Articles and Interviews

Hello!
I was going to save posting an entry about these articles until I had my TV appearance on IrelandAM - it was meant to be this Monday but they have had to postpone it until June!
Regardless, I've been receiving quite a bit of media attention lately as a result of my medal-winning, which has been both an exciting and a very new experience for me. When I was at the awards ceremony in the Law Society there was a photographer from the Irish Hairdresser International Magazine: http://irishhairdressermagazine.ie/ and they did a really lovely two page spread in this month's issue about myself, and the winner the Medal Of Excellence in Hairdressing, Michelle Silke. I like how out of the 109 medalists, only 2 were Irish and we got the ones for hairdressing and barbering! If I get a chance to take a better picture of the article I'll put a link to it on here so you can read it but here's a snapshot I took on my phone:

Then I was asked to do a phone interview for the Education Section in The Sunday Times Paper as they were doing a piece on how City & Guilds have their European Headquarters in Ireland now. They sent a photographer around to my workplace to take a photo too! I was just about to start doing a hot towel shave on my friend Jim so the back of his head gets it's moment of fame too!:

And finally The Irish Times Newspaper interviewed me also. This one was an unusual as I met the reporter for a coffee and we just chatted for about half an hour with his dictaphone sitting on the table. Mainly the interview consisted of him asking a few things and me just waffling on about everything I could think of. You can read the interview online (the link is below). It's funny to see the bits he chose to print and how it was all edited together to sound a little more ... "juicy" I guess? For instance, the whole thing about me saying "Hitler Youth Haircut" was not phrased like that and some of the questions he asked were not said at all, rather written to match some of the things I mentioned - but I'm guessing that's how journalism works. Here's the article online: Irish Times Interview , it was also put in print in the magazine suppliment on Saturday, and here's a photo from it:

So there you go! Who knew that I would get this far when I started this blog huh? It all seems a bit unreal to be honest. I wonder if any of my readers out there have been following from the start and what do you all think? It's been quite a journey and it's really only beginning when I think about it. I hope to have exciting news in a couple of weeks!
- BE

The Fame Update! (London, Awards, TV and Thank YOU!)

The Superstar has returned!

I'm back from my fantastic trip to London and, of course, the City and Guild's Medals For Excellence Awards Ceremony! It was truly fantastic and just like one of those gala awards dinners you see on TVand I really felt like a superstar. It was very surreal.
When myself and my boyfriend arrived at the hotel provided to us for the night I was greeted by the friendly hotel staff and presented with a small envelope containing a congratulations card and a small pin badge to be worn at the ceremony to show I am an award winner. The hotel was very close to the Roundhouse where it was all happening that night so, after getting all spruced up, we walked down to the venue to see they had a red carpet outside leading all the way in, past a whole group of photographers waiting to take everyone's photographs! It was like being snapped by paparazzi! Here's some shots of me on the red carpet (note the huge smile on my face and the white stripe in my red hair for the barber's pole!):

Once inside we were offered free champagne (though I opted for a soft drink) and shown to the balcony overlooking the main floor, where we were treated to a fantastic display of a man, dressed as James Bond, doing an acrobatic routine on silks high above where we would be seated! It was really incredible!

We were then brought to the tables on the main floor and the celebration began! I won't bore you with a minute by minute account but I will say there was great food, great company and great entertainment from an awesome choir who performed some traditional African welcoming songs! The host for the evening was Alex Jones ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/strictlycomedancing/2011/images/dancers/alex_jones624x351.jpg ) who is a mini-celebrity over here! 
Now I know you all are dying to know how I got on in relation to The People's Choice Award which you were all so, so fantastic in voting for me in... Well, I didn't win but I did come 4th out of 109 entrants so that's pretty fantastic in and of itself. And honestly, seeing everyone I know, and some I don't (!) rallying around me and supporting me has really meant so much more to me than that trophy ever would. I know it sounds cheesy but you'd better break open the packet of cream crackers because that's just how I feel!
So what's next for this Diva of the Barbering World you ask? Well, quite exciting things actually! My appearance on IrelandAM has been confirmed for the 30th of April and it will available to view on-line after its airing so I will be sure to post a link. Also, I was contacted just this morning by another promotions agency who are looking to get me a further TV/radio spot so I'll keep you updated with any news I get about that too.
On top of all that I am planning something exciting to post on here just before I am on TV so you can get scootching towards the edge of your seats in anticipation of that too! Okay now that my exclamation point button on my keyboard is nearly falling off I'll sign out!
- BE

City & Guilds Medal For Excellence!

