Why a Career in Hairdressing?

This week marks National Apprenticeship Week, and with more schools pushing students to stay on at college, it can be difficult for employers to find apprentices. Something the beauty industry knows all too well.

If you are leaving school this year and are contemplating the apprenticeship route, why not choose a career in hairdressing. Hairdressing has come a long way since the days of bad perms, hood dryers and purple rinses, now it’s an industry booming in skill, talent and technology – and as we all have hair, it’s a skill that’s always in demand.

So, why choose hairdressing?

It’s a people’s career

If you’re sociable then this is the career for you. Most of your days will be spent chatting with clients and making them feel amazing. You’ll also get to meet other incredible individuals within the industry too, as there is no shortage of hairdressing events.

You can travel

As a global job you can pretty much travel anywhere and take your work with you, as in your scissors and comb. You will also have the opportunity to travel with your product manufacturers, as they often host events around the UK and abroad.

Case study: Look at colour extraordinaire, Jack Howard. Not only is Jack one of the biggest names in the colour industry, he has a long list of celebrity clientele, is the ambassador for L’Oreal, and even takes up residency every couple of months in Dubai to attend to his Middle-Eastern clients. Or take a few of our salon’s who attended the Redken Symposium in Las Vegas – not such a boring job after all huh!

Money, money, money

There are no limits to hairdressing and how far you can take yourself, so the potential to earn big is there. When you start out it can seem that you work incredibly hard for not much, but building a name and reputation for yourself is all part of the game. With patience and a lot of hard work and ambition, you can achieve truly unimaginable things in this industry. Salon wages can be very rewarding, which can lead to you owning your own business. Or you can take the session-stylist route and work the fashion runways, editorial shoots and even film and TV.

You can only go as far as your imagination will take you...

You’ll always have work

As mentioned above, everyone – well almost everyone – has hair, and so that hair will need styling. This is where you come in. You can either be employed in-salon and have a regular clientele and busy column, or work self-employed and let your job be as flexible as you.

In it to win it

Building your brand in the hair industry is important if you want to be a big player, and one of the best ways to achieve this is to enter competitions. There are so many competitions available to stylists both locally and nationally, and they are a fantastic way to show the world what you’re made of. Winning also comes with prizes such as money, recognition, training and travel. Once you start winning competitions and making a name for yourself, so many doors will open themselves up to you leading to some very exciting opportunities and even ambassador roles.

Case study: Akin Konizi, HOB Salons’ Creative Director, not only spends his time travelling the world teaching the artistic prowess of HOB, he is also the ambassador for the Dyson Hairdryer, and even helped to create the product.

Challenge yourself

Hairdressing is certainly a challenging career. No two days are ever the same and every client that comes your way will bring their own set of issues for you to tackle – let’s not get started on colour corrections! The reward to you will be huge though, seeing happy clients and having your impeccable work paraded around on show for all to see.