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Editor's Blog

Future Beauty School Students, Take Note: Politics Is Hairy

Published: August 30, 2008
by Rosanne Ullman

As the Republican vice-presidential nominee was being introduced on national TV, I was thinking of all of you who are

considering enrolling at beauty school. What’s the connection? If you join this wonderful industry and become a professional cosmetologist, you’ll quickly become aware that politicians’ hair is fair game. I predict that John McCain’s running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, will serve as a prime example in the weeks to come.

Within a couple of hours of the announcement, a Google search of “Sarah Palin hair” already was turning up blog comments about the unusual ponytail-and-bangs look that this candidate for high political office seems to be sporting in every recent photo. When Hillary Clinton was first lady, entire websites were devoted to her eight years of ever-changing hairstyles. It’s not only women: John Edwards was chided for his $400 hair cut, while Ronald Reagan’s denial that he colored his hair didn’t stop the question from being asked over and over.

So people will speculate as to whether that bouncy ponytail is real or clip-on and discuss the style’s appropriateness for a 44-year-old governor. There’s even a chance that the look will catch on, with women across the country asking their hairdressers to fashion bangs and a high pony. But if the style receives wide criticism, look for Ms. Palin to do a makeover because, as you’ll find out at beauty school, hair is something that people really judge you by, even if you’re a candidate for U.S. vice-president.

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Life Throws Beauty School Student Krissy a Curve

Published: August 26, 2008
by Rosanne Ullman

It was February 2007, and for about a month Krissy Simmons had been living her dream of attending CHIC University of Cosmetology an Empire School in Portage, Michigan. “Things were going fabulously,” Krissy recalls. “I was enjoying beauty

school, and it was exactly what I was looking for—an outlet for my creative side. Plus I was meeting a great group of people!”

However, at this point Krissy was dealt a double blow: her great-grandmother, to whom she was very close, passed away, and two weeks later her grandfather took sick. Krissy’s parents went to Texas to be with her grandfather, leaving Krissy to look after her teenaged brother as she continued to attend school 40 hours a week and work roughly 20 hours a week. “This was probably the most stressful time of, not only my schooling career, but my entire 26 years,” Krissy says. “My mother was a wreck, as were her five brothers and sisters, and they were all 1,200 miles away.” Sadly, Krissy’s grandfather died within weeks.

“We had the funeral, and things slowly got back to normal,” notes Krissy. Then in April, two days before her beauty school junior finals, her great-uncle, brother to her grandfather who had just died, also passed away. Says Krissy, “I spent my junior final ‘break’ out of town, attending a funeral and family dinners.” Next time, Krissy will tell us about a different type of stress when she takes her first client at the school’s salon.

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Cosmetology School Students Talk About Choosing Beauty

Published: August 22, 2008
by Rosanne Ullman

Why choose beauty? Here at BeautySchoolAdvisor.com, we have a whole section on choosing to go to beauty school. But whenever possible I also like to give you the opportunity to hear directly from current and past cosmetology school students.

Another one of our websites, FirstChair.com, includes testimonials from eight students at Kohler Academy in Arizona. They each very beautifully recall the factors that influenced them when they were considering what to do with their lives. Two themes seem to be played over and over: 1) they want to help people feel good about themselves, and giving them a great look does the trick, and 2) they need an outlet for their own creativity.

Those dual goals echo what I’ve heard from so many professional stylists years after cosmetology school has become just a memory. As a group, hairdressers are some of the most giving people I’ve ever met. Their hearts truly sing when they see a client leave their chair thrilled with their new look. Even the most quiet cosmetologist, who may not seem outgoing, is a “people person” when it comes to a one-to-one relationship with the client. And as for creativity, hair designers are absolutely as creative as artists who express themselves in drawing, paint or crafts. So go to FirstChair.com’s “Kohler Academy: Why I Chose Beauty” and see whether you connect with what these students have to say.

Photo is courtesy of Kohler Academy

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Consider Attending Cosmetology School with a Friend

Published: August 18, 2008
by Rosanne Ullman

I was reading a New York Times article about twins who attend the same college, and it got me thinking about not just siblings but also friends who choose the same cosmetology school. Is it a good idea? Beauty schools tend to be pretty tight

cultures, with everyone on similar schedules. It’s not like a big university where you may not even see each other for weeks.

The negatives revolve around starting your professional life not quite as independently as you would if you were flying solo. If you’re in class every day with perhaps your best friend from high school, and especially if you’re sharing an apartment or even just a carpool, are you allowing yourself enough room for personal growth? It’s exhilarating to meet new people who are as passionate about hair and beauty as you are. So this can be an easy time to form lifelong friendships, which you’re less likely to do with your friend sitting next to you.

But there are so many positives as well. That carpool or roommate can save you a lot of money. Plus, it’s motivating to have someone familiar going through the same classroom experiences, doing the same homework assignments and learning the same cool techniques that you are. Cosmetology school takes only about a year to complete, so unlike a four-year college this situation is pretty temporary. When you graduate, the two of you can always work in different salons, so I think on balance it’s a very workable idea. Check out this discussion of twins attending together.

