Maybe it's not for me?

[Kamio]

Hey geeks,

Been in training now for about 8 months. I'm starting to think hairdressing isn't for me. The thing is, I really love doing it, but i get so nervous when doing people's hair. It's so silly, even for something as easy and quick as a blowdry. The majority of the time it looks pretty awesomes if I say so myself lol but the occasional time, like last night, for example, my boyfriend wanted me to clipper his hair and tidy it up, chip into the top etc etc. So i started (not a clue what i was doing with clippers, cos barbering isn't covered in my NVQ, it's only ladies) anyways i started, it was looking good. Huge clipper line appeared which made me more nervous. Got the thinning scissors on it, changed the guard from a 2 to a 3 to blend. All goes well, looks pretty good, then he whips the clippers out of my hand, attacks his own right side saying he wants it shorter. Tried to tell him not to and before i knew it, Woop! A huge chunk of hair was shaved out. I couldn't for the life of me fix it, cos he'd basically hacked into it. It just totally ruined my confidence and spoilt a cut i was already nervous about doing in the first place

I know it all sounds silly, but i'm like it when cutting women's hair, too. Most of the time it looks good and the client is happy. But the odd time it isn't, i take it so personally and beat myself up about it for days. Hell, i even beat myself up about the ones that are apparently 'good'. I torture myself by thinking i could have done better and i'm always in that frame of mind. It's making me kinda sad lately and i'm thinking maybe i should jack hairdressing in cos if i'm gonna be feeling like this for the rest of my career, i can't see myself being very happy.

Dunno why i'm posting this, but i guess i just wanna hear other people's thoughts and stories. I've paid 2k to do my hairdressing privately and i'm pretty gutted at the thought of admitting failure and jacking it in.

I know things don't always go right and you have to muck up before you do it right in hairdressing, but i'm honestly not the kind of person who can cope with knackering up someone's hair as trial and error before i get the hang of it. It's always on my mind and i feel sick and ill before practical cutting assessments. - I'm confident with colouring and most other stuff, it's just the cutting (oh and perms....whoever invented perms needs a good bloody slap!) lol

kams xx

 

[Little snippets]

Don't give up!! Most people go through the exact same emotions.

As they say practice makes perfect

In hairdressing your learning never ends.. You tube can be great for picking up tips

 

[persianista]

what you are experiencing is normal. Hairdressing is a vast subject that in reality takes many years to learn. NVQ's have been shortened and watered down to make them easier and quicker to pass. This leaves you, the student feeling unprepared and not confident.

Eventually you do get to the stage that you stop feeling nervous, and nothing in hair scares you, but it takes a long time.
I gather that studies have shown it takes 10,000 hours practice to become adept at a trade.
You very much need to work alongside experienced hairdressers now, to see how they approach their work and to see how happy and confident a hairdresser can be. I strongly urge you to get a salon placement for some work experience.

You clearly care very much about your work, and want to be a good hairdresser, so accept that an NVQ2 (no matter how much you paid) is a very basic introduction to hairdressing, and not really classed as a qualified hairdresser anymore by the industry, and carry on your education into level 3.

 

[kirk25]

Please dont give up

I think we were all like that at some point went training

When I first qualified I was so excited about starting in the salon where i trained as a junior stylist, I did my first cut and blow dry ( charging full price) and was so pleased then i had the client from hell......

I cut her hair fine, then started the blowdry... this old lady grabbed the brush from me, then proceeded to hit me on the arm with it....
I can laugh now but at the time I was mortified! I burst into tears ran out the back and swore I would never do hair again..... Talk about knock your confidence!!

Anyway I can assure you I perservered and you will get there in the end

Dont beat yourself up, training is learning

Good luck x

 

[Kamio]

Thanks guys, you're right.

I work in a Salon now full time as a junior. We've so rammed out busy 24-7 i never learn bugger all, never have chance to even stand and watch for 2 mins cos i'm constantly shampooing all day everyday. Plus some of the stylists are crap in my opinion. There's 2 that are brilliant hairdressers, the rest are so....how can i say it "trained 20 years ago, still cut and style like 20 years ago" lol

When i signed up at college, they basically told me how they can work wonders and **** cucumbers....after i'd done the course i'd be confident to do this that and the other...which is a load of crap. I'm not confident at all, i'm bricking it, constantly. They basically fed me a lot of crap and encouraged me to trot on mobile after i'd finished (cos that's what i told them i'd like to do)...yeah, as if i can go bloody mobile. I can't even do a one length without my hands shaking >.< We never do real people's hair until the actual assessment day, we use block heads (which are awful to be honest) i spend an hour unknotting the rat's nest you get on those fake hair heads).

