Why So Many Leave The Beauty Industry in 3–5 Years, And How We Keep Them

Tamara Reid
Sep 8
3 min read

Updated: Sep 8

Did you know? On average, many careers in the professional beauty industry stall out around the 3–5 year mark. I wanted to understand why - so I asked people who’ve left the industry what pushed them out.

The answers were honest (at times heavy) and incredibly useful for anyone leading a salon, clinic, spa or brand right now.

What leavers told me (in their own words)

“Straight up—the culture of being held back and not allowed to flourish.”
“No more growth where I was. Culture changed, and a new role popped up with more money.”
“Pay rate too low and I loved spa, but my wrists with massage and facials did not.”
“Working late nights and weekends, low pay, stress on the body, energy output.”
“Became a nurse after 10 years because I wanted job security, higher wages and more fulfilment.”
“Wage, and work/life balance.”
“I left the floor from physical pain.”
“The environment, unfortunately. I felt the heaviness in the industry and needed to work on my mindset.”
“Security, income, long hours. I couldn’t get income protection because of this industry.”
“I’ve left a few times for the bitchiness and bullying—also twice for babies.”
“To raise my babies and re-find my passion.”

The common themes

Limited growth (no clear path beyond the treatment room)
Wider industry culture (the “heaviness”)
Team culture (politics, bullying)
Low pay rates
Physical exhaustion (wrists, backs, repetitive strain)
Late nights & weekends
Mum life (and thin support structures)
Lack of regulation (and knock-on effects like insurance/income protection limits)
Unequipped leadership (great therapists ≠ trained leaders)
Client expectations (emotional labour, instant results)
Burnout
Industry isn’t as glamorous as imagined (hello, feet and vaginas)

Okay—so what do we do about it?

Here’s what leaders can put in place now to keep great people longer:

Clear career pathways Map roles beyond therapist: senior therapist → educator → clinic manager → operations → BDM/brand roles. Show the ladder and how to climb it.
Community over competition Create peer circles, mentoring, and safe spaces for case reviews. Normalise asking for help.
Support the humans, not just the KPIs Regular 1:1s, mental health days, realistic targets, and access to EAP/wellbeing support.
Price for people, not just products Lift menu prices to sustainably fund wage progression and benefits. If your margins can’t carry fair pay, the menu is underpriced.
Share the physical load Stagger high-strain services (e.g., massage blocks), rotate modalities, and invest in ergonomics and micro-breaks.
Flexible, rotating rosters Weekends and late nights shared fairly. Offer split shifts, school-hours options, and roster visibility weeks in advance.
Better parental policies Paid parental leave where possible, phased return, job-share options, and predictable hours.
Self-regulation and standards Adopt best-practice protocols, documentation, and safety even where regulation is light—this helps with insurer confidence and client trust.
Leadership training (not just promotion) Teach feedback, conflict navigation, coaching, and performance conversations. Don’t throw new managers in the deep end.
Transparency with clients Set realistic outcomes, aftercare, timelines, and boundaries—reduce emotional burnout by aligning expectations upfront.

(Nothing to solve for the feet and vaginas—sorry. Occupational reality.)

The “boomerang” effect: many come back—and thrive

Surprisingly, several people who left eventually returned—and are now loving it:

“I’ve been in the industry 25 years but took time off after year 10 from burnout. I now run two businesses and back myself with lots of training and self-care. We need to ensure therapists are qualified and ready when they leave training, and gift tools so we don’t burn out young.”

“For all the things I didn’t like 18–20 years ago, those are the things that brought me back in the last four years—connection, energy, flexible hours, improved education, client experience and touch.”

It’s not all doom and gloom

It’s worth celebrating that more than 32 people told me they’ve stayed in beauty 20–33 years. Longevity is possible when growth, culture, pay, and wellbeing align.

If you’re a salon or clinic owner

Audit your menu pricing and margins with wages in mind
Publish a career ladder and talk pathways in every 1:1
Put leadership training on the calendar (and budget)
Redesign rosters for fairness and flexibility
Implement physical load management and wellbeing rituals

If you’re a therapist on the edge of burnout

Ask for a pathway convo—what’s next and how do you get there?
Track strain and satisfaction by service; request smarter scheduling
Ring-fence education and recovery time like you would a client booking
Remember: leaving doesn’t have to be forever. Sometimes a pause is the path back.

Bottom line: People don’t leave because they don’t care. They leave because the job, as currently designed, asks too much for too little. Redesign the work (pricing, pathways, culture) and we’ll keep our best people for far longer than 3–5 years.

Victoria University is currently carrying out research to continue to dig into this topic. You can have your say too by completing this form