Apprenticeships in Hairdressing and Barbering, offer both the student and salon owner a way forward in training unskilled workers.

The benefits for the Student is a pledge, and framework, from the work placement provider to place them in a safe learning environment that will enhance their learning.

The benefits to a salon owner is that they will have a student that will be monitored by the apprenticeship provider, and also have a trainee that will not cost the salon owner too much in payment investment.

The area I would like to make understood is the urgency in learning.  I have seen over many years trainees being taken on and thinking they have a job for 2 to 3 years. The urgency to learn is almost taken away, although they are monitored, it is the more mundane jobs in the 1st weeks that will take priority, jobs such as sweeping and tidying up, greeting clients, making tea’s and coffee’s, shampooing, organising the towels, making sure the towels are clean and placed in the right area.

The second phase of learning comes with reception duties, answering the phone, booking clients, mixing tints and possibly applying some of the easier techniques.  As time moves on the colouring applications will get more complicated, but they will be trained in these techniques and become an integral part of the salons operation.

This is the time that I see no progression in the up and coming stylist, the salon owners have got them to a position that suits their needs, but the lack of training to push them forward to the next phase of learning, seems to get forgotten or at least put onto a back-burner, this limbo state, can suit the salon owner, the are getting the most out of their apprentice, and only paying a nominal sum to them in wages.

This is where the urgency of learning has to really kick in, you have to put yourself out, and others if need be, to learn the cutting part of your hairdressing education.  It will require a large amount of effort, but this is the part that will take you from an improver with little solitary skills to that of a junior stylist.

Once you have attained these skills, you will then have stand alone skills that do not tie you to a single hair salon.  The power of your learning program has changed emphasis, from the salon owner have the power of knowledge to you, having full power of your education.  Of course if your experience at the salon you have worked at has been a good one then you can happily stay there and reap the benefits of better pay and working conditions, but you now have the choice of doing or going anywhere you please.

Pushing yourself and the people who train you is very important, I cannot stress this enough, I have seen many improver’s stagnate, and not end up with any real skills they can take forward to another salon, these people normally move out of hairdressing due to different circumstances, poor pay, or working conditions, not feeling they are progressing, leaving the student with a regret that they have never completed their training, and have had to move on to another career.

So my top tip is to push through your training and complete it as soon as possible and develop an urgency of learning.

Lately I have noticed a few, new and up and coming stylist making a little mistake, and I would like to help you not to make the same mistake.

On the consultation it is ideal if you can picture the hairstyle a client is describing, and ask all the questions you need to make that picture as clear as possible.  Getting all the details as you can will help you assess exactly what a client is asking for, sometimes a client will actually bring in a picture, but make sure your understanding of it is the same as the clients, I have been amazed to hear the different views a client has on a picture.

I once made a big mistake, a client showed me a picture and said that they wanted their haircut just like the picture, no problem and off I began. After I had finished the haircut, the client said it was not really like the picture, confused, I looked at the picture and began talking her through the haircut, relating it to the picture. after a little while she stopped me and said, no not that picture, I was looking at the main picture on the page, she said it was this picture a smaller one on the same page she had not taken the time to point the picture out at it certainly was not the obvious picture, ah well, I did not do that again.

Another misinterpretation I have come across is, I have seen clients bring in a picture of a layer haircut and I will talk them through it and they will say, Yes, I want a Bob like this, and the picture clearly is not a Bob.

So my tip is have the same understanding of the haircut that your client wants you to do.  The junior stylist I have seen of late are still asking question part way through the haircut, and it is not very professional.  Ask you questions have a clear picture of the haircut, and then get on with it.

Good luck with your hairdressing.

John Mcloughlin.

Having the skills to blow dry correctly can take a little while to perfect, but getting the shape you or you client wants can enhance not only their hairstyle but sometime how thick or thin the clients hair is.

Clients that have fine hair want to make their hair look thicker while clients with very thick hair want to make their hair look sleeker.