I've looked at level 3 modules and can't really see anything in there (aside from colour correction, which i know how to do ...one of the only things the salon as taught me!) and the advanced cutting module, which would help with confidence. Oh i dunno, i'm really passionate about it and wanna be a good hairdresser, not one of these stylists who spend half their day blagging and bull****ting through each cut they and style they do (and yep we have one who is self employed at the salon who is very much like that). I wish i'd gone to an academy now to learn, but it was soooo expensive.

Speaking of dolls heads, you guys know where i can get anymore from on the cheap side, just for cutting? I've been buying them and it's costing a fortune for them all.

Thanks for the support. I'm sure i will look back on this one day and laugh, but right now i feel pretty low and unsure.

Kams xx

 

[Little snippets]

I buy my heads off eBay, just check they are real hair 1st.

Hang in there.. Your confidence will grow

 

[Ferrismouse]

Hey. I'm 39 & retrained at 37 at the Saks Academy in Covent Garden. I paid a lot of money for an intensive fast-track course to obtain an NVQ & a 'Saks Diploma'; neither are worth the paper they're written on.

Needless to say, I completed the course & went to work in a salon where I was thrown on the floor & told to get on with it. This really knocked my confidence.

After spending 6 months in a salon developing bad habits & shortcuts because you were always back2back working on 45 min slots & you just had to get thru your day (mostly without a single break) I decided to leave.

I invested turning my spare room into a mini-salon with a decent back-wash mirror & stylist chair. I invested in some good training videos & ear-mark one afternoon a week to my self-development. I also got some decent business cards produced.

In two years I have a very healthy client book (all from personal recommends) & do very well for myself.

Every week I still have challenges & doubt myself. I have accepted this will be the case for quite a while. That's just the nature of the beast. When I have a negative experience, I spend time thinking about what I could have done differently (this site is an excellent resource for that) and I then have to get back on the horse & move on.

I do not miss salon life & certainly don't feel I need to work in one to progress & develop. Yea I do miss watching a talented stylist in action but I won't except all the other c**p that you have to put up with in order to do that.

I came from a corporate background before coming into this industry & from an employment perspective, I personally feel salons get away with murder in how stylists are treated (in my direct experience I might add).

It's a tricky one but of you do find a good supportive salon that will invest in your development & allocate time for that on a regular basis (regardless of business needs) then do it & be patient.

Starting out on this career path is not a easy one but with self-discipline & perserverence (and watching your own back) the rewards can be immense.

Good luck!

 

[jenny miles]

hi, i totally agree with everyone here, we all go through this, some for longer than others but stick it out because it'll be well worth it in the end!:biggrin:x

 

[persianista]

Hey. I'm 39 & retrained at 37 at the Saks Academy in Covent Garden. I paid a lot of money for an intensive fast-track course to obtain an NVQ & a 'Saks Diploma'; neither are worth the paper they're written on.

Needless to say, I completed the course & went to work in a salon where I was thrown on the floor & told to get on with it. This really knocked my confidence.

After spending 6 months in a salon developing bad habits & shortcuts because you were always back2back working on 45 min slots & you just had to get thru your day (mostly without a single break) I decided to leave.

I invested turning my spare room into a mini-salon with a decent back-wash mirror & stylist chair. I invested in some good training videos & ear-mark one afternoon a week to my self-development. I also got some decent business cards produced.

In two years I have a very healthy client book (all from personal recommends) & do very well for myself.

Every week I still have challenges & doubt myself. I have accepted this will be the case for quite a while. That's just the nature of the beast. When I have a negative experience, I spend time thinking about what I could have done differently (this site is an excellent resource for that) and I then have to get back on the horse & move on.

I do not miss salon life & certainly don't feel I need to work in one to progress & develop. Yea I do miss watching a talented stylist in action but I won't except all the other c**p that you have to put up with in order to do that.

I came from a corporate background before coming into this industry & from an employment perspective, I personally feel salons get away with murder in how stylists are treated (in my direct experience I might add).

It's a tricky one but of you do find a good supportive salon that will invest in your development & allocate time for that on a regular basis (regardless of business needs) then do it & be patient.

