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Editor's Blog

Is Tuition Your Big Hurdle to Attending Beauty School?

Published: April 03, 2009
by Rosanne Ullman

I want to share with you an email conversation I had with a blog reader who wrote to me about how upset she is because she doesn’t have the money to attend beauty school and the only cosmetology school within an hour’s drive of her home is not

accredited and, therefore, not eligible to offer government grants. I’m betting that she’s not alone in her frustration.

Young people realize that without post-high school education, your choices are limited, it’s harder to move up in a company when you do get a job and, ultimately, you’ll probably be doing something that you’re not passionate about or you may not even enjoy. Still, no one should go to beauty school by default. So the first thing I had my emailer think about is how much she wants to go into this profession.

I emailed back, “Do you find yourself doing hair all the time on friends and relatives? Are you a creative person in general? Do you enjoy making other people feel good about themselves? If you truly believe you’re a hairdresser in your heart, you almost have no choice but to follow through and get the training. Otherwise no matter what you do in life, you’ll wish you were doing hair. From a practical view, you’ll make the most money doing what you love to do and have the most talent to do.” Next time I’ll outline the tangible suggestions I gave her for acquiring cash for beauty school tuition.

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Beauty School Students Have Their Day at ABS

Published: March 30, 2009
by Rosanne Ullman

I spent most of today in downtown Chicago with hundreds, maybe even thousands, of beauty school students at America’s Beauty Show (ABS), a trade show for everyone in the beauty salon industry. While Saturday and Sunday are geared more

toward the working professional, Mondays at ABS are planned with cosmetology school students in mind. There are special student discounts, and some of the classrooms and presentations take the student audience into consideration.

All of that youthful energy makes Monday a really fun day at the show. But I have to tell you—not every student was all that young! There were plenty of people in their 30s, currently enrolled in school and attending ABS to make sure they hit the ground running when they graduate.

Show activity splits into three categories: learning, networking and shopping. The education is simply non-stop. On the exhibit floor, at any given time selected top hair designers from all over the country are demonstrating cutting, coloring and styling techniques. In addition, people are tucked away in classrooms for intense learning on a business or technical topic. Networking opportunities abound, with salon owners and staffers always willing to give students great advice that comes from their own sometimes hard-learned lessons. And then there’s shopping. Between the products, tools, aprons and random items like purses, you can get a lot of items at reduced, last-day-of-the-show prices. I think everyone had fun, and many told me they are really loving their cosmetology school experience.

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Pelusi Video Motivating for Beauty School Students

Published: March 26, 2009
by Rosanne Ullman

As you make your plans to attend beauty school, expose yourself to as much cosmetology career information as you can. I’d like to recommend a video, “Philip Pelusi—When Art Collides,” that I think you’ll find inspiring. Well-known in the industry,

veteran hair designer Pelusi has his name on salons, educational programs and a product line.

The seven-minute video follows Pelusi’s team as they do hair and makeup for a fashion event. This video takes quotes from people outside the beauty industry that on the surface do not relate directly to hair styling but, rather, to art in general. It’s something for you to go back and look at every time anyone doubts that you’re pursuing an artist’s dream. The video will reconfirm your instinct to follow your heart.

When you enroll in beauty school, you’re entering a world of art, beauty and passion. You can’t know the power of it until you become part of it, but you’ll see what I mean. The video may seem to take itself a little seriously, but watching it will help you to respect your own need for expression through hair design, which requires as much creativity and talent as any other art—whether your friends, parents and teachers recognize that or not. And unlike buying a new painting to hang on a wall, getting a great new hair style makes people feel good about themselves. You’re expressing your art and, at the same time, raising people’s self-esteem. No other career can match that.

Photo: The Philip Pelusi Team.

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Life After Cosmetology School Takes Shape For Krissy

Published: March 22, 2009
by Rosanne Ullman

When Krissy Simmons graduated from CHIC University of Cosmetology an Empire School in Portage, Michigan, she knew that she wanted to begin her career at a salon chain, where there would be plenty of walk-in traffic and she could quickly sharpen

her skills by doing hair on a lot of different types of people. About two weeks after her cosmetology school graduation, Krissy interviewed at her local, brand new ULTA salon with the manager, Denim. That interview went well, as did a second, more in-depth interview.

“But then I lost touch with her, as she wanted me to get my boards finished before she could hire me officially,” Krissy explains. “So I took my boards and passed (which was probably the best feeling in the world!!) and tried getting in touch with her. She was busy opening up the new salon, but I wanted to start working right away.”

Krissy decided to interview with Trade Secret, a small Regis salon that at the time had only one other stylist. “This interview was relaxed, and at times I felt as though I was leading it,” Krissy reports. “The manager of the salon did not do hair, so she geared the interview toward general topics. My practical interview went well, with the other hairstylist watching me and asking me questions throughout. I got the job and started working within a week.” Next time, Krissy will tell us how she got back to ULTA as her first real job after cosmetology school.

