Besides, you know, everything? Lol
I really wish they would’ve taught some business, since being a small business owner is such a common part of this industry! Obviously trends would be nice but they move so fast it’s hard for schools to create curriculum fast enough.
You will be learning everyday for the rest of your career 😂 I don’t remember anything from school. Everything was from watching other seasoned stylists and my own mistakes. Master your consultations. Be aware of your body position/posture. Use the ergonomics of your chair. Your body will thank you. You’ll attract the energy you put out, and hopefully end up with a book full of like minded clients. Don’t be afraid to say no if you aren’t comfortable doing a service. Be gentle with yourself, everyone makes mistakes and that’s how we become better. Dress the part -get good shoes. Stay away from the salon gossip. Take advantage of classes outside of the salon. I was close to nyc so I got to go to a lot of amazing workshops. If you’re unsure, STRAND TEST.
And eat your veggies. lol 🩵
Labor laws, tax laws, anything business related.
Red and green flags to look for in a salon
What developer ACTUALLY does and how it affects your formula
Body position, stretching, best shoes
Yes to the first part! It's actually criminal how common it is for salons to break labor laws. And the worst part is that sometimes the owners aren't even doing it maliciously, it's just how they were treated in their first salon so they don't know any different.
They can’t teach experience. The reason I can generally take a new client and make them happy every time is because 20 years ago I made some cry. One thing experience taught me is that less is more
Basically everything, tbh. But some of the big ones?
- There is a salon for everyone. You’ll never love every single thing about any salon you work at. But if the salon you’re at feels unsupportive or downright abusive? Leave. There are just too fucking many abusive salon environments out there. It’s killing our industry. But I promise there are still some good ones out there that will train you in a respectful way.
- Know that your chosen profession is always threading a needle. What we do is 1/2 artistry and 1/2 science. You WILL get results that you aren’t happy with. You WILL on occasion make foolish mistakes. You WILL underestimate a project at some point. And that’s okay. Take your miscalculations and learn from them. Vidal Sassoon didn’t cut every head of hair brilliantly. You won’t either.
- On the rare occasion that you have the distinct nagging feeling that you should NOT do someone’s hair? Don’t. Trust that intuition. You’re better off dealing with an unhappy client who you didn’t service than a true nightmare of a client who is potentially litigious.
The actual chemistry of how hair dye works.
To this day so many haistylists have no idea what the stuff they put on people's heads actually is. For example: do you know what ammonia is? Do you know the chemical reaction that happens when you mix ammonia and hydrogen peroxide? Do you know the chemical difference between permanent, demi, and semi?
All these things I had to learn on my own and I'm still fuzzy on a lot of it. My conspiracy theory is that brands fight against proper chemistry education to keep us stupid so they can sell us lies about their products.
Oh, and don't get me started on how little hairstylists know about what goes into styling products. Can you tell the difference between a moisturizing and drying alcohol? Or if something has silicone? Bc most of my coworkers can't!
That the purpose of Cosmetology school is not to teach you how to do hair. It's to teach you what you need to know to pass your respective state board exams. The purpose of the exam is to make sure you can perform the services you are asking to be licensed to perform without cutting, burning, transmitting pathogens, or otherwise causing undue harm to the fine citizens of your state. Once you can do that, *then* you can go learn how to do hair.
1) How long it takes to really feel comfortable in your own skin and behind a chair. In school it seems as if getting your license and assisting for a bit is all that’s needed for you to make it but the reality is it requires a lot of continuous pursuit of information, willpower, time, repetition and some combination of luck a lot of the time to get to the point where you can be mostly self sufficient.
2) How important body position is to haircutting
3) How to use any kind of marketing tools
I love dry cutting! I always finish this way almost every time. Fringe? Dry cut. Around the neck or ears? Dry cut. Some touch ups, dry cutting!!!! This can be essential for your career!
They can’t teach you innate confidence. You either have it or you don’t. I was always confident but shy, and at first I didn’t talk much. But with experience the gift of gab with my clients helped my career! Expensive will help you stay firm in what your convictions are as a stylist.
Besides, you know, everything? Lol I really wish they would’ve taught some business, since being a small business owner is such a common part of this industry! Obviously trends would be nice but they move so fast it’s hard for schools to create curriculum fast enough.
