10 Ways You Use Maths in Hairdressing Without Even Knowing It

With the GCSE results looming I found this great article by Racheal Gibson at HJI all about how we need Maths to be hairdressers. Have a read!

Thank you Racheal.

Maths and numbers are central to many tasks we all do every day and hairdressing is no exception. Although you might think you’re “bad at maths” because you didn’t do well at it at school, you’re using it all the time at work, probably without realising it.

Here are just 10 of the ways you are using maths in hairdressing without even knowing it.

1. Planning your time

Even simple tasks such as booking appointments involve a basic grasp of how numbers work, especially to estimate how much time you’ll need with each client throughout the day so you don’t keep anyone waiting.

2. Stock management and ordering supplies

Running out of products is every hairdresser’s worst nightmare, so being able to manage your stock accurately and order enough of the right products is really important. If you can count and do basic sums involved in stock control, you can do maths.

3. Taking payments and giving change

This is probably the most obvious way you use maths in the salon every day. Understanding how treatments are priced so you know what to charge customers and what change to give them is vital to your work.

4. Colour treatments 

Understanding quantities is an important part of any hairdresser’s job, particularly when it comes to colour treatments. To select the right developer and measure the right proportion of products to get the results your client wants, knowing how volume and ratios work is essential.

5. Sectioning hair for colouring, cutting and styling 

Being able to section hair means having to understand shape and space, a key concept of the maths learning we all do at school. If you can section your clients’ hair properly, you can do maths!

6. Getting the cut right 

A haircut is more than just knowing how to use a pair of scissors. Understanding angles, lengths and shapes are key maths concepts that are the most important part of getting a haircut right. You wouldn’t be able to give a client the perfect asymmetric bob without them.

7. Washing hair

Neither you nor your client wants their scalp scalded! Understanding temperature to make sure it’s just right involves a knowledge of maths, as does estimating how much shampoo, conditioner and treatments your client needs for their hair.

8. Interpreting numbers

Many products you use in the salon are numbered to indicate their strength or colour. Being able to interpret these numbers and knowing what they mean is a part of mathematical understanding, so if you get it then you can do maths!

9. Running a salon 

As with running any business, maths skills are essential to calculating profits and outgoings, including rent, bills and paying your stylists. Even if you’re not running the salon, you’ll still need to check you’ve been paid correctly and understand your payslip.

10. Spatial skills 

If you’re considering starting a salon or you’ve already opened your own, making decisions about the design of your space will have involved more maths than you’d think. Understanding the space, measuring for fixtures and fittings, and working out how many workstations and sinks to fit – all involve mathematical understanding.

If you’re not as confident with maths as you’d like to be but don’t know how to improve, sign up for the National Numeracy Challenge. The site is simple to use and can tell you the areas that you could do with some practice on, as well as giving you the resources to learn. Find out more.

by Rachael Gibson on August 9, 2015  in Career, Future Talent

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This could be you!

I Want That Job! 

Sophia Hilton is the art manager at Brooks and Brooks and a former winner of both HJ’s Newcomer of the Year and the L’Oreal Colour Trophy. She educates for L’Oreal Professionnel and works on hairdressing shows and shoots across the county. Here, we find out more about her career so far.

 

When did you decide you wanted to be a hairdresser?

I’m from a family of seven hairdressers, but surprisingly I didn’t want to be one to begin with. Instead I studied fashion and business. When I mentioned to my career adviser that I was thinking about leaving my course, she was disappointed as I’ve always been both creative and academic. Even my mum was a little disappointed at first.

After I became interested in hairdressing, I remember telling my mum how I wanted to create a hairstyle to look like a parrot. I remember her saying, “oh but darling, you don’t make money from stuff like that.” Well, guess what? I do! I do all kinds of weird stuff and I get paid for it now! Though I must admit, I haven’t done a parrot yet!

Where did you train?

For most of my training I went to collage two days a week, worked in a salon for one day, and converted a room in my house into a mini salon for the fourth. The fifth day was spent working on competitions. By the age of 21, I’d won 19 medals in traditional competitions all over the country. I was obsessed. I lived by myself from the age of 17, so for most of my training it wasn’t viable to be an assistant full time.

What was your first job like?