Starting out on this career path is not a easy one but with self-discipline & perserverence (and watching your own back) the rewards can be immense.

Good luck!

45 minute slots are normal in a commercial salon. Some salons are half hour slots. It is normal to do clients back to back. We dont normally schedule a sit down, a fag or a yap on your mobile into a stylists day!
It's called the world of work.
I'm pleased that you are happy working on your own, however this OP asked for advice for her confidence issues, and yet again this thread has turned into a "lets bash employers" conversation.

Expecting a person who is being paid for 8 hours to work for 8 hours is not an employer taking advantage as some on this thread have said.

 

[Ferrismouse]

There are not many jobs in this world that allow employees to work straight through with no breaks. My experience of salon work allows this to happen. Fact. It's illegal. Fact. I will say no more on the matter.

 

[del<3]

Hi

Don't worry about yourself and your learning - you've only been at it 8 months! Remember it takes a salon assistant at least 2 years to train with constant practice and even then they still get nervous doing something new.

Please don't feel that you need to give up or have wasted your money - if it makes you happy just keep at it.

I was almost the same as Ferrismouse - I spent a whack on training and felt like you at times but in so obsessed with hair that I kept practicing and kept taking advice and learning from other hairdressers. If you're really keen ask your salon manager if you can come in and watch on your day off or bring models on your day off.

If you show you are keen - your employers are likely to love this and want to help as much as they can.

Good luck!

 

[Alex-Lydia]

Please do not give up you will regret it. At this stage you just need to keep going, because it sounds like you would not be happy in any other career, the fact you are being so hard on yourself, proves that you want to be the best, and the only way to do that is to immerse yourself in hairdressing and take it all in.

The way to improve is to work with and watch highly skilled hairdressers in the salon enviroment, also make sure everytime you move jobs you go to a better salon, go on every course you are offered, and remember you learn from the bad experiences as well as the good.

Confidence will come with time, it is easy to underestimate the time it takes, the skill and the dedication that is required to be a great hairdresser.

Good luck x

PS There are LOTS of good bosses out there, who run highly professional, successful and staff friendly salons, please do let one bad experience mean that you paint everyone with the same brush.

 

[del<3]

There are not many jobs in this world that allow employees to work straight through with no breaks. My experience of salon work allows this to happen. Fact. It's illegal. Fact. I will say no more on the matter.

I agree with this and your previous post - although when I worked in a salon and we were busy I didn't mind working through breaks as it kept me out of trouble as long as it didn't happen every day.

I also agree that not all employers are brilliant but neither are all employees and I see it as both are doing each other a favour so it's not one sided!

 

[persianista]

My hairdressers work a 40 hour week. How they organise that is up to them. If they want a luch hour, they take one, as long as I have 40 hours of appointment time, that is fine. ALL my hairdressers opt to work their 40 hours with no booked out lunch hours. They just eat when they can.
From the outside looking in if you had NO KNOWLEDGE of my system, you could easily say "thats terrible, what a slave driver".
My staff think its great being at work just 40 hours instead of 45.

You are gonna get good and bad employers in every industry, however the salon owner bashing that is happening on this site has driven many salon owners away.
Without our input, you lose another perspective or balance to a debate.
Quite frankly, newly "qualified" people and people who train via youtube video's wont have the same perspective on the industry as salon owners who have been at the top of your chosen industry for years.
You want to know how to be a good enough hairdresser to get a job? I will leave you to discuss it between yourselves, as I have a salon toi run and clients to do.

 

[del<3]

I agree with you also persianista there's always two sides or points to a story/debate.

All employers choose to run a salon differently - and its just a case of employees liking or lumping it. I personally work 6 days a week sometimes 7 and have no problem with that - those hours aren't for everyone but I love what I do.

 

[Ferrismouse]

Well the last time I looked the official working week was 37.5 hours a week. Are you breaking EU working time regulations? Have your staff signed EU working time opt-out disclaimers? My point is that the industry seems to think it's exempt from many things including employment legislation. It's irrelevant if your employees choose not to take a break; as an employer you should insist they do so you comply with EU law or opt-out in an official capacity. My Intention was not to offend you, I was simply giving my advice based on my personal opinion which I have a right to do. I was in no way attacking you or salon owners in general.

