Interview with Julia.

Interview with Julia Coy, Hair stylist at Ultimate Hair & Beauty.

Can you please explain the process of hairdressers training?

NVQ level 2 - 2 years practical and theory.

1st year –
• Consultations
• Shampooing/massage
• Blow-drying
• Setting (brick wind/directional)
• Styling/vertical roll
• Applying full head colour (permanent, quasi, semi permanent and temporary)
• Applying colour to roots
• Skin tests
• Incompatibility tests
• Strand tests

2nd year – Cutting
• Long graduation
• Short graduation
• Uniform layer
• One length
• Perm winding (directional, 9 section and brick wind)

Which brands products did you train with at college?

Wella products at college, such as shampoos, conditioners, colours and all Wella styling products.

Which brands products did you train with at the hairdressers you were working in at this time?

We used Matrix, Clynol and Goldwell colours. Then for styling we used Matrix, Clynol, DS:FI and Bedhead.

How many brands were for sale within the salon?

We had five brands for sale which is quite a small amount but we would have every product from each range that those brands had available.

When you left you had qualified and left your job at the Elite salon, were you looking for a salon that used the same or similar products to what you had used before?

Yes, I was looking for a salon that used Matrix colours, I wasn’t really interested in using Wella again. I would have preferred it if I was using the same colours at college as I did at Elite as well. In terms of styling products it doesn’t make that much difference but it would have been good if my new salon sold the same because I now have some knowledge of the styling products used at Elite and this would benefit me in my new salon.

What would you think if L’Oreal were to introduce a training programme into colleges so that their products were used to train with?

I think it would be a good idea because lots of salons stock L’Oreal products so it would make finding a salon simpler.

Do you think it would have benefited you if you would have been trained with L’Oreal products so had gained more information about the intended use of the products?

Yes, I feel as though with a lot of products I’m not entirely sure how to use them myself so I don’t always feel comfortable recommending them to a client.

Can you give me your general thoughts on men vs. women as clients in hairdressers?

I think that men are often more fussy than women, like they will tell you little details of what they want whereas women would be more general. I think that in terms of the haircut or colour it is much easier to inflict your own opinion on a man and he trusts you where as a woman is usually quite set in what she wants and it’s difficult to change her mind. If you explain a product to a man they tend to listen where as a woman seems to think she already knows what it does so isn’t as interested. Hardly any men have colours in comparison to women.

I think in terms of getting a client to buy a product, men are more willing and are very easily sold if you explain the benefits of the product. They can be persuaded very easily. Women, on the other hand have usually already decided before they even come into the salon whether they are going to buy a product that day or not.

Have you ever used L’Oreal Proffessionnel products?

Not yet, I’ve used Matrix and Kerestase which are owned by L’Oreal but not L’Oreal Proffessionnel.