Friday 27 February 2015

The end of week 19

These weeks are flying by.
Here is what we have learnt this week.

How to do a uniform layered cut
It is done at a 90 degree angle.
Ashley was 4 marks off a C in Maths! Well done Ashley nearly there!
One side of the cut is easier to do than the other.
Its frustrating when you cant do it.
Its hard talking to the public
We know how to work our way up in hairdressing.
All about renting chairs and 50/50
We were inspired by our guest speaker.
Feel more confident about talking to people.
How to plan for an exam.
What different colours look like.
Mamoona has completed 5 units! Well done Mamoona!
We did really well with our questionnaires.
Lisa likes the shaun the sheep happy meal toy,
We cant wait to use our new temporary colours and products.
How to submit an assignment to moodle.

Thursday 26 February 2015

Guest speaker.

Today we had a guest speaker to talk to us about what it is like working in the hairdressing industry.
He went to college just like us.
He told us lots of interesting things like, how to be the one to get the job, the options available to us like renting chairs, managing and owning salons.
It turned out he was in the same class as Lisa when they were at college so it was good to see the different career paths they have taken.
 


We enjoyed today.

Wednesday 25 February 2015

Communication is the key to success.

We went out to a local town today to ask people where they have their hair done and why they choose to go there.
All ready to go, clipboards in hand.


We went with more confidence than we did the last time we spoke to the public which shows how far we have come. 
Here we are in action.


We got some great information to help us with our assignment. People were really helpful.

To get in from the cold it was coffee in Costa and a discussion about what we had found.

Of course we cant take Zahir anywhere without having a group selfie!










Monday 23 February 2015

Sophie Lancaster event. The catwalk!

After all the preparation it was time for the catwalk show!
First, Sylvia gave a short presentation about the night.

It was really busy.


Then the catwalk started










Some of us had some extra photos done too




What an amazing night and its not over yet! Next the entertainment!

Thank you 
Georgia Moore Photography
For the great photos!


















Sunday 22 February 2015

Sophie Lancaster event preparations.


Last week we did the hair and makeup for an event we were organising at college to celebrate everyone being different. It was a fundraising event for the Sophie Lancaster foundation.
She was a local girl who was brutally murdered just for looking different.
We all got involved, some of us even coming in on our day off just to be a part it all.

We worked really hard preparing the models. From hippys to goths, punks, to vintage we did them all!










All hands on deck.




We all worked really well and showed great teamwork.




Lisa and Mary helped us.

Next the makeup.






It's beginning to come together.







We soon got into character and after a big clean up, we went down to prepare for the catwalk show!










To be a bridal hairdresser.


Another great post from Rachael Gibson HJi, to help us see all the career opportunities available to us
So You Want to be a Bridal Hairdresser?
A women’s wedding day is the most special day of her life and one where she wants to look at her very best. It’s a combination that makes working as a bridal hairdresser one of the most rewarding, but also most pressurised jobs you can have in the hairdressing industry. 
Bridal specialist Andrew Miniark reveals the pleasures and perils of wedding work.
“Looking back, my hairdressing education feels like it was in double speed. I was doing a salon apprenticeship at Mario Hairdressing in Market Harboroughday release at Leicester Southfields College, where I completed my City & Guilds and Advanced City & Guild; and two evenings a week training in my mother’s salon.
“My mother was an amazing mentor. She passed on all the skills she had picked up in the 1960s – so I had a great foundation of classic and glamorous styling. Learning from her, I found that I was at my best and most creative working with long hair. So I started to enter avant-garde and evening hair styling categories at the NHF competitions around the country and did really well.
“Shortly after I qualified, my mother and I entered a bridal and bridesmaid styling competition and we ended up winning, which cemented my love of wedding and big event hair.
“Being a bridal specialist is far more than being a hairdresser and encompasses many roles. Firstly it’s about creating fabulous hair. I tend to have one or two trials to work through ideas and eliminate any styles that make the bride feel uncomfortable.
“More than hair though, I’ll help plan out makeup, give advice on dresses, and I can often end up as a confidante and help a bride work out problems in the run up to the big day.
“On the actual day, the most important quality you can have is a calm temperament! Things can go wrong, the bride can get emotional and you might have to change timings; so the ability to work under pressure and to short deadlines while meeting the highest of personal expectations is essential.
“This is a job that has taken me all over the world and it is such a pleasure to share someone’s celebrations. If there is a downside, it is that you always have to work weekends, but that is hardly a negative when you are around so much excitement and joy.
“If you think that bridal hairdressing could be for you than the most important skills you will need are personal ones. Be calm and organised and plan meticulously.
“My biggest tip for budding bridal stylists is to hide all the pins and grips, as having one on show ruins the perfect look. You also need to be true to yourself. Never big yourself up and say you can do something that you’re not sure how to do. Honesty keeps you positive and relaxed.
“Also never show nerves. When a bride starts to panic, always remember that a hairstyle can be changed in an instant.”