Clients with fine hair will need a product that helps to hold their hair and give the effect of “Volumising the hair”, now there a hairdresser term. Promoting volume in the hair can not only make the hairstyle look better, but it can help improve how your client thinks about their appearance.

Client who have very thick hair and want a sleek look would be best using a serum based product, blow drying the hair with a Denman brush and then using straighteners to give that sleek look they crave.

When I started out in the seventies, the most important part of a hairstyle was the haircut, so I used natural ways of drying the hair, hardly using products, they were just not around then, and certainly not to the degree we have and use products today, we have something for every occasion or style it seems.

When blow drying back then I used my hands more than brushes, and I developed skills in getting lift in the hair, by pulling up from the roots, using heat to dry the hair then I used colder air from the hairdryer to “Fix” the lift.

Drying with my hands is something I still do to this day, It helps me to see my haircut better.

Look for waves in the blow-dry, what I mean by this is, if you dry the hair naturally, in the way the hair wants to naturally lie and you can see a wave for no reason, check your haircut, you may find that there is a little extra weight in your haircut making the wave, this way of blow drying help you to see these little weight area’s and correct them.

Give it a try and see what you techniques you can come up with, I like to put my fingers through the hair and blow around my fingers, it is almost like blow-drying around three or four round brushes, have a go.

Enjoy your hairdressing.

John Mcloughlin.

I feel like there is still some confusion as to what exactly my courses offer.  

My belief is that hairdressing is a practical skill, once you are shown the various methods and techniques, and practice these, this will help make you a good hairdresser.

An NVQ course can last between two and three years, and if you want to go on to teach, or get a good overall view of the skills needed to become a hairdresser, then this is the right way for you, my DVD’s will run alongside your NVQ training, and the DVD’s will be a bonus when it comes to understanding certain aspects of hairdressing, plus it will give you the added information that 30 years of being a salon owner will give you, and what a salon owner is looking for in a stylist.

If you want a fast track method, that has a proven system, then my DVD’s are the way forward.  The DVD’s show you the practical skills needed to become a hairdresser and there are no test’s, you, your friends, family and clients will be your indicator of how well you are doing at your hairdressing.

If you want to work in a salon no matter what qualifications you have, the salon owner will ask you to complete a skills test, normally this will be to complete one or two haircuts.  

From this skills test, this will let the salon owner know where you are in you training, and where you may need guidance to work for that particular hair salon. 

In my experience, I have found that no one completes an NVQ course and is ready to work alone or unsupervised in a salon, everyone needs some extra input to make them a complete hairstylist, this in part is why I first started the DVD’s, to give someone the whole picture and all the practical skills, hints and tips needed to become a complete hairstylist.

I hope I have answered and cleared up the difference between an NVQ course and how my DVD’s will work for you.

Enjoy your hairdressing.

Some times it is a little celebrity info from the TV, Victoria Beckham is wearing this particular look, or an event like the Oscar’s you can see celebrities wearing their hair is a different way.

Keeping in with you local hairdressing rep or agent, can also be a source for where they think the current trends will go. I tend to book a 30 minute appointment out for their monthly visit, this takes care of most of my ordering of stock for the month so it makes good time management sense, and it also gives me a chance to sit down with them so they can show their current offers.

I have dealt with most of the big companies over the years, but always remained loyal to Wella, because of there commitment to the trade, without fail, they produce an offer or incentive to help keep me motivated and up-to-date with what is going on throughout the country.

Look what is happening in the glossy’s, again this is another source of information, and it is when you put all this information together, the clues start to add up, you begin to get a clearer picture of where the hairdressing current trends are going.

Sometimes they do seem to heading in one direction, but a different look will take over, so go with the flow.

Clients will make suggestions to you, and not actually say they want it like a certain celebrity, but this is what they are trying to say without sounding too obvious.

So look for the clues and put them together to keep current with your hairdressing trends.

Enjoy your hairdressing.

John Mcloughlin.

I sometimes get asked to visit colleges in the area and give my opinions in various aspect of hairdressing.