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Beauty School Students Will Want to Catch New Chris Rock Movie

Published: March 18, 2009
by Rosanne Ullman

As much as hair has been a storytelling topic since the biblical days of Samson and Delilah, there always seems to be a new perspective on it that can be of interest to anyone considering attending beauty school. From “Hair” and “Shamp

oo” to the more recent “Barber Shop” and “Beauty Shop” movies, playwrights and screenwriters have long been fascinated by hair and the salon industry. There even was a movie called “American Mullet,” and here on the blog I talked a little about Adam Sandler’s “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan.” If you’re looking at becoming a professional cosmetologist, keep an eye out for the latest entry to be previewed at the Sundance Festival, “Good Hair,” a documentary developed by comedian Chris Rock.

Chris decided to research African-American hair after his young daughter reportedly came to him crying and asked, “Daddy, how come I don’t have good hair?” With no idea how his kid had got that notion into her head, Chris determined to learn everything he could about the pressures African-Americans feel to straighten and process their hair. He’d chemically straightened his own hair from time to time but no longer does. Women, he recognized, have a lot more hair issues.

At beauty school, you’ll practice on all hair textures, and I encourage stylists to be comfortable doing every type of hair. There’s no information yet on when the movie will go into wide release, but try to catch it when it comes to your town.

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Beauty School’s “Open House” Offers Deeper Peek

Published: March 14, 2009
by Rosanne Ullman

I always advise people considering beauty schools to schedule in-person visits before making a final decision. The Empire Beauty Schools chain has developed “Open House and Job Fair” events to make that visit easy. I like this idea, because

some people feel more comfortable in a group setting.

Potential students take what corporate Public Relations Manager Maureen Pinchock calls “an informative and fun tour of the school.” On hand to answer questions about the education and the career are current students, teachers and local salon owners and managers, while guest speakers ranging from successful graduates to celebrity stylists talk about their experiences in the industry. Information about financial aid info is provided, and visitors are invited to sit in on classes and look over the student salon. “We want them to feel they can explore as much as possible in order to make an informed decision about enrolling,” Maureen says. “Fun contests pairing up current students with the potential ones for a hair styling competition that can be judged by open house attendees gives a hands-on experience that has been very helpful in making the decision to attend cosmetology school.”

In the summer, Empire also holds a week-long “Beauty School Boot Camp” for high school and vo-tech students. “Basic cosmetology curriculum sessions and hands-on experiences with mannequins and products encourage attendees to learn more about a career in cosmetology,” Maureen adds. If you have an Empire School near you, check it out!

Photo is courtesy of Empire Education Group.

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Beauty School May Be Popular During This Time of High Unemployment

Published: March 10, 2009
by Rosanne Ullman

Vocational and advanced educational programs like cosmetology school traditionally see a boost in enrollment during tough economic periods plagued by high unemployment. “A lot of people want to increase their skill levels or get th

at degree they didn’t have,” Professor I. Elaine Allen of Babson College told a reporter for chronicle.com. Allen attributed the motivation as much to fear of losing a job as to actually having already been laid off. As I’ve said many times here on the blog, there’s no maximum age for a beauty school student. If you love doing hair, esthetics or nails, go for it!

No one can be sure how long this recession will last or how high unemployment will go. Economists are all over the place in their predictions. So people who are unemployed figure that a year of beauty school may be a great investment of their time if, during that year, they couldn’t get a well-paying job anyway.

If you go to cosmetology school now, by the time the year is over your job-hunting landscape will have changed in two ways: first, the economy may have improved and, second, you’ll have a new set of skills that make you highly employable. Even in bad economic times, people still get their hair cut if for no other reason than they have to look good for their job interviews. Better times have to come sooner or later, and when they hit I think that salons will be just packed.

Photo is of Paul Mitchell School in Chicago.

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Beauty School Grad Krissy Goes Job Hunting

Published: March 06, 2009
by Rosanne Ullman

Krissy’s back! After we finished chronicling her beauty school experience here on the blog, I missed my girl! So I caught up with Krissy Simmons and am thrilled to report that she’s putting her cosmetology school training to the best use—making

money!

“When I started cosmetology school, I automatically started thinking in the back of my head about where I might want to work,” Krissy says. “My cousin was a hairstylist at a higher end, very prestigious salon, where she had a stable position. But I knew I didn’t want to start off in a salon like that. I would rather build up my talents in a smaller, corporate type of salon.” As her graduation date approached, Krissy started calling around to salons to explore opportunities to be an intern or assistant.

“I applied at three salons,” continues Krissy, who began interviewing before she graduated from beauty school. “The first interview was pretty intense, as I’d never interviewed with a salon before. It was with a smaller, private salon, where the owner needed an assistant. The interview went very well. However, the owner wanted someone who was really passionate, and she didn’t like the fact that I was in school part-time for nursing. I explained that just because I was in nursing school didn’t mean that I didn’t have a passion for hair.” The owner must have been skeptical, because Krissy didn’t get that job. Interviews at two other salons had better results, as you’ll see in a future blog.

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