and finishing work happen, every shift
What we ask
- Reliability first — the floor plans around you
- Warmth with guests, and care about how they leave feeling
- Curiosity about the craft
Guest services
You are the first voice and the first face. This suits someone who enjoys running a busy desk well and genuinely cares that people leave looked after.
What you’ll do
- Greet, check in and check out every guest
- Own the Phorest calendar — bookings, changes, the waitlist, the gaps
- Answer the phone, the email and the Instagram DMs
- Know the L’ANZA range and recommend it well at the desk
What we ask
- Organised when it is busy, not only when it is calm
- Genuine with people, on the phone as much as in the room
- Discretion — you will know the whole day’s picture
The associate program
This is how most of our floor got here. You are paired with one or two Master Stylists by name, you assist on their guests, and you take your own on opportunity days as each skill clears. You move up when you are ready — the checkpoints are the same for everyone, and you will know what the next level asks of you before anyone asks it.
We keep it deliberately small. Being coachable matters more than arriving polished; the stylists who do best here are the ones who take a correction and use it the same afternoon.
Ask us for the earning range at each level — we will give you real numbers on the first call.
What you actually get here
Every line below should survive the question “what specifically?” If one of them doesn’t, ask us about it on the call.
A mentor with a name
One or two Master Stylists assigned to you, with regular check-ins on the calendar. Not “ask if you need anything.”
Education that is paid and scheduled
32+ hours a year on the clock — L’ANZA training, in-salon sessions and outside classes. Budgeted, not promised.
A ladder with published standards
Four levels. You know what the next one asks of you before you are asked to do it, and advancement is on skill, not seniority.
Guests you did not have to find
New guests go to stylists with room to grow, so a developing column actually fills instead of waiting on referrals.
A schedule you can build a life around
Tuesday to Saturday, closed Sundays and Mondays. Every week, not when it happens to be quiet.
Pay that does not punish the start
A guaranteed hourly rate while you are assisting, so learning the craft properly is not a pay cut you have to absorb.
How we hire
Four steps, and you will have seen the room and met the team long before anyone asks you to decide.
- Send an applicationJoie reads every one. You will hear back either way.
- A conversationPhone or video, about where you are now and where you want to be.
- A day with usShadow the floor, meet the team, and see the salon on an ordinary working day.
- An offerA final conversation with Becky, then a decision. We are selective, and we say so early.
Questions worth answering first
The things people ask before they apply. Filter by what you care about.
I am still in cosmetology school. Should I apply?
Yes. Most associates come to us straight out of school or close to it, and the program is built for exactly that. Apply now and tell us your expected licence date — we would rather start the conversation early than meet you the week you graduate.
How long does the associate program take?
Between ten months and two years. The range is real, not hedging: you advance when the skill is there, and people arrive with different starting points. Your mentor will tell you where you stand at every check-in, so the timeline is never a surprise.
Who will I be working under?
One or two Master Stylists, assigned by name when you start. You assist on their guests, they watch your work, and you meet regularly to go through what is improving and what is next.
I already have a year or two behind the chair. Is this still for me?
Often, yes. Experience shortens the program rather than disqualifying you. If you are technically further along, say so in your application and we will talk about where you would actually start.
What does an associate actually earn?
On assisting days you are paid a guaranteed hourly rate. On opportunity days — the days you take your own guests — you are paid commission or hourly, whichever is greater. Tips are yours on top of both.
Ask us for the figures on the first call. We will give you the real numbers rather than a range wide enough to be meaningless.
What hours will I work?
The salon runs Tuesday 8–8, Wednesday 8–7, Thursday 7–7, Friday 7–5 and Saturday 9–5. We are closed Sundays and Mondays. Associates are asked for two evening shifts a week and every other Saturday, because that is when guests who work book their appointments.
Is there booth rental?
No, at any level. Every stylist here is a W-2 employee on commission. You are not renting a chair, buying your own colour, or carrying the risk of a slow week on your own.
Do you pay for education?
Yes — 32+ hours a year, on the clock. That covers L’ANZA training, in-salon sessions and outside classes. It is part of the job, not something you fund yourself on a day off.
Will you contact my current salon?
Not without your permission. We know what it costs someone to look, and we will not put your current job at risk while you are deciding. If we get to references, you tell us when.
Can I bring my existing clients?
That depends entirely on what you agreed with your current salon, and we will not ask you to breach it. Plenty of stylists arrive with a book and plenty arrive without one — neither changes whether we want to hire you. Bring the question to the first call and we will talk it through honestly.
How long does hiring take?
Usually two to three weeks from application to decision, depending on how quickly we can get you in for a day on the floor. If it is going to take longer, we will tell you why rather than leave you waiting.
I am interested but not ready to apply yet.
Come to an education night and see the room with no obligation attached. Email Joie at joiehelleven@gmail.com, or send us a DM on Instagram at @hairelleven — just say GROW and we will know why you are writing.
Apply
One form for every role — choose the position at the top. A real person reads each one, and you will hear back either way.
Joie Hanahan
Huntsville, AL 35801
Not ready to apply? Ask about the next education night. It is a normal evening in the salon with the team, and nobody will treat it as an interview.