It was alright, nothing too exciting. To be honest, I went through six salons before I found the right place here at Brooks + Brooks, which was six years ago. I finally found a place I loved, a place that would challenge me. I got frustrated at how slow the training was in other salons, I always wanted to run before I could walk.

Why did you decide to enter for HJ’s Newcomer of the Year?

I actually entered the year before I won and made it to the finals. I had just taken a sabbatical off work to volunteer in Madagascar teaching hairdressing and Sally, my salon manger, said that she would understandably not be willing to put up the full budget if I was running off to save the world. So I had two choices; to take full budget for the shoot and stay or take a grand and go. I chose the small budget and don’t regret it for a second. I got to live my dreams in Madagascar and have a good practice run.

How did winning Newcomer of the Year help your career?

It has been huge to be honest. People are more aware of who you are, especially as I won the L’Oreal Colour Trophy in the same year. I’m very aware of those that didn’t give me time before winning though, and think everyone deserves the same respect, trophies or no trophies. I now spend a lot of time helping other people. I love education and I love mentoring. I have conversations with young hairdressers I’ve never met through Instagram, text and email, often helping them through the things I was struggling with five years ago. It’s quite time consuming but we all must remember we were in the same position once.

How important is it to work with a salon that are understanding of your work outside of day-to-day clients?

For me, it’s very important. But it takes time to earn respect and to get a salon to be more flexible in this way. You can’t expect to have that straight away. These days I spend my mornings in the office co-coordinating our creative department and the afternoons working on about five clients. At least once a week, I’m doing some sort of teaching, seminar or show and I still get to go abroad a few times a year. I worked hard to be in this position; I used to do everything in my day off. Sally is very fair when it comes to my creative work because it benefits the business.

What’s been the highlight of your career so far?

A big highlight at the moment is teaching a young boy called Adam. He’s only 11 years old and has been doing hairdressing of dolly heads at home for two years already. His mum came to me after a show feeling completely lost because she didn’t know what to do with him. So now he’s coming every summer holidays to train with me on my days off. He’s astounding and I’m very proud to be working with him.

What’s your next career goal?

Secretly, I’d like to do Noise. But I won’t rush it, I’m going to wait until I feel I have something fully formed and worthy of such an epic event.

What piece of advice would you give your student self?

Don’t rush your training like I did. You only have to relearn stuff again and its never the same. Do it right, learn it well and become a good stylist. Oh – and be nice to people.

Thank you again to Rachel Gibson from HJi for this post.

We dont make mistakes! just happy little accidents.

I saw this on the HJi blog and had to share it with you.
Number 12 is my favourite. What's yours?

12 Cringeworthy Mistakes You Made in Hairdressing School

By Rachael Gibson on April 16, 2015in Career, Future Talent

Mistakes are all part of the fun of hairdressing school and always teach you a valuable lesson – here are some of the funniest that you shared with us on Facebook.

1. “The clipper grade fell off and instead of a Grade 4, he got a Grade 0 strip right down middle of head! Whoops… Glad it was my dad!” Krysia

2. ”A lady got wet when being shampooed, so we put her top in the drier and put a gown over her. Unbeknown to the stylist, following her cut, he promptly whipped the gown off to leave the poor lady sitting in just her bra! Hysterical!” Kathryn

3. “I forgot to put the perm neutraliser on one side of the head. She came back the next day with one side straight and other with beautiful curls! It looked like a perm the day before… She wasn’t very impressed but what do you expect for $10!” Christine

4. “I was busy rinsing a perm when one of the rollers fell out with all the hair still nicely wrapped around it! Had to keep my poise and the client never found it. Luckily it was only that one roller!” Annette

5. ”I cut off the top of a clients ear slicing through a crop. She sneezed! Not my fault!” Christine

6. “My gum fell out of my mouth while washing hair. Landed right on his forehead – luckily he found it funny.” Tania

7. “Did a great perm at collage then started cutting and I cut the lot off! Well, she did say short after all!” Angela

8. “As I went to the reception for a client to pay for the cut I’d just done, I noticed she still had a long hair on her face. As I went to wipe it off her I realised it was attached.” Leanne

9. “I didn’t know what OAP prices meant. When the clients come to paying, I would ask every single one if they paid OAP prices! I thought it was a VIP type of thing.” Laura