HAPPY 2012!!!

Welcome to 2012 everyone! I have some more wonderful news that I received just a couple of days ago.

Remember how in this post just before Christmas  I mentioned that I had been lucky enough to win a Tallow Chandlers Prize? Well, what happened is that my tutor had actually nominated me for a City & Guilds Medal Of Excellence. The C&G people then forward a few candidates onto the Tallow Chandlers Committee for consideration for their award. The winners of the T.C. award are announced first, but, I just found out a couple of days ago that I have also won what I was originally nominated for:

A City & Guilds Medal Of Excellence!

(Photo From http://www.cityandguilds.com/43627.html)

The design of the medal is quite interesting. The image you see above is on one side of the medal and it shows the original City & Guilds Seal designed in 1880 and it bares the coat of arms of several of the founding guilds. You can read the list of then, and which seal is theirs, here: http://www.cityandguilds.com/43627.html .

So... another awards ceremony and another trip to London await me! The event is called the 'Lion Awards' and this time it's in March with a drinks reception, a 3 course meal, a stage show and the awards ceremony hosted by a celebrity guest! Also each winner is given a double/twin room for the night in a nearby hotel - so I can dance the night away afterwards! It's all held in the Roundhouse Venue in London:

(photos found on google image search)

The Lion Awards themselves are additional awards given out on the night for things such as 'Small Business Learner of the Year', 'Community Supporter of the Year', etc. and I don't qualify for any of those...

HOWEVER... there is also the main award of the night (which is being held this year for only the second year running) and that is the 'People's Choice' Award. This is an award given to the person who gets the most public votes so I'm going to be counting on all of my readers to vote for me. It'd make my whole year to win that and I'll post on here with information on how to vote as soon as I get it!

So gather up your troops ready for voting and keep your eyes peeled for an update. I hope your new year started as well as mine did!

- BE

The Tallow Chandlers Prize

'The tallow what?' you say? Is this something to do with the ingredients of shaving soap?
Alas no, but it is something MUCH more exciting...


Yesterday I came home to a letter lying on my bed. I opened it up to discover that I have won a prestigious 

Tallow Chandlers Prize for Excelling in Gaining my City & Guilds Barbering Diploma!!! 

At first I though it was some sort of joke or junk mail but it turns out all to be true! My tutor back in college nominated me and I won! It's a huge honour to receive this award and, from what I can tell, only somewhere between 4 to 6 prizes are given out in the hairdressing and beauty therapy sector each year from all of the nominees across both the UK and Ireland. The nominees are both tutors and students who excelling in gaining or teaching the City & Guilds qualifications.


So next February I get to go to London with two family members, and my tutor, to an awards luncheon in the magnificent Tallow Chandlers Hall (photo below). I'll get a medal, a framed certificate and a cheque!:

(Photo from www.tallowchandlers.org)

It looks like something out of Harry Potter! The whole building is gorgeous and has a deep history. The original building is believed to have been the Governor's Palace from which all of Britain was ruled. In 1476 the Tallow Chandlers bought the building. However when a fire broke out in 1666 the whole building burnt down (not surprising due to the high levels of tallow, candles, soap etc. in there!). The current hall dates back to 1672 and it's where 30+ of the 108 Worshipful Companies (which are kind of like Guilds) hold their Court Meetings.

So I'll have to get dolled up to the nines and my best smile in place for the countless photos I'm sure my dad will take. I'll no doubt have a blog post about it too once it's all done and dusted, but for now I'll be walking around with a big smile on my face. I feel really proud of myself and I'm not ashamed to admit it!

Happy Holidays Indeed!

- BE

A Barber Is Born!

So 9 months after the timid little me, so bright eyed and bushy tailed, began her journey to becoming a barber, I finally received my diploma in the post! Hurrah! WooHoo! Huzzah!

I've been back in Dublin for a couple of weeks now and applying for jobs like crazy. I've had a couple of interviews but I'm running up against a 'catch 22' time and time again. Everywhere seems to already want you to have 3 - 5 years floor experience before they will employ you *sigh*. It's hard to get that first couple of years behind you and everyone I talk to agrees. Chances are I'll have to do it as unpaid work experience for a year or so just to clock up some time.

So the college is over and now the hard slog begins. I also hope to take my hot towel shaving course next month if money allows (note to anyone getting into barbering - the training ain't cheap!). One journey is over and it seems I'm at the start of a whole new one - if only I can find a ship to let me on board.