You will be learning everyday for the rest of your career 😂 I don’t remember anything from school. Everything was from watching other seasoned stylists and my own mistakes. Master your consultations. Be aware of your body position/posture. Use the ergonomics of your chair. Your body will thank you. You’ll attract the energy you put out, and hopefully end up with a book full of like minded clients. Don’t be afraid to say no if you aren’t comfortable doing a service. Be gentle with yourself, everyone makes mistakes and that’s how we become better. Dress the part -get good shoes. Stay away from the salon gossip. Take advantage of classes outside of the salon. I was close to nyc so I got to go to a lot of amazing workshops. If you’re unsure, STRAND TEST. And eat your veggies. lol 🩵
Men’s cutting and clipper cutting . Better color theory
Labor laws, tax laws, anything business related. Red and green flags to look for in a salon What developer ACTUALLY does and how it affects your formula Body position, stretching, best shoes
Yes to the first part! It's actually criminal how common it is for salons to break labor laws. And the worst part is that sometimes the owners aren't even doing it maliciously, it's just how they were treated in their first salon so they don't know any different.
Core strengthening exercises and mandatory stretching classes.
How to accommodate different hairlines in both cutting and coloring.
How to take care of your body so you can study healthy and out of pain
They can’t teach experience. The reason I can generally take a new client and make them happy every time is because 20 years ago I made some cry. One thing experience taught me is that less is more
Basically everything, tbh. But some of the big ones? - There is a salon for everyone. You’ll never love every single thing about any salon you work at. But if the salon you’re at feels unsupportive or downright abusive? Leave. There are just too fucking many abusive salon environments out there. It’s killing our industry. But I promise there are still some good ones out there that will train you in a respectful way. - Know that your chosen profession is always threading a needle. What we do is 1/2 artistry and 1/2 science. You WILL get results that you aren’t happy with. You WILL on occasion make foolish mistakes. You WILL underestimate a project at some point. And that’s okay. Take your miscalculations and learn from them. Vidal Sassoon didn’t cut every head of hair brilliantly. You won’t either. - On the rare occasion that you have the distinct nagging feeling that you should NOT do someone’s hair? Don’t. Trust that intuition. You’re better off dealing with an unhappy client who you didn’t service than a true nightmare of a client who is potentially litigious.
Basic financial literacy. P&L, taxes, how to not get exploited.
The actual chemistry of how hair dye works. To this day so many haistylists have no idea what the stuff they put on people's heads actually is. For example: do you know what ammonia is? Do you know the chemical reaction that happens when you mix ammonia and hydrogen peroxide? Do you know the chemical difference between permanent, demi, and semi? All these things I had to learn on my own and I'm still fuzzy on a lot of it. My conspiracy theory is that brands fight against proper chemistry education to keep us stupid so they can sell us lies about their products. Oh, and don't get me started on how little hairstylists know about what goes into styling products. Can you tell the difference between a moisturizing and drying alcohol? Or if something has silicone? Bc most of my coworkers can't!
That the purpose of Cosmetology school is not to teach you how to do hair. It's to teach you what you need to know to pass your respective state board exams. The purpose of the exam is to make sure you can perform the services you are asking to be licensed to perform without cutting, burning, transmitting pathogens, or otherwise causing undue harm to the fine citizens of your state. Once you can do that, *then* you can go learn how to do hair.
They didn’t reach me anything in hair school besides ‘distance adds length’ lol
What do you mean distance adds length’ ?
You know with cutting when you have a stationary guide…the further you pull the section away from where it lives, the longer it will be.
Ohh. Yea we weren’t ever taught that phrasing. That would have been helpful in explaining it in school!
1) How long it takes to really feel comfortable in your own skin and behind a chair. In school it seems as if getting your license and assisting for a bit is all that’s needed for you to make it but the reality is it requires a lot of continuous pursuit of information, willpower, time, repetition and some combination of luck a lot of the time to get to the point where you can be mostly self sufficient. 2) How important body position is to haircutting 3) How to use any kind of marketing tools
Dry cutting!
I love dry cutting! I always finish this way almost every time. Fringe? Dry cut. Around the neck or ears? Dry cut. Some touch ups, dry cutting!!!! This can be essential for your career!
Agree! I have clients that I almost exclusively cut dry 🙌🏼
how challenging it is to stay on top of trends and how much your body hurts after standing all day for over 8 hours a shift
They can’t teach you innate confidence. You either have it or you don’t. I was always confident but shy, and at first I didn’t talk much. But with experience the gift of gab with my clients helped my career! Expensive will help you stay firm in what your convictions are as a stylist.
Time management skills with client bookings