Wednesday 18 February 2015

You could be a TV hairdresser


After half term we are starting another unit. This one is all about different career opportunities. We will be posting all about the different things we can aspire to be.  Which one would you want to be? Its your future..

Many thanks to Rachael from HJi blog.

How to Land a Job as a Top TV Hairdresser

How to Land a Job as a Top TV Hairdresser
If hairdressing is your passion, but you also love the idea of being in front of a camera, working as a TV hairdresser is your dream job. The One Show’s resident hairdresser Michael Douglas reveals how he got his big break and what life as a television hairdresser entails.
“My hairdressing career began with an apprenticeship at Every Generation salon in Leyland, Lancashire, but I almost didn’t complete my training.
“About one year into it, after neutralising about 17 perms in one morning, I went to the local motorbike shop to ask for an apprenticeship. Thankfully they turned me down.
“Aside from rinsing perm lotion and removing and cleaning rollers (it was 1989), I have nothing but fond memories of working there – I can’t think of a better place to have started my career.
“When I was 18, I moved onto Gary Spencer in Preston and Southport, which was a huge moment in my career. He gave me the opportunity to teach hairdressing and sent me on the road that I am still on today. Two years later I got a job at Wella in London as a teacher.
“But my big break came about by chance. I was invited to a stag do in Budapest and it turned out most of the folk on the trip were from the TV and film business. I pitched myself to a development producer, Andy Abrahams, whose role was to come up with ideas for TV programmes.
We filmed a showreel of me presenting a pretend TV show in Camden Market where I would grab people in the street and cut their hair right there and then. The pilot was sent to the Discovery Channel and within a couple of weeks they had commissioned 30 episodes.
“My experience presenting with Wella had helped me develop a presenting persona, which helped massively when it came to making television. But television is one of those things that the more you do, the better you get.
“The job involves lots of early starts and long days. You constantly have to think of things to say that are informative and entertaining, but sometimes there are scripts to memoriseand present – which is the thing I find hardest.
“There is also quite a lot of voiceover work, which takes practice. Sometimes you might do the voiceover a couple of months after you filmed the show, so it can feel a bit weird.
“There are loads of positives of working in television. It’s great fun, you meet lots of interesting people and there is lots of travel. However, one of the things I find hard about it is that you have no control over the finished result – that’s all down to the director.
“If you’d like to pursue a career as a TV hairdresser, you will need a genuine enthusiasm for what you do, lots of self-confidence and great public skills
“I’d recommend you get someone to film you doing hair and then work on coming up with ideas that are quick and easy to explain, but aren’t too basic.”


Friday 13 February 2015

Half term is here!

It's been a very busy term with lots of things going on.
Here is some of the things we have learnt his week.

How to communicate with new people.
More about reception duties.
We have 2 assignments to do for half term, thanks Lisa! 
We can host a great event. ( blog post to follow) 
We can work under pressure.
Kirsty makes a great Goth.
We can do so much more than we thought we could.
The effects of damaged hair.
Even rubbing your hair damages it.
Wilson is wishing he hadn't had a perm now.
We all damage our hair.
We know why it is important to find out what damage a client has to her hair.
Our blog is getting famous!
How to improve our confidence. 
We love our blog.
We get on with people in the other group.
About skin testing.
What an incompatibility test is.
Lisa is always there for us.
What a porosity test is testing for.
Ratios. For incompatibility tests.
What a strand test is.
What development time means.
So much good stuff.

Happy half term everyone!

Monday 9 February 2015

Cinderella and Asian bride total looks

More assessments today for our 005 total look unit.
Today we had Cinderella.
Styled by Ashley and modelled by Molly.