 

[Bluerinse]

Well the last time I looked the official working week was 37.5 hours a week. Are you breaking EU working time regulations? Have your staff signed EU working time opt-out disclaimers? My point is that the industry seems to think it's exempt from many things including employment legislation. It's irrelevant if your employees choose not to take a break; as an employer you should insist they do so you comply with EU law or opt-out in an official capacity. My Intention was not to offend you, I was simply giving my advice based on my personal opinion which I have a right to do. I was in no way attacking you or salon owners in general.

37.5 is a "guide" that most offices etc use I have never worked less than 40 hours a week! and worked in salon years!! And never signed anything and most my bosses have been great!! All apart from one....we won't go there!

 

[persianista]

Well the last time I looked the official working week was 37.5 hours a week. Are you breaking EU working time regulations? Have your staff signed EU working time opt-out disclaimers? My point is that the industry seems to think it's exempt from many things including employment legislation. It's irrelevant if your employees choose not to take a break; as an employer you should insist they do so you comply with EU law or opt-out in an official capacity. My Intention was not to offend you, I was simply giving my advice based on my personal opinion which I have a right to do. I was in no way attacking you or salon owners in general.

EU working time directive states that workers must sign an opt out for working more than 48 hours per week.
I use the leading UK HR legal company to write my contracts, oversee my HR, advise on employee welfare, give my employees free legal advice and a support phone line, write my handbooks and advise me on all HR matters. I do NOT break the law.
I suggest before making ridiculous accusations, insinuatiuons or assertions that you fully aquaint yourself with UK and EU law in the way that I have had to.
As you do not even work in a salon, and by your own admission have spent just a tiny bit of time in one, I think quoting incorrect legal accusations on a public forum is way out of your depth.

 

[Ferrismouse]

My apologies. In my defence I didn't start the attack in a public forum... Too much has been said & I also didn't get my facts right. Holding my hands up as high as i can get em right now.. Let's just close this chapter.

 

[SteffiMc]

Hey geeks,

Been in training now for about 8 months. I'm starting to think hairdressing isn't for me. The thing is, I really love doing it, but i get so nervous when doing people's hair. It's so silly, even for something as easy and quick as a blowdry. The majority of the time it looks pretty awesomes if I say so myself lol but the occasional time, like last night, for example, my boyfriend wanted me to clipper his hair and tidy it up, chip into the top etc etc. So i started (not a clue what i was doing with clippers, cos barbering isn't covered in my NVQ, it's only ladies) anyways i started, it was looking good. Huge clipper line appeared which made me more nervous. Got the thinning scissors on it, changed the guard from a 2 to a 3 to blend. All goes well, looks pretty good, then he whips the clippers out of my hand, attacks his own right side saying he wants it shorter. Tried to tell him not to and before i knew it, Woop! A huge chunk of hair was shaved out. I couldn't for the life of me fix it, cos he'd basically hacked into it. It just totally ruined my confidence and spoilt a cut i was already nervous about doing in the first place

I know it all sounds silly, but i'm like it when cutting women's hair, too. Most of the time it looks good and the client is happy. But the odd time it isn't, i take it so personally and beat myself up about it for days. Hell, i even beat myself up about the ones that are apparently 'good'. I torture myself by thinking i could have done better and i'm always in that frame of mind. It's making me kinda sad lately and i'm thinking maybe i should jack hairdressing in cos if i'm gonna be feeling like this for the rest of my career, i can't see myself being very happy.

Dunno why i'm posting this, but i guess i just wanna hear other people's thoughts and stories. I've paid 2k to do my hairdressing privately and i'm pretty gutted at the thought of admitting failure and jacking it in.

I know things don't always go right and you have to muck up before you do it right in hairdressing, but i'm honestly not the kind of person who can cope with knackering up someone's hair as trial and error before i get the hang of it. It's always on my mind and i feel sick and ill before practical cutting assessments. - I'm confident with colouring and most other stuff, it's just the cutting (oh and perms....whoever invented perms needs a good bloody slap!) lol

kams xx

Keep at it Hun do not give up, my hubby done the exact same thing to me with the clippers and after a few skew wif hair cuts from myself with them I can now zoom over his hair, which I taught myself to do as I also was on a ladies nvq. I'm feeling pretty lost myself at the mo as I am underconfident after only having my nvq 2 for a little under a year and moving to a new area where there are very few salons and no1 looking for someone of my level, so I've decided in the mean time to do a bit of hair at home but like you I get so so nervous when I've done someone's hair and even when they've gone I think for days I'm gona get a phone call to complain :-/. Hang in there, your not alone in feeling like this if you look through the threads you'll see loads of the same Hun xx