10. “Used the highlight formula as the base and the base in the scattered foil. Hmm, that was not a happy client.” Angie

11. “Shaved a guys mole off in his neck hair… What more can I say? Blood everywhere. He still came back ‘cos liked his hair!” Paula

12. “I cut a man’s combover off! He asked for a little off and about 5″ fell to the floor when I only cut about 1″! He was patting the top of his head and yelling at me, and didn’t pay. The next day, a lady came in to pay for his cut and gave me an extra $33. When I asked what it was for, she said it was a dollar for every year she had been trying to get him to cut the damn thing off.” Whitley

Want to see the world?

If anyone fancies working abroad, read this article by Rachael Gibson from HJi 

Expert Advice for Hairdressers Working Abroad

Working abroad is an exciting opportunity for any hairdresser, providing the opportunity to fly the flag for British hairdressing internationally while boosting your profile on a global stage.

But presenting to an international audience isn’t all 5* hotels, sell-out audiences and high-profile shows. Here, we speak to three hairdressers who spend their lives presenting abroad to find out the reality behind travelling the world with work.

Skyler McDonald, seanhanna, Putney

Where have you presented internationally?

Europe (everywhere!), New York, Las Vegas, Malaysia, Mumbai, Bahrain, Dubai, Australia

What do you enjoy most about presenting abroad?

I love connecting with different audiences. It is always exciting working with different teams and every country has its own unique vibe.

How difficult is it to scout models when you’re abroad?

I think finding models is always hard and finding models that reflect our brand values is always the challenge. But with thought and perseverance, we usually do OK

Is it hard to get models who are willing to undertake the transformations you’re planning when you’re working abroad – especially if there’s a language barrier? 

This really does depend on the country I am working in. I found the Middle East quite challenging getting co operative models. But in Europe this is usually not a problem.

How difficult is it to get all the kit you need out with you?

It’s definitely getting harder – airlines are far more strict with their weight allowances than they used to be, even a couple of years ago. I do have to put more thought into how we deal with this. I try and get my team to travel as light as possible so we can all share the weight allowances for products, tools and styling. 

Do you have any top tips for hairdressers who might be travelling abroad to work for the first time?

Clearly agree everything upfront. If you want full control over your models make sure you say this – if you don’t, you might find that the company you’re working with has organised your models for you. Even things like excess baggage can be problematic; it’s important to agree what is acceptable and who is responsible before you sign any agreement. 

You also need to agree what happens in the event of your booking being cancelled, either by you or by the company. Make sure you are fully insured in case of any unfortunate illness and accidents while you are away. Finally – enjoy the experience! 

Mark Woolley, Electric Haidressing

Where have you presented internationally? 

All over the world, from Australia to Asia to the USA and all over Europe.

What do you enjoy most about presenting abroad?

Representing and presenting British hairdressing and absorbing ideas from other cultures. You never stop learning there is always a new technique or inspiring collection you have never seen before – creativity feeds creativity.

How difficult is it to scout models when you’re abroad?

Traditionally you would need to use an agency but social media has opened up a whole new array of platforms to source models – for Cosmoprof we simply tweeted and posted on a Italian Model website/blog and over 30 models turned up at the screening. 

Is it hard to get models who are willing to undertake the transformations you’re planning when you’re working abroad – especially if there’s a language barrier?

It has been known! You can always communicate through visuals if language is a barrier.

How difficult is it to get all the kit you need out with you?

Over the years you learn to refine your essentials and get it all in an on-flight case.

Do you have any top tips for hairdressers who might be travelling abroad to work for the first time?

Don’t pack £500 scissors in your hand luggage – trust me I know what happens!

Isabella Hyde, House of Rush, Piccadilly, London

Where have you presented internationally?

Last year was my first international presentation. I first headed to South Africa and then a month later I went on to San Diego, California. It was without a doubt the highlight of a year on the FAME team! 

What do you enjoy most about presenting abroad?

The biggest enjoyment is all the new faces. People seem to be extremely attentive to ‘London’ hairdressers and all the hosts are so friendly and make sure you enjoy every moment of the trip.

How difficult is it to scout models when you’re abroad?

