Day one.
Day one was especially scary of course because it was the first day. We pretty much got thrown right into things, getting our kits which come filled with so much stuff it actually comes in a small suitcase! (which it really quite lucky, because it's very convenient to roll it around everywhere!) So we went through it all, and our kit has everything from a hairdryer and flat iron, to 5 combs, 6 brushes and, of course, scissors. Most of the stuff I don't even remember what it's truly for. It was pretty much a day of blurry orientation... that is, until the afternoon when they got us cutting (already!) on mannequin heads. We were working on a blunt perimeter cut (which is really hard) and a top layer (which is also really hard!) I actually did my first haircut on Wednesday. It was scary, and nerve racking, but successful! It took quite a bit of the day, but after a while we all figured it out, and managed to get the cut done with a little help from our instructors! Day one: relatively successful, but scary and overwhelming.
Day two.
Day two was also sort of scary, but not as scary as the first day. We learned the computer system in the salon (as the school is a working and functioning salon as well as a school!) which was quite interesting, and a little confusing, but with practice will get easier. We then went back to the mannequin heads and did the same cut we were working on the first day, again, with a few added things. Day two was much easier than day one, as we got to work so much of the day just cutting and getting help doing it. We did a blunt perimeter cut to get a straight base, and then worked up to a top layer, which I'm sure everyone has had or seen on someone at some point or another. We then learned how to do face framing layers, which was kind of confusing and difficult... and then we learned how to round brush. As it turns out, I am the queen of round brushing, and I love to do it. Getting all that crazy, curly volume is not only incredibly fun to do, but it actually looks amazing. If I could round brush my hair the way I can round brush a mannequin, my hair would look amazing everyday! But alas, this is not so. We then learned flat ironing, which was pretty easy, at least for me, as I flat iron my hair quite often.
Day three.
So, day three we were suppose to do up styling, which I was pretty excited about because I think those can be kind of fun, but due to conflicts with the senior students, and the fact that the DVD had been apparently misplaced, we decided to do foiling instead. Full head foils are hard. They are time consuming, and they are kind of scary to do the first time. We were working with conditioner, so we weren't actually making a giant mess of the hair, but it was still quite difficult, and a bit frustrating the first time. I managed to do a full set of foils by the end of the day in less than an hour and a half, which by salon standards is apparently pretty good, but by school standards is about 45 minutes too slow! I'll have to work on my speed, as to graduate we have to do a full set in 45 minutes or less. Seems impossible now, but it apparently gets faster with time.
So, that was the first three days of hairdressing school. I can, as of today, do one haircut, round brush blow-dry, flat iron and foil (but only with conditioner! hahah!). Who knew that 3 days would yield that much stuff? Am I overwhelmed? Yes. Am I defeated? No. Not at all. Some of my classmates over the week have been defeated, covered in conditioner, cut up their fingers or burned themselves on the irons... but me? I'm taking my time, I'm learning the craft, and not butchering myself (yet!). It's hard, and it's time consuming, and I know it will only get harder... but I am so proud of what I'm able to do as of today, and I am also SO glad that I now have a day off to absorb the work and try and make sense of my notes and the days that have past.
Now, I have one thing to add that I learned about yesterday, which as an avid hair colourist I was pretty interested in learning about! I don't know if you have ever heard of hair Cellophanes, but they are super handy, and really cool, and I'm quite excited to go get one done (hopefully soon!!)
A cellophane, as I have learned, is a clear or coloured coating that gets added to your hair in between colourings, or right after a colouring to lock in color and make it REALLY shiny. I had an instructor tell me that I should get a red cellophane done on my hair, and I was like "huh?" so I went and talked with her about it, and she explained it all to me. It's isnt harmful to your hair because it has no ammonia in it, as it's not colouring your hair but putting a coating over top of it, closing your hair cuticle so that the colour can't escape. It also makes your hair look SUPER healthy and shiny... and I'm working on getting myself one asap! Apparently many salons do them, so you just have to ask... otherwise, if you'd like a super inexpensive hair cut and colour (or cellophane!), the Vancouver Hairdressing Academy has ridiculous rates, but talented learning stylists who would love to help you! =) I'm working to get myself down there as soon as possible to get one of these done, and I'll be sure to let you know how it turns out! There is, apparently, something by John Frieda which is similar, but it's more of a gloss as I understand it, and doesn't last quite as long. If you wanted to give something like this a try before spending a lot of money getting it done at a salon, the John Frieda Colour Glaze is available in places like London Drugs!
Love your hair!
Kyleigh.
