Celebrity Scissorhands

Another series started. I am excited and at the same time, I do feel sorry for all of those clients, who come there for a hair cut.
I must say, they have produced some horror cuts, cuts that are beyond the belief. I do not konw how general public can let these people roaming free on their hairs, and even some professional hair dressers. I know it is all for the charity, but still, you have to face an every day life after the chair that chops your hair off, sometimes leaves bold patches all over your head. All that depends who is cutting though. Some of these celebrities have a talent, and they do become good cutters, but some of them, hide the scissors from them for ever! And sometimes as by accident, they produce something that actually looks quite funky and good, well it could if it would be finished professionally, but the idea is there. And on those moments, here I am sitting and thinking, why was I not there? why I could not come up with that hair cut. I just have to take it in and think, well my time is yet to come. A little more studying, a little more trying different things, and then, my time will come.
Todays show, hair raising, scary, horror with or without a hair. Some people say that the show makes them laugh, me, it makes my stomack to turn around, and I am begging on my sofa, oh please, dont do that, she has to go to work tomorrow..... They don't hear me, they just carry on. But can't they see that they have gone too far, or is it that they can, but they just carry on in desperate hope that somehow it will be ok. And what about all of those clients? They all sit there and smile, and they are happy. Give points 8 out of 10, and I am watching thinking:" 4, no more than 4!!!!!!"
But there we go, it is all done in the name of the charity, and I am happy for all those brave people who donate their hair and dignity for the children who need help. Thank you, only in Brittain!

Salon International

It is now over and experienced. Couple of weeks waiting and excitement, and then this afternoon, slight disappointment. I was expecting some real education. I had set my mind to receive tons of information, but no...... most of it was selling things. I already have plenty of stuff. I don't really need any more. I am enthusiast about learning though. I want to see lots of new colors, new techniques how to make different finishes on hair. I want to get ideas so I can practise with my dollys and see what looks good and what may be not. I wanted to see Wella stand, I wanted to see L'Oreal stand and Matrix, but I saw none of them. Some of the biggest names in the industry and they were not there. I have noticed lately that it is so hard to get education from Matrix anyway. What a shame, they really don't realise how much of the market they end up loosing. I chose them to be my semi-permanent color range, but no information, difficulties to get color books and no tools on marketing their products at all. So to me, as a mobile it is difficult to market this to the client. I am only comparing on the fantastic support that I receive from Indola. It seems to me that for them, all the stylists are valuable. I always get the support I need, they are helpful and just visiting their stand, I was told to join to their point scheme which is running and they will give me free stuff.

I must say, there were two stands that I found really good;
Habia, educational as always, it is all about education and regulation of the industry and
Wahl, to my biggest surprise, Wahl is not only about clippers!!! Positive surprise, even though I knew that they do hairdryers, cause I have the limited edition pink one, they also do curlers, hearted rollers, heated bendis, the range is wide and almighty. And I loved their show, so did all the young girls who were screaming to the young boys on the stage...... They did have a lots of fun in there, but also , they really did the show case what can be done with the correct clippers. And I could not believe my ears, they do run academy as well!!!!! Something for me to look into. The biggest surprise from their stand was something I have never even thought, female cuts with clippers. Apparently you can use the clippers very much in the same way than you would use a razor. They can give you a soft, but textured finish and are excellent to cut a long hair, that's right, cut it, not to shave it. In front of my eyes they created a nice bob!
Absolutely something to look into. And I must admit that their stage show was quite something. There was a young martial artist girls kicking into the air and showing off her skills. Impressive, and very different. I liked it a lot. Free stuff was thrown to the audience, unfortunately I got nothing..... The show lasted 45 minutes and it was worth of watching. I learned a lot, and got some ideas. So watch out dolly, here comes my cordless clippers......

Level of Understanding

Today I have been spending my time effectively. I have been studying. I thought that fine, if they don't want to take me to school then I just learn it by my self.
I have also filled an application form to another college in the area. I really want to start my level 3 next September and can't wait to get that all done. They will hold an interview and a practical test. I don't mind. I show them what I can do.

I have been reading about the pigments and tones in a natural hair. A piece of a puzzle has locked in and I feel I am learning. Feels really good. I am planning to master the theory of level 3 on my own and then I can cut the time of my studying, cause I can just hopefully write the papers off. So fingers crossed, I will get all of that done in a super fast time.
I find the colors that I use, very easy to use and I do think that the use of addititives and corrections have been made easy to understand.

Tomorrow I am going to Salon International and I would like to find a manufacturer who arranges advanced color courses, so I will be able to add into my skills. I don't mind to pay a little bit of that, but find, that the rates my college was asking this year to do my course is much more higher than what the other colleges are offering. Currently I have seen a £500 difference. And I was going to pay for it by my self. I can't stop wondering, where does the difference come into a picture? Neither is a private schools, they both are colleges that offer the same qualifications. I am confused.... but when it comes to a decision time, then it is obvious that I will choose the cheaper one.

