Each year, thousands of would be hairdressers, take the time and trouble to learn new skill to become a hairdresser.

One of the main plus points in learning hairdressing skills, is that they give you a rounded set of skills, that can be transferred to other careers, people skills, working within a team and time management being the most obvious skills.

Many hairdressers fall by the way side early on, but I have seen some students spend up to three years hairdressing before they transfer to another career.  I remember being 16 and not really knowing what career path I would like to take, all you can do is to try something and see if it leads to something you take to, as in liking of the job and being able to do it.

When I started hairdressing I absolutely fell in love with the job, I loved meeting people, learning new skills and being challenged in more way than I could imagine. I will post my story up on to the web site to let you have a look in detail to how I began.

The real secret to becoming a good hairstylist, is the fact of loving the job, liking it is just not good enough, loving the career of a hairdresser is what will give you longevity and a way to perfect and hone your skills.

I noticed a junior stylist cutting hair, they had a client that was waiting for only 2-3 minutes, but the pressure it put onto this stylist to complete the client they were doing was evident. Instead of finishing the first client properly, they began to rush so they could do the next client and remain on time.  A senior stylist to over the 1st client and gave a polished finish to the haircut, this only took another 10 minutes, but the results were clear for all to see, the client left the premises happy with their new haircut.

The junior stylist began to work on the next client and had plenty of time to finish this client off properly. 

I remember when I got caught up with running late, I would purposely slow down and finish each client off correctly.  I used to think of it as “a bird in the hand is better than 2 in the bush”.  The client waiting could always get up and walk off and out of the salon, so it is more important to complete the client you are doing, and make sure they come back to you for their next haircut.  It is also good advice to take a little longer at the end of the haircut to polish off a haircut to retain a high standard of work.  

Enjoy your hairdressing.

 John Mcloughlin.