- BE

Champagne & Strawberries Celebratory Shave

WOO-HOO!
I finished up college and I am now a trained and qualified barber! I move back to Dublin at the end of the most and the tough search for a barbering job begins. I really, really hope I can get something very soon. I'll also be taking a short course in hot towel shaving so I'm looking forward to that a lot! I had my final assessment on Thursday and I passed it with a distinction which is GREAT as my tutors and the external City & Guilds examiner were really putting me under the microscope. I thought I would be incredibly nervous, and I was waiting around and setting up, but once I started to wash Michael's hair I relaxed and let my training take over and I have to say I gave him the best haircut I've given him to date - and he has pretty tricky hair (receding hairline, very square neckline with all the hair growing to the left there, double crown, wiry sideburns, side parting with a large wave on top... ). My tutor even said she couldn't have done a better job herself so I was very cuffed. 


I didn't have much time to celebrate as I finished up at about 1pm and was due in work for 5pm that night. I went home and relaxed and yes, I even had a celebratory shave! I had yet to try my custom made Queen Charlotte Strawberry Shaving Cream so I though I'd open it up. Now the whole idea for this custom scent had come from an idea I had had a long time ago when I wanted to have a "Champagne and Strawberry" themed shave combining my Champagne Lady Gillette DE razor and a strawberry soap or cream. So I figured what better time to finally give this combo a whirl?

(the rose is from my boyfriend...nawww)

I used my favourite brush (PenWork's Pine Wood Handle Badger Brush), My Champagne Lady Gillette, My custom Strawberry Soap, and a medical Personna DE blade. It was a really nice shave. I won't go into too much of a review here as I've talked about these products and companies before. The blade I had never used before and found it really great. Nice and mild in my LadyG and seemed to just glide over my skin. Not too sharp and never caught or dulled. The lather was lovely and thick, I would have liked the scent to be a bit stronger but you can't get Strawberry EO so it's a FO scent. Still nice though.

I think I'll have to treat myself to this little taste of luxury more often!

-BE

The Penultimate Day! (aka: the end is near)

Can you believe it?

Tomorrow I walk into that classroom for the last time, carry out one final cut as a trainee, in front of an external examiner over here from England, and walk out a fully qualified barber! I'll have to change my blog header on here!

I'm so nervous. And I perform less than perfectly when I am nervous, but luckily the guy who's hair I am cutting is a lovely, chatty, friendly guy called Michael who's become a regular of mine, and as such; a friend, so that'll help calm those shaking hands some (if nothing else I get along with him too well to want to send him home with one less ear). 

*Big Deep Breath* Tomorrow I go from 'Barber-to-be Eile' to simply 'Barber Eile'. Wish me luck.

- B(tb)E

Razor Bumps and Ingrown Hair

I recently completed my final practical written assignment for college (I finish up for good this Thursday - can you believe it?!?), and it was all about facial hair. While doing my research I came across some interesting information about ingrown hairs and razor bumps and the difference between the two so I thought I'd share my findings with you guys. A bit boring for some perhaps, but I hope it helps a few people out there who suffer from these.

There are two types of ingrown hairs: transfollicular penetration and extrafollicular penetration. Transfollicular penetration happens when the hair enters the skin without ever growing above the skin. Extrafollicular penetration occurs when the hair grows above the skin then curls around and re-enters the skin. 

Or, to put it more simply, there are ingrown hairs that get trapped under the skin and there are razor bumps which happen when the hair curls back on itself and back into the skin creating a 'loop' of hair on the surface. The two different types can be seen in the picture below (Sourced from www.dermalife.com)

The technical term for ingrown hair is 'Pseudofolliculitis Barbae' and if left untreated is can become very severe. The problem most often affects the face and front crease of the neck, but can also occur on the back of the neck and the scalp. The skin may become infected with bacteria and, consequently, form bumps over the hair. The subsequent irritation causes the skin to darken, and when severe, permanent scarring may result. Continuing to shave aggravates the problem as the bumps can get cut and bleeding occurs causing the bump to swell more and become more irritated. Some blemishes are solid small bumps and others filled with pus (nice huh?). The irritation of the hair caught under the skin can cause it to itch however it is important not to itch the skin as this will break the skin again hightening the chance of further inflamation. If left untreated these can become infected and form cysts. This can result in scarring , discolouration and severe discomfort.

Ingrown hair can occur from the hair being cut too close to the skin, or cut below the surface of the skin. Multi-blade razors, or over-stretching while shaving, can cause this as the skin is stretched taut and the hair is exposed and is cut below the natural relaxed skin-line. When the skin is then let go of, it pops up over the top of the cut hair trapping it underneath. The hair is no longer able to grow out of the follicle and turns in on itself under the skin. 