I also am in the process of applying my state registration number. I hope it will go through soon. Then I will be on their list when people are looking for the hairdressers and also, it does give the image of being more professional. And to be honest, when I will apply the place to do a level 3, then at least I can proof that to me this is not a hobby, but a serious way to get an income.
And I do believe these organisations are a good way to deepen the knowledge and get some more information.
In the mean time, I will keep reading my books and learn more and more and add to my knowlegde.

Comment on my hair cut

Yesterday I went to school to get my daughter from school. Couple of days before I have done a hair cut on someone in school, but not seen the person ever since.
So I asked from few mums around what did they like about my hair cut. I asked Debbie: " Did you see Janes hair?" Debbie answered with an angry voice: " YEAH! " I was slightly confused, thought that Jane did not like it and asked Debbie: " Why, what is wrong? "
And Debbie said to me : " I liked it better when it was long!"
But Debbie, IT IS NOT YOUR HAIR!!!!!!

Some people, they are unhappy, even for someone elses hair cut.....

Magical winter wonder land

I went to East Ham today to do hair for a finnish lady who has lived in UK for 30 odd years. Funnily she still has her finnish accent when she is talking in finnish. She is from up north. We spoke about what do you miss from our country. I know that I miss the nature the most. Of coarse the family, we all do, but apart from the family, it would have to be a nature. The trees just aren't the same in here, the winter, well the magic of snow is missing and in the summer, I don't think that there is another like the summer in Finland with the sun never going down. It is funny how you can just have a common grounds with someone you just met and they know exactly what you are talking about. But I suppose these are the things that only your country man can understand, where ever you come from. How weird to have a connection with strangers.



Enjoy!

Picture taken by Alexander

I just wanted to share this. Nothing to do with hairdressing, but I think this is brilliant boost for my eldest son, who took a picture of an accident in Finland and his picture has ended up to the web page on the front. And this is not a bad picture, considering it was taken with a phone camera. I have seen worst! Well done Alexander!

A motor biker had fallen off from his bnike and hurt his arm. You see, even though there was a recent shooting in our school, when this makes it to the headlines, you can tell that nothing much really happens in there. And even though a columnist from a news paper asks us to look at our children, well in a country where almost 100% of children can read, there is no teen age pregnancies in a measure that there are in here, yeah, people consume lots of alcohol, but binge drinking is a common habbit in UK too, so we are not that bad. So the only thing I would maybe put the finger on, would be our geological location on the top of the big ball, but then again there is nothing much we can do about that. As a result of this location, our country gets a very little day light during the winter months and this may cause a depression. However, this has been taken into the consideration and lots of companies use the day light bulbs. However, when it is summer, the sun does not go down at all. And by the way, the shooting happened in the school where my mother used to go to do her vocational college. Scary....

Add some color!

This week end I have been doing high lights. Lots of them, full heads, half heads. Different colors and tones, and they all love theirs.

I have been changing the color from too much gold to little bit more ash and making up colors as we did not have the suitable one. I have to keep the record of my mixtures too, because otherwise I will have a big problem when I need to go back and do the re-growth.

I got my tickets to Salon International. I can't wait. I am expecting to see some amazing tips on how to work hair, I would like to see one of the superstars of the industry at work, would love to get some nice freebies and of coarse with the good exhibition manner, would love to get some real bargains! It is in one weeks time, so I hope I have lots of pics and tips in my pocket after next Monday.
I went to Capital on Friday too and got my self Matrix color books on semis! Look at them colors! Purples, pinks, nice mahogany browns, lovely colors to add a bit spice on your life and the best thing is, they wash off in up to 8 washes! And there is a clear one to add shine on hair, so anyone with really dry hair without any shine, this would be perfect to add a little bit of zing zang like I say. I will post some pics once I have created something out of this world.

Friday night I came home 2 am and I was absolutely shattered on the Saturday, when I went to do my old college friend and her mum. I nearly fell asleep in a car when I was waiting them in the car park, because they have been shopping. I must say thought that earlier that day, I have been in a market to look for salons for a part time job. My dream salon has not been calling, so I thought It wont harm me to look something else too. I went to two salons, one women only but they were looking for nail technician, not a hairdresser. I do have a certificate, but I don't like doing them. I just like to stick on manicures and pedicures when doing nails. I got some bookings and my diary starts to look fairly busy, alhamdulillah! Got couple of day appointments this week and couple evenings waiting for confirmation.

I now am hoping that my business starts growing a bit more, Christmas is coming and I think that all the hairdressers will get a bit more busier. I am ready, and waiting the phone to ring!

It was not me!

This morning everything has gone suspectively well. Kids were up without any complaining and even my eldest daughter understood without tantrum, when I explained to her that the reason she is tired would be that she does not go asleep when I ask her to go to bed. Amazing! Does this mean they are growing up? I mean they are only young, so there is no hurry really, but it was nice to have a calm morning for a change.

I took girls to school and maybe their bad mood has been transferred to others, because there were some parents arguing by the school gate. This was due to a parking. Some people do not understand the meaning and the purpose of the yellow zic zac, they don't realise that it is there to make sure if a child decides to run on the other side of the street, he can be spotted early enough to avoid an accident. They just feel they are sooooo tired and park straight in front of gates despite the fact that it is dangering other peoples lives. But we need to see this on the other way; what about if it was your child who would be knocked by the car because there was not enough visibility? Or if it was you who would drive over a child? I am sure that in large we all agree not wanting to experience this.