I was recently invited to one of the college in the North West and sat in on a meeting with, heads of department, tutors, college lecturers, hairdressing staff and other business owners from the area.  When the meeting was finished I popped in to a few classes to see old friends and other staff members from the college.

While talking to some of the staff I was noticed one of the hairdressing students who was cutting someone’s hair, this student I was informed, was just finishing her NVQ level III, I noticed that her fingers when holding a section were very straight, in fact they were too straight.

The effect it was having on the haircut was to lose the natural head shape and make the haircut look hexagonal or like a 50 pence piece.

One of the methods I teach, is to visualise the haircut on the client and take into account their head shape, not just the face shape talked about on most college courses, but the actual head shape of the client.  This will give you a better guide to how long to leave the hair on top, back and sides of your haircut, and give you the over all shape needed to create the particular haircut.

I try to get learners to envisage a common house hold light bulb as the main shape of a haircut, and use the roundness of the bulb shape, to help shape your haircut.  If you do this it will also have the effect of rounding your fingers when taking your sections while cutting the hair.

So my tip for you is to round your fingers very slightly when cutting to improve the over all effect of your haircut.

For more hints and tips, check out: http://www.hairdresser-training.com/tips/

John Mc Loughlin

www.hairdresser-training.com

Insurance is one of the most regular questions I get asked about. 

Here is the answers I gave to get this insurance.

I will give you a Q&A of the type of questions I was asked, and the answers I gave to help you.

I wanted public liability insurance as a freelance hairdresser, with 14 months of experience.

I would work from home and other peoples homes.

I was to be a sole trader

I was to be insured to £1,000,000.00 (one million)

No other specific needs, such as loss of stock or earnings

No hiring of sun-beds

In the last 5 years, I have made no claims

The company name would just be my name

Approximate earnings of £12,000.00 - £15,000.00

I would not be working with asbestos, petrol of gas

I had no legal disputes with any companies or individuals

This brought back 5 quotes ranging from £52.50 - £136.50

The lowest was not compatible as it wanted me to have 2 years experience, but the 4 others had no stipulations.

I hope this information helps you gain this insurance

John Mcloughlin. 

PS the insurance group is: insurance-for-business.co.uk

Telephone number is Call 0845 026 1018

http://insurance-for-business.co.uk/ppc/tradesman2.html?ref_id=googleBG&s_kwcid=liability%20insurance|2454835733

For many years now, I have given something back to my business at Christmas, by choosing my best and most regular clients, and giving them a Christmas present.

I normal base the cost of the gift at two thirds of a blow dry service, this way I give something back and hopefully ensure the next years regular appointments, while also making a little on the service we give.

The other effect of regularly giving Christmas gifts is having a full house throughout the Christmas period.

If I was to give you the best advice I could possibly give to you in how to make and sustain a good clientele, it would be to share a little story of how I tried to do just this.

My first venture working in a partnership and leasing premises was with a female business partner.  We spent a lot of money on advertising campaigns and made ourselves available at every function we could think of, we had Friday nights at local haunts in our town and Saturday night’s frequenting a few of the local clubs.

This way we gave ourselves a high profile and grew a large friend base, I remember putting on a show and having people queue down the street to get into the venue, we had put ourselves out to maintain the highest of profiles, and we were the talk of the town.

We sustained this relentless effort for around 18 months, and at times it did wear thin. Although we have a good business this strain on the partnership became too much and we eventually went our separate ways.  I knew I had to rethink my approach, I did not want to go alone and go through all this upheaval and effort.

It came to me in a eureka moment, I had spent money, time and effort trying to make my friends my clientele, why did I not try to make my clientele my friends.  It is simple when you think of it this way, and I have never looked back ever since, I take a genuine interest in my clients and find out what they have been doing, it makes my life a lot more interesting, and that’s why I try to give a little thought at Christmas to my best clients.

I now have many good clients and friends, one of my clients has been coming to me every week for 31 years and has followed me to at least 9 different location, I think this is remarkable.  I have other clients who come from far and wide, some coming from abroad.

So remember the Christmas gift idea, it may help you to build a strong and large clientele.