And an Asian bride.
Styled by Charlotte and modelled by Demi.








Friday 6 February 2015

BBC calling!

I found this on the amazing Neal and Wolf blog!

Anyone interested? This could be you!

BBC Calling for New Entrants to Hairstylist Talent Show

Screen Shot 2014-10-17 at 13.22.22

There is good news for all of us that love hair styling, fashion and reality TV this week, as the BBC have announced that popular show Hair is to return for a second series.
Recording is due to begin shortly and we are likely to see more of the exciting cutting edge hairstyles, talented up and coming stylists and the drama of competition as they are placed against each other in a series of creative challenges.
Last year the eight young hopefuls were tested on the planning, creativity, presentation and execution of their ideas across a range of styles from plaits, braids, beehives, and bowl cuts, to perfectly-polished chignons, gravity-defying mohicans and Hollywood glamour.
The hopefuls were judged over the 6 episodes by royal hairdresser Denise McAdam and celebrity session stylist Alain Pichon, while Steve Jones presented the show in his cheeky and ever cheerful style.
This year is likely to see more of the same. And the great thing about the show is it’s not just for viewers entertainment, but it appears to genuinely give the contestants a stepping stone into their desired profession.
Last year’s winner, 25 year old Marvin Francis used the show to take himself from a self-taught hairstylist working at home to working on fashion shoots for some major magazines. Since the show ended all the finalists have remained in the industry, Katie is opening a salon, while Dominika is growing her hairstyling and make-up work.
If you’re a amateur stylist with a keen sense for style, why not enter this years show? Who knows where it could take you! The BBC are calling for applications from those with a passion for hair.
The rules are pretty simple, if you have no previous formal training or have not completed a NVQ Level 2 in Hairdressing then you’re eligible.
To find out more email hairstyle@bbc.co.uk
You can also see more information on last year’s show by visiting the Hair website where you can see sketches and photographs showing the journey from concept to completion of contestants ideas, clips from past episodes and meet the contestants and judges.
Neal and Wolf wish you lots of luck.

Wednesday 4 February 2015

Spatula!

We tried an alternative to to foiling today, SPATULA.
We sectioned, learnt what you can use it for and the spatula technique. 
First we used conditioner until we got used to it then we used colour so we could see what the effect was.
We were shown how to mix colour correctly using the scales and had to remember our maths lesson on ratios!  1-1, 1-2 and 1-1.5 
We love spatula, it's much quicker than foiling.



Didn't we do well!





Thinking of progression. The 3C's

With progression talks this week and interviews looming.
Its time to think about the next year of your life and hopefully moving onto level two of your programme.
Remember the three C's.



Tuesday 3 February 2015

A visit from an old student.

One of Lisa's old students came in for her hair doing. Lisa was amazed that it was 10 years ago that she first started teaching her. 
She is now an experienced hairdresser with her own business! 
She told us we were lucky to have Lisa as a tutor and that she learnt loads from her. 
We think we are too.
JayLeigh did a fantastic job on her hair.





Monday 2 February 2015

On Cloud 9

We were invited to a talk today by Neil Capstick who owns Cloud 9 straighteners and Neal and Wolf hair products.



He is a local man who told us how with determination and hard work you can make things work for you. He really inspired us.


He told us some funny stories then showed us his latest Cloud 9 inventions, then we got to play about with the Neal ans Wolf products to really see what they do. 
We liked them, a lot, they do the job, smell good and are very reasonably priced.
We look forward to meeting him again.


Working on skills

Working on more skills today from our skills sheets. 
We are working our way through them really well.
We worked on curling with wands and tongs, applying temporary colours, rollers, pincurls, 





The end of week 18

This week went really quickly, we were kept very busy.
Here is what we learnt.
Doing clients is fun.
We are getting through our assessments,
We like foiling,
How to do a really good blowdry with volume,
We met our models for the Sophie Lancaster event,
We got two more assignments to do,
We are getting quicker at foiling.
We met Neil Capstick,
We found out more about the Neal and Wolf products,
We know why they are called Neal and Wolf,
We felt inspired after talking to him.
If he can do it, we can!
He owns cloud9 too. 
Its hard getting to college in the snow.
We know who still has assignments left to do.
We all had a skin test done.