Talents and Skills to Become a Good Hairdresser

Hairdresser and client — Photo: Shutterstock

Anyone can cut hair. But not everyone can be a good hairdresser. It is not rocket science to learn the techniques of cutting and coloring hair, but it takes so much more to be really good in this exciting profession. Beauty school and/or an apprenticeship in a good salon can give you all the tools that you need, but what will make you different from anyone else and help you succeed are your personal talents, skills, and inclinations.

Let me begin, however, with the most important ingredient. It is neither a skill nor a talent. It is the driving energy that makes us good at anything we do, and without it, we wouldn't even have fun working. It is passion. To be an excellent hairdresser, you have to love what you do. If you dream it, live it, and if you can't get enough of it, you have the perfect start.

Passion leads to enthusiasm, which, besides being wonderfully contagious, is the basis for any artistic and creative work. Without those inner sparks, no great work can come to life.

And yes, you should be an artist. Even simple styles require a sense of balance and a steady hand.

Be a sculptor. Sculptors have to be able to envision what they want to produce in a mass of unshaped material. As Michelangelo once put it: "I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free." Do you see the style and the finished look in the mass of hair?

Be a painter. Understand not only the basics but also the magic of mixing colors, combining color profiles, using light and shadow as well as interactions of warm and cold colors next to each other. For example, when hair is colored in different tones and with contrasting hues. Be able to apply paint with a brush in a precise and controlled way and to create seamless transitions between the shades.

Stylist giving hair advice — Photo: Shutterstock

Be a designer. Some people are more creative than others who would rather stay on the safe side and repeat what others have done before. Creativity is not only necessary to create the extravagant and postmodern looks we see on the catwalks. As a creative person, you see things that others don't. It's as simple as that. In your mind, you are able to visualize all kinds of shapes and colors and put them together.

It is a big challenge to help someone find the perfect look and give advice. If you only have a limited number of hairstyles that you are comfortable with and cannot think outside the box, your success will be limited as well.

Be a great listener. No matter how creative or artistically and technically advanced you are, it won’t do any good unless your customer is happy. And they are only happy when they leave the salon more beautiful than when they came in and feel that all of their wishes were fulfilled.

To understand the wants and needs of someone, you have to listen carefully to what they say and also understand what they are not saying. This is where the next item on this list comes in.

Be a psychologist. Know what to do with the information that you heard. Put two and two together. Listen between the lines and understand the motivations of your customers. You have to be able to build a rapport with your customers and get to know them. Understand what they mean when they talk about the "transformation" of their hair, which often means a transformation of themselves.

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