I found it differs with each trip. We went to South Africa with ghd and styling was the main focus. We had pro models who were all lovely, cooperative and relaxed as we kept their hair as it was and used styling techniques to present. 

Restyling can be difficult – in California, Unite had street-cast a variety of girls as there was not enough time for us to do it ourselves and prep for the shows. This meant the models were varied in looks and flexibility towards changing their hair – I waited for an edgy model who was open to change and was lucky to find one show up, although other models I had to sweet talk into it a bit more! 

Both trips so far have been English speaking, but I’m sure talking with an interpreter is not so easy – I hope to find out soon and have an international trip with RUSH.

How difficult is it to get all the kit you need out with you?

Luckily each time I have been away all of the kit has been provided – you can have difficulties with power voltages causing naff hair dryer situations and of course HEAVY luggage!

Do you have any top tips for hairdressers who might be travelling abroad to work for the first time?

Be prepared to be open-minded with style options and be prepared to improvise on ideas; you have to suit the models made available and they may not be the typ
e of model you had in mind. 

I would also recommend that you pack Alka-Seltzers as late nights/networking/entertainment/ early mornings are probable. Keep fit and eat well before the trip too, as energy is required to help you through the long flights, jet lag, hard work, prep, shows, and after parties!

Paul Falltrick, Paul Falltrick Hairdressing, Romford, Essex

Where have you presented internationally?

I have worked in so many different countries including the USA, Japan, Canada, Barbados, Thailand, Philippines, China, Morocco, Australia, Spain, Austria, Romania, Ireland, Hong Kong, Scotland, France, Taiwan, Russia, Italy, Portugal, Czech Republic, Turkey, Bratislava, Tenerife, Sweden, Belgium, Prague, Mexico, Poland, Greece, Ukraine, Hungary and Germany…

What do you enjoy most about presenting abroad?

Working internationally is always really special as you get such as buzz from different markets – each one is so diverse. The audiences can be much bigger when working abroad too which provides a great networking experience and fresh inspiration.

How difficult is it to scout models when you’re abroad?

The majority of work I do abroad is on behalf of Matrix Haircare as part of the Global Design Team and in these instances I’m normally taken straight from the plane to a model casting. We normally work closely with a model agency in the country we’ll be presenting in, supplying them with a brief prior to the trip – they then set up a casting of 100 or more models, which I will personally whittle down to around 12 depending on the looks we’ll be creating.

Is it hard to get models who are willing to undertake the transformations you’re planning when you’re working abroad – especially if there’s a language barrier?

Working internationally can be difficult initially but the more you do it, the more it becomes second nature. I’ll bring mood boards and my iPad to castings, working on a very visual rather than spoken basis with models in order to explain the transformations we’ll be doing. Matrix also always provide me with a translator too, so I have someone on hand that can help me communicate with the team where needed.

How difficult is it to get all the kit you need out with you?

When organizing my kit for presenting abroad, I’ll always take as much as I can,; in particular my favourite formulas incase they haven’t launched in the particular country I’m flying to. It’s always a bit unnerving to hand over my luggage with scissors, styling products and everything else I need but it has to be done – I haven’t lost anything to date so fingers crossed that remains the case. In terms of products, I’ll always have a meeting with Matrix before flying to my destination to discuss what the team and I will need whilst away and they tend to arrange its delivery to the destination.

Do you have any top tips for hairdressers who might be travelling abroad to work for the first time?

Do your homework. I can’t stress the importance of research enough when you’re working abroad. The cultures and trends can differ so vastly, so you need to have done your homework to make sure you’re ready to hit the ground running when there.

Take wefts with you/ Don’t work under the misconception that hair will be provided for you, it’s always best to take what you need just in case.

Work out your terms: If you’re travelling on behalf of a product company, ensure you discuss the partnership in detail e.g. whether they’ll be covering expenses, if you need to bring products etc. before you depart.

Be prepared: I always make sure I have local currency to hand in case I need to call a cab once I land and also have all the important details of my contacts in the country and at home noted down.

Sleep as much as you can. Presenting internationally is hard work and the schedule can be intense, so make sure you’re well rested before you go.

To be a bridal hairdresser.

Another great post from Rachael Gibson HJi, to help us see all the career opportunities available to us

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 Harborough; day 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.”