Potential young hairdressers are being put off by the 'drop-out stereotypes' associated with the job, something stylists are saying just isn't true.
Ken Picton, who has owned a salon in Cardiff for 30 years, says hairdressing has the reputation of a 'drop-out' job, though he says this is far from the truth.
Since 2012-13, figures show the number of hairdressing apprentices in Wales has fallen by forty percent.
"Hairdressing definitely had a point where lots of people were joining the industry - it was seen as an easy way to be a celebrity," he told Wales Online.
"Now that dynamic has changed a bit, I think people think that hairdressers have a certain type of stereotype behind them. People think it's just a drop out job - it's really not the case."
The health and beauty sector is worth over £6bn a year to the UK economy according to data published by The British Association of Beauty Therapy and Cosmetology.
According to the report, teachers and careers advisors need to be better about hairdressing and the advice they are giving to young people - with Ken claiming education is at the heart of why less and less young people turning away from a career in hairdressing.
"I think a lot of it comes down to the education structure. If you're doing well academically then you aren't encouraged to go into something like hairdressing," he said.
"People are marked by academia - it's just wrong. Some people may be really academic and love hairdressing, or some people are practically intelligent or socially intelligent. "
In Wales, foundation level hairdressing apprentices fell in Wales from 625 in 2012-13 to 375 in 2017-18, which Ken believes is down to major misunderstandings about the profession.
"It's not an easy job - it take, a lot of work. You can be an amazing hairdresser but it takes work," he says.
"You know we have some people here that say 'I never dreamed I'd be doing hairdressing' but they just love it."
Rachael Emanuel, a senior stylist at Yume salon, says that hairdressing is not valued as a career because it's part of the beauty industry.
"I've had customers say to me 'I wouldn't want my daughter working as a hairdresser' and I just think 'Why not?' It's hard work," she says.
"I think schools just want to get you through your A levels, but sometimes apprenticeships are so much better. Through their training, hairdressers get vocational on the job assessments. We do our NVQ in the salon where assessors come in monthly and assess us.
"You could be really academic and still want to do hairdressing," she says.
"Even if I won the lottery tomorrow I'd still do hairdressing because I love it."
There are currently four trainees at Yume and the salon say they actively encourage people from schools to work with them.
"We go into schools around the end of year, and advertise for apprenticeships and things like that - just giving young people something else to think about really," she says.
