Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild (IATSE Local 706)

Overview

The Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild, operating as IATSE Local 706, is the union representing make-up artists, hair stylists, and special effects make-up artists working in motion pictures, television, and commercials in the United States. Founded in 1937, Local 706 covers the full range of make-up and hair department work on union productions -- from the department head (key make-up artist or key hair stylist) through additional artists and daily hires.

The Guild's jurisdiction spans conventional beauty and grooming make-up through advanced prosthetic, creature, and special effects make-up work. The specialization divide between beauty make-up (which requires artistry and product knowledge) and prosthetic and effects make-up (which requires sculptural and fabrication skills) creates distinct career tracks within a single Local, and Local 706 covers both communities under its collective agreement.

Membership and Craft Categories

Local 706 organizes its membership by classification. Department heads -- key make-up artists and key hair stylists who carry overall department responsibility -- hold the highest classification with corresponding minimum rates. Additional make-up artists and hair stylists, body make-up artists, and special effects make-up artists hold separate classifications. The department head classification includes supervisory responsibility for continuity across the production and for coordinating with the director and DP on the visual presentation of performers.

Special effects make-up artists who work on prosthetics, animatronics, and creature effects often have extensive craft backgrounds in sculpture, mold-making, and silicone fabrication that go well beyond conventional make-up training. These artists represent some of the most technically demanding craftspeople in the industry.

Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards

Local 706 presents annual Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards recognizing outstanding achievement in make-up and hair styling across theatrical features, television drama, comedy series, and limited series. The awards span conventional make-up and hair alongside special effects make-up, prosthetics, and period/character design categories, reflecting the breadth of craft covered by the Guild's membership.

What Filmmakers Should Know

For productions, the make-up and hair department is often an early-preparation department with significant pre-production work in character design, screen tests, and prosthetic fabrication. Understanding Local 706's minimums and the distinction between beauty and special effects classifications helps producers plan realistic department budgets.

For genre and horror productions in particular, special effects make-up budgets are frequently underestimated. The labor and materials required for prosthetic character design, mold fabrication, and on-set application are substantial, and professional special effects make-up work requires experienced Local 706 artists.

See Also

For the broader IATSE structure, see IATSE in this directory. For the Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards, see the Film Awards Directory.