Basic education for a hairdresser: what do you need to know and understand?

Our Instagram page recently hosted a live broadcast on the topic “Training hairdressers from scratch: what do you need to know and understand?”, the subject expert of which was Pavel Butylsky , hairdresser-fashion designer with 30 years of experience, master expert at Sandler Wellness & Aesthetics, director Hairdressing schools, training class of Pavel Butylsky (2005-2011).

Read the material for a few important points.

What is basic education?

Basic education is training from scratch to qualification as a master hairdresser. During my teaching, we had a state license to conduct educational activities and, based on this, a specific state program for training hairdressers. It lasted 5.5 months.

Looking back, I think this is too long, 3 months would have been enough. And what is this program? I like to say jokingly that theater begins with a hanger. When guys came to us for training and asked: “Are we going to do fashionable haircuts and coloring?”, I answered them: “No, we will start from scratch and learn very important little things that you might not even think about.”

The learning process begins literally with studying the interior of the cabin, where everything is and should be, ventilation. Then study the equipment and tools that are used in the work. If a master doesn’t know how to organize a workplace, it’s terrible. What should the chair be like, the distance between the chairs, how the sinks are located, what types of them exist.

Next is the study of tools, types of combs, scissors, curlers and clamps. Then you need to get used to working with hair, feeling it, understanding whether it is thick or thin, whether there is a lot of hair or not enough. The master must get used to the material with which he will always work.

Then they learn to comb their hair; they have their own rules and methods. This is preliminary preparation for subsequent procedures.

Then comes the hair washing step. By the way a person washes his hair, it is clear what level of training he has had. This is one of the first services, this is where it all begins. Haircut, coloring, styling and curling depend on the quality of washing.

Next, hairdressers are trained in hairstyles, coloring and only then – cutting. This is the path that a master goes through during basic training.

If a person is trained specifically in coloring, should he be able to cut and do hair?

There is such a trend now, and I believe that if you are a colorist, it is better to master and develop in this direction. Most likely, in-depth knowledge about hairstyles or haircuts will not be useful to you.

But in order for a colorist to paint well, he must know the basics about washing and preparing hair.

This is important in order to demonstrate the result of your work to the client. If you simply dry your hair after coloring, the client will not have the same wow effect as if the hair had been styled. On the one hand, this is not necessary, but on the other hand, it is necessary to sell. These can be the most basic, rather than complex, points.

State training at a school or a private author’s seminar or course?

Everywhere has its pros and cons. For example, in government institutions I have a big question about the knowledge of teachers and teaching. This is my personal observation. Colleges are often taught by students from those same colleges. A teacher who only teaches cannot teach everything in full.

The downside of proprietary schools is that they often don’t teach basic details. There is a shortened program and they start cutting hair right away.

My opinion: it is better to take a base at a state institution and then go to various proprietary courses and gain knowledge there.

⠀What gaps in the knowledge of beginner masters are most common?

It often happens that a person comes to apply for a job and does not know how to organize his workplace in a basic way, to lay out his tools - this gives away. They come with one comb for all occasions, and there should be at least three of them.

Watch the full broadcast here .