10 things you need to know before becoming a hairdresser
Your ‘desk’ will have a table and a chair but you will never sit in it
Get those fitness trackers at the ready, because you will be taking steps. Being on your feet for a lot of your day is just par for the course with hairdressing which is great if the idea of sitting at a computer all day fills you with dread.
You will hear a LOT of stories
Some really interesting people will sit in your hairdressing chair, often for more than a couple of hours at a time. Each of those clients will have a different story to tell, and those stories may surprise and excite you. Equally, you may have clients who prefer to sit quietly and read a magazine. Either way, you will develop some pretty good interpersonal skills to read each situation, and strive to keep your client happy.
You will always be learning
Hairstyles change along with fashion, and so you will be constantly updating your skills as you work. Think about it this way; perms were huge in the 80’s but now the trend is more about curly blow dries or balayage. Did clients even know what balayage was 10 years ago? Probably not, but they have seen some celebrities (think Chrissy Tegan), opting for balayage and now they want it.
It’s all about practice
As with most creative jobs, you will only get better with practice and passion. Hairdressing is not simply about haircuts; it’s about cutting hair. Allow me to elaborate. To cut hair better than anyone else, you must know how a client’s hair grows, how to distribute the weight of it both vertically and horizontally. You must think about the client’s bone structure, their skin colour, their hair texture, their curl formation. This is not something you will learn straightaway but the more haircuts you do, the more clients that sit in your chair, the more you will see and the more you will learn.
You have to be safety conscious
This might not be one you immediately consider when you think about hairdressing, but there are a few important safety precautions that you most definitely need to be aware of when working in the hair industry. Cuts, burns, allergic reactions, trips and falls, are all real things in salons. It is your job to keep yourself, your client and the team of people around you safe.
You’ll feel like you don’t need to go to the gym
A day in the salon is full of transformations, talking and team work. Hairdressing is is a fairly physical job and probably one of the best arm workouts you will do each day is completing a perfect a blow dry!
There is huge potential to be your own boss
Whether your goal is to own your own salon, to rent a chair or to go mobile, you will be able to choose your own working hours, your pay (client list depending), and everything in between. Being responsible for marketing, finances, client lists and still getting to cut hair, might seem like you have landed your absolute dream career. If not, then you might find it working for someone else.
You have a skill that you can take anywhere
Maybe one day you might decide you are going to move to Europe; you can work there. You might decide to take a year out and backpack around Australia, New Zealand and Singapore; you can work there. You might decide to spend your summers in Scotland and your winters in Spain; you can work in both these places. When you have learnt the art of hairdressing you can take it with you wherever you go.
You will start to be obsessed with scissors
Scissors will become fascinating to you, you’ll start to observe the weight, size and specific purpose of each kind of scissors and develop a real desire to own numerous pairs! You’ll even have a favourite that you cannot /will not work without. (Disclaimer: This may also happen with your combs).
You will love helping people look and feel their best
Hair really does have a huge impact on how we feel about ourselves. Stepping into the salon and getting our locks transformed, can also transform how our clients feel about themselves. Lucky you, because you will make people feel good about themselves every day. In fact, most days you will get to make several people feel good. There can’t be many other jobs that you can say that about. Making a difference to people and how they feel – can you think of a better way to spend your day?
Bonus reason: you will finally figure out why hairdressers scissors have the little sticky out bit on them.
So, what do you think? Are you ready to become a hairdresser?
Click our courses below to see the courses we have available in hairdressing starting August 2019.