The Cut
A Guide To The Hair Industry
by
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Chapter 2: Tools You will be working with many different tools each day; this chapter describes some of the prominent ones. We will discuss their function and the proper way to use them to make our job easier and ensure a satisfactory outcome for our clients and our own creative desires. The first, and in my opinion, the single most important of all the many tools you will use is your head. A great haircutter masters the art of observation, as well as, understanding cause and effect.
Chapter 4: Haircuts "A great haircut begins in the mind. It is fostered by need, molded by creativity, and executed with discipline."
What should a haircut do for your client? First and most important, the haircut should work for the client. As a hair designer, you have far greater skill with hair than a client who simply styles his or her own hair. However, what you can do with your client's hair is insignificant if your clients are unable to make it look good when they style it at home. In other words, if the cut does not work for the client, the cut does not work.
Chapter 5: Bobs Bobs, or club cuts are the simplest of all the haircuts in design, yet the most difficult to execute. Cutting a truly straight line is a skill not easily mastered. Most times, the line will be tipped or slanted in one direction or the other. However, the bob haircut properly executed is a thing of beauty. The bob has endured through the ages; it is never out of style and always gives a look of sophistication to the wearer. Bobs in all their variety require great attention to many details, but mastering the bob is well worth the effort.
Chapter 7: Men's Haircuts In today's market, as men have sought more diverse style sources, some have abandoned barber shops for modern hair salons where they can get high-quality designer cuts. In distinguishing yourself as a skilled artist, you will be positioned to draw a growing and lucrative part of today's more discerning male clientele.
Chapter 8: Special Effects Cutting "Sometimes what we see' is not as important as 'what we think we see.' "
Special effect cutting is the icing on the cake. Special effect cutting separates the artist from the journeyman stylist and elevates a stock haircut to a work of art. It is the master touch that makes the ordinary into the extraordinary! It is where the true artist begins to turn a haircut into a design that stands out and turns heads. It is "the cream in the coffee", taking an already good design and making into an expression of the wearer's personality. "The design of a haircut is in your head; the execution of that haircut is in your hands."
Chapter 10: Basic Philosophy
"The highest reward for a person's toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it"-- John Ruskin
Now we come down to it. This chapter discusses what this industry is really about. First let me lay the "big shocker" on you: This industry is not about making money! There, I said it out loud. Now, to clarify what I just said, this industry is about filling needs... our client's needs. The business is ego driven but not by our egos. Our clients egos and their needs are what really drives this business. Without our beloved clients, there is no business! The careers of many good and talented stylists have gone down the tube because they forgot those points and allowed their own egos and desire to make money become their drivers. Do not place your emphasis on making money! If you remember to first think of your clients and strive in all ways to meet their needs, you will always make money. If you put your clients' needs first, you will be busy even if you are not the world's best stylist. The basic human need for love, understanding, and another person's caring touch will always ensure you a career and the satisfaction of knowing you have made a difference. Master those things, and you will have a rich and satisfying career for as long as you wish it. Love your clients and your fellow stylists, both brothers and sisters, and you will receive more than you can possibly imagine. Your contribution to what really matters about this industry, the betterment of your client's lives, will better your own life.
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About the Book
"It is important for the beginning artist, as well as the seasoned professional, to understand that our industry is, was and always will be about our beloved clients and helping them to realize their own unique beauty; and though we may be very proud of the constant striving to better ourselves and our skills, the true joy of what we do is in the service of those whom we are given to care for". This book will take you from the school experience, through a description and use of the tools, to cutting and finishing techniques and to a better understanding of the very nature of our business including the development of your skills and perception, and on to the duties and responsibilities of yourself and those of your fellow artists. "The Cut" is a must have for everyone that is contemplating a career in the beauty industry, as well as, for those already in the industry and wanting to brush up on the basics and learn some new skills. It is loaded with information that will continue to reveal more with each reading.
About the Author
Terry has been working in the hair industry since 1977. When he completed cosmetology school he immediately started seeking advanced education beginning at the Vidal Sassoon Advanced Hair Training Center in New York and continuing with the opportunities of working with Paul Mitchell, The Rusks, Toni & Guy, The Chadwicks and Graham Webb to name a few. He has worked in New York, Boston,Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando and currently in North Carolina. He has worked as a platform artist for Dermetics, and with his wife Julie, for L'Oreal, Nexxus, Sebastion and Clairol. He has worked on TV commercials, photo shoots, fashion runway and of course as a stylist in the salon environment, as he is currently a co-owner of a salon with his wife and partner. During his career he has had the opportunity to learn from the top people in the industry, all of whom freely shared their knowledge with him simply because he asked. Terry's belief is that when you except help from other artists of this caliber, the responsibility that comes with that, is to share with others in the same manner. Terry says "The art of what we do will die if we don't, it is our responsibility to keep it alive and flourishing". So, to that end, this is much of what he has been given and has learned and developed as he found his artistic vision. He gives this to you in the same spirit it was given to him, with the hope you will use it to find the artist within you and elevate the hair industry to the "next level".