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Supplement Beauty School with Front Desk Job

Published: August 14, 2008
by Rosanne Ullman

While you’re researching your options for attending beauty school, waiting for your classes to start or even already in the middle of your

cosmetology school studies, I suggest getting a job as a salon receptionist, which today we refer to as a front desk specialist or associate. To get hired for this position, you may need no more qualification than a friendly smile and an interest in beauty.

Working in a salon will heighten your insight into how the business operates. You’ll soak up the culture; learn the lingo; compare the duties of stylists, skin care professionals and nail techs; and observe the work ethic and habits that lead to success in this field. You won’t believe how much it will add to your cosmetology education. And let’s not forget that you could use the money!

When you graduate from beauty school and get your license, if you’ve done a good job at the front desk the salon owner will almost certainly offer you a job as a technician. By then you will know so much about the retail products that you’ll be recommending as a licensed professional, and you’ll already be friends with your coworkers. But beware: you may find that you love working reception and want to stick with it! More and more, the front desk associates I talk to hold a cosmetology license and can talk to clients knowledgeably about their hair care needs. It can be a great career in itself.

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Krissy Commutes to Cosmetology School

Published: August 10, 2008
by Rosanne Ullman

We left off with Krissy Simmons as she was about to ask her parents whether she could move back home while attending cosmetology school. Her school, CHIC University of Cosmetology an Empire School, was only 15 minutes from her parents'

Portage, Michigan, home. It would be perfect—well, perfect if she weren't already 24 years old. She liked her independence, and her parents were not used to shelling out living expenses for their oldest daughter; two of their three other children were also in college. But her parents, and Krissy's brother still in high school, welcomed Krissy home.

"My parents made me feel good about the fact that I was continuing my education and not just living at home for a free ride," Krissy reports. "I went to school 40 hours a week and tried to work 20 hours a week in retail. Believe me, the money I made just went right back into my gas tank. Although my parents couldn't pay tuition, they were amazing in other ways. Gotta love free rent + utilities! They also helped with car insurance and occasionally car payments. I kept thinking that I should be on my own two feet, but my family never made me feel as though I owed them anything. I couldn't ask for better parents, let me tell ya!"

January arrived, and Krissy started cosmetology school. At that point she had no idea that life had a few challenges in store for her in the year to come. Next time!

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Massage Therapy Schools Channel the Magic of Hands

Published: August 06, 2008
by Rosanne Ullman

A Georgia massage therapist I was interviewing over the phone the other day isn’t the first to tell me that she went to massage therapy school and got into the profession largely because her hands seem to have healing powers beyond her

own understanding. There’s a spirituality that accompanies this career more often than it does other professional cosmetologist occupations such as hairdressing and nail care.

“I’ve been told that I have a healing touch,” Jo Ann Taylor told me. “I’m very spiritual; I basically let God handle it. I open my heart and don’t get in the way of the work, although I don’t talk about that with my clients.” Relying on her hands to perform the perfect massage for each client, Jo Ann finds deep-relaxation massages easier to give than a light-touch or flowing rub like the Swedish massage. “I have to really work at getting my fingers not to feel everything,” she explained.

As a massage progresses, both therapist and client can enter that sort of “place you go” when you let go of worries and concerns. At massage therapy school, you’ll learn to let your hands direct the procedure as they feel for knots and tension and then soothingly remove all of that. This gives clients an experience they really can’t get any other way. People like Jo Ann are perfectly suited for the career. If you feel that your hands have a bit of magic to them, you might try massage therapy as well.

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Beauty Schools Prepare You to Be Your Own Boss

Published: August 03, 2008
by Rosanne Ullman

When you graduate from beauty school and become a licensed cosmetologist, you’ll have nearly a 50/50 shot of being self-employed rather than working for someone else. In 2007, 46% of the 1.7 million active professional cosmetologists

worked for themselves, according to “Job Demand in the Cosmetology Industry,” a report released late last year by the National Accrediting Commission of Cosmetology Arts & Sciences (NACCAS).

That figure includes salon owners and freelancers but primarily what we refer to in the industry as “independent contractors.” When you work independently within a salon, if you do hair you lease a station with a chair; for nails, you have a table; and if you’re an esthetician you rent a room. Regional trends play into this, with west coast cosmetologists most likely to be self-employed.

Beauty schools are responding to this reality by offering more business-related courses. For example, the Empire School in Shamokin Dam, Pennsylvania, has partnered with nearby Bucknell University to hold business classes onsite at the cosmetology school to provide students with the skills they’ll need to run a small business. That includes everything from negotiating a lease, securing insurance and following government regulations to marketing your business, handling the accounting and purchasing products and equipment. And what if you become a salon employee instead? You may not be buying furniture, but you’re still in charge of getting business into your chair or your room. Any business training you receive will be a huge help to you, I promise.

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