Hairstyling: Need for Speed?
As a beauty school student or instructor, do you think that speed matters? That is, the speed at which you cut someone’s hair.
Ivan Zoot holds the world record for the fastest haircut at a mere 55 seconds. Wow! Of course, that’s for the Guinness Book of World Records, but still. Is speed-cutting a skill that can take you anywhere? I’m just not sure.
On one hand, we’ve all heard the saying that time is money. In most other industries, a quick turn-around with a quality result is one of the most important things a business can provide.
On the other hand, when a client comes into a salon, whether it’s for a day of pampering or just a quick trim, they like to feel relaxed, right? They like to be able to sit in your chair and chat, or read a magazine – anything but feel rushed.
So, which is more important - quality or speed? What are you learning or did you learn in cosmetology school? To be quick and efficient, or to linger over each client and make them feel special? Or something in between?
Tags: beauty school, cosmetology, cosmetology school, Guinness Book of World Records, hair design, hairstyling, Ivan Zoot
June 26th, 2009 at 11:42 am
I belive that quality comes way before speed. I have been doing hair for almost 6years and I have worked at all chain salons. I took a job at Great Clips 3 years after I graduated school and to tell you the truth you can not start off there on learning how to cut hair…. they have a 13-15 min haircut time requirement, so all your doing there is learning how to cut fast your not working on the cut itself so basically you will never learn a good haircut from a bad haircut while working there…..if you dont have a lot of money and can not afford to sit and wait to make money like me with building a clientel then working at a Fantastic Sams or a salon that has a walk in clientel already is the perfect way for you to get your routine down and to learn how to do a good cut….. that is my input on that….. if you have any questions you can ask me @jho83 on twitter. I hope this helps new stylists out!
June 27th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
QUALITY!!!! Speed comes later with practice. If you don’t get quality down first you can never charge top $ for what you do. You can’t charge for speed. If you can be both that’s great, but usually people just out of school can’t be FAST and GOOD!
June 27th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Quality definitely over quantity! We expect a new stylist to be slower, but terrible work is sometime unfixable, and gives bad rep.
June 27th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
QUALITY! Work on speed later!!!
June 27th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
who wrote this question a beauty school student??? quality 1st then comes speed and accuracy. what bothers me most about todays cosmetology students is that they all want the glitz and glamour of a stylist but fail to see the importance of the basics.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:44 am
I finished my rfresher course after being in industry 20 yrs…. the main focus is the glitz and glamour students fail to analize hair types before doing chemical services… anythg goes amazing and very sad….. need more att. to good service and not quick fame….. sincerly l reichwald
July 27th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
A most read for any hairstylist leaving or about to leave school or just getting in to the trade its called ( From the bowl to the chair ) a most read at ten dollors.