Last night my dear friend Sharon and I had a chat in the internet. We spoke about our college. She is currently doing level 3 in college. To do a level 3 in hairdressing, you need to work in a salon. She is deaf, and she found it hard to get a job, but finally got a work placement in afro salon in her area. Good luck for her! I hope she will do well.
If you are mobile hairdresser, that will not count to get a place in a college for level 3. Why? because they think that you are not serious and to you this is only a hobby. Now correct me if I am wrong; I thought that if you are serious about something, it is because this is your attitude, not because of the place you are working in. So the way I see it is, I do my own advertising, I do my accounting, I do my own stock take, Inland Revenue return, I don't have a receptionist because I do it all, I also plan ahead my business, decide how can I and how long am I willing to travel to do work and also if I would travel a bit further, how far that would be and how many clients I would have to have before it was a cost effective. I decide about my promotions and my selling prices and as a small business find it extremely hard to compete with Superdrug, because I don't have the same buying power. So to say I don't take this seriously is a bit of under statement. I probably am more serious about my job than a girl next to me who works in Tony & Guy as a stylist. On the top of this, when I put across my reasons of having difficulties of having a job in a salon, mentioned that I don't work on mens' hair and if working in a unisex salon, I would wear my head scarf, I was told by the head of a department that I should have thought of my career choice then a bit more ???? !!!!! Now how does that work out then? I am a muslim and want to be a hairdresser. So does this mean that in order to have a job, I need to take my scarf off? No way, I am not compromising my beliefs. And when the teacher of the college says that they find the people struggling the most in level 3 are the mobiles, and therefore they have done a decision not to take them, well I would ask about the quality of the teaching then. This rule in my eyes is braking equal opportunities, of which the college is so proud of. We don't have equal opportunities. The only people who would give us equal opportunities are the ones who are muslims by them selves. But hang on, aren't we suppose to integrate into the society, well I am trying, but can not run through the doors which are being closed in front of me. So its never really any ones fault, it is just an unfortunate twist of circumstances. What can I say?

I am moving

I am moving. From one blog to another. I have packed my stuff and coming here, to amuse you and to show you another face of hair and beauty.

I start about me. I am a practising muslim and I am a qualified hairdresser. Currently I am working as a mobile hairdresser and in a salon for appointment only basis. I thoroughly enjoy my job. I deside what to do and when to do it. I love hair in any form or shape and truly believe that little trim from time to time will give you a virtual face lift without any invention and fresh look, weather you choose to cover it or to show it to the whole world.

Today I finally received my certificate. After months and months of waiting, it is now here. Hello to insurance companies to add to my insurance, and to show off to my clients something that I am absolutely proud of. It is a pleasure to finally be able to show that I truly did the 2 years in the college, that I am serious of what I am doing and am going to continue studying. Next year insh-Allah, I will enter the level 3.

I also have finished a search for my dream salon. I am now working in a ladies only salon for appointment only on Saturdays. This is a salon that ticks all the boxes in my wish list: it is near by, managed by muslim women and naturally ladies only. Surely a dream come true. Salons are so vital in keeping with touch of the development in the industry. They are places where the product consultants like to come to show their new products and to share that vital information you need to keep up to date. So I could say that life is pretty good.

I am passionate of ladies only salons. It almost seems like they are forgotten treasure, national history that happened long time ago and now everyone has gone unisex. But we have LOTS of women, who still want to be treated in a ladies only places. We ladies don't always like to show our heads when they are filled with foils, as we like to change our hair colors. Or when we have perm rolls in our heads and we look like something out of space. I think that beauty still needs some secrets, even when men can do anything women can do and they do not get labelled for it, still us ladies want to keep hidden what has been done to us and when. I also think that ladies only salons serve another important area, they are social meeting places where old community matriarchs will meet the young seireens and talk girly things without feeling embarrassed. What a glorious and uplifting way to show young ladies how to become a fully groomed and glamorous woman with a life experience. We need these things in our society now a days, when everything and anything goes and is allowed.

So I am in a mission of looking this industry from another point of view. I would like to do a post revolution in hairdressing, not only by creating amazing hairdos and really fantastic cuts, but also questioning, why should we always mix?
Isn't there anymore such a thing than femininity? Or why has it changed? I think that us ladies used to make ourselves pretty in a salon for many reasons, but one of them was definitely to look nice to our partners or husbands. So why not anymore? And when beauty is bigger and larger than ever before, why is it that people have the image of muslim ladies who cover them selves, not needing a hair cut? It almost seems like there is a stereotype saying that if you cover your hair, you don't need to look pretty. Well, we still want to look nice in front of our husbands and we go to the parties. We want to be fashionable but yet keep our treasures hidden. So when writing this, I have one big question in my mind: When is Vidal Sassoon going to open their Ladies only salon? And if they have one, please could I have the address?