Razor bumps unfortunately can occur simply because of the natural curl in the hair. It will grown naturally out of the follicle but will curl and re-penetrate the skin. This problem is worsened by shaving close to the skin as it leaves a sharp cut point on the end of the hair which can pierce back into the skin like a needle. Dark skin tends to have much denser facial hair and it has a natural tendency to curl quite tightly. It is recorded that up to 30-40% of dark skinned gentlemen suffering from this either razor bumps or ingrown hairs (with some websites quoting this figure at closer to 70%)

So what can you do? The first thing to do is to stop shaving close to the skin as the condition will not heal quickly (or often at all) if you keep aggravating it. Letting the hair grow out until the ingrown hair lesions heal is the best treatment for ingrown facial hair. If that isn't an option, perhaps if you have to be clean shaven for work, you can use clippers or scissors to trim the hair 1/8 to ¼ inch above the surface of the skin.  In both cases regular gentle exfoliation can help the condition. . Various products which are like a mild chemical peel can also be used but only in the most severe of cases. Also, if it is just one or two present, the trapped hair can be gently removed with sterilized tweezers. The hair should only be coaxed out from under the skin and not plucked out so as to avoid scarring and possible recurrence.

I hope that helps some folks out there and that's enough of the science talk for now! 

- BE


**UPDATE:** I've done a small add-on blog entry here: Face Mapping Bloggings

Cornrows Are Hard To Do!

On my bus to college there is this cool little kid with Afro-Caribbean hair and he recently got it put into excellent looking cornrows. He sat in front of me this morning and I kept staring at them! For those of you who aren't sure what these are here's a picture of them in various designs:

Ooooh! Yes, those things! Sometimes also worn by women (think Bo Derek in 10). Anywho, I figured they would be the closest thing to a gents' up-style that I might get a chance to learn to do, so I asked my tutor in college how to do them and man, they are tricky! I've only attempted them twice but I'm picking up a bit of speed and getting them a little tighter with each one. Ideally the hair should be dry with some oil put in it to get them smooth and flat. I didn't have oil in my dolly head's hair so strands kept sticking up. I also have no idea how this is done with shorter hair without the ends sticking up all over the place - I'll have to investigate.

They are kind of like an upside-down French plait with the pieces being taken under the middle strand each time instead of over. Here's a picture of my second attempt at doing them:

I did the middle one first so it's a bit bigger and messier than the others. Despite them being tricky I really love the intricacy and challenge of doing them and find them fun. Though I doubt I'll have many opportunities to do them in my career I'll keep up the skill for fun.

Here's a picture of one of my favourite hairstyles I came across incorporating a funky usage of cornrows - I love it!:

 - BE

Double Good News

I got doubly good news this week!
Firstly I finally got the results back from the theory test I did at the end of last year. Now I do theory tests all the time, one for each module, but his one was the BIG one. It was the official City and Guilds' one that incorporated questions from every topic. We had been waiting months to get the results of these as they had to be sent off to England to be corrected and when they were returned a couple of people's certificates were missing, so rather than give some people theirs in January and some later on we all waited to get them together. I still have to finish up all of my practical assessment (there are 86 of them as far as I remember!) and then my results of everything, both practical and theory/written will join to give my final result.
I'm thrilled to announce my result (and yes it's me even though it's blurred out!):

The second piece of happy news I got was that someone nominated me for the Irish Blog Awards under the "specialist" category. Not I have a sneaking suspicion is was a yarn-obsessed friend of mine who is also a fellow blogger, but none the less, it was great to be nominated. I didn't make it to the short-list but it put a smile on my face regardless!

I hope everyone else had a good week!

-BE

The "Justin Bieber" Haircut

I felt I just had to post this as fate has prodded me to do so.
A couple of days ago I got an e-mail from a friend of mine telling me that apparently the "Justin Bieber" hairstyle is really popular amongst his friends' kids, and that young boys are lining up to get this cut. Now in case for some reason the image of this fresh-faced young pop sensation has escaped your gaze (love him or hate him - he's everywhere) here's an image to remind you of his fairly unique haircut:

That's some head of hair huh?

So I went into college today and asked my tutor if she could show me how to cut this style. After a little bit of "Justin who? Oooooh him..." we grabbed a dolly head and off I went. Getting all those layers in is a little tricky but I found the fringe to be the hardest part. I ended up taking a little bit too much off one part with the razor (also my first time giving the shaper razor a real go) so I had to make it into a shorter slide fringe than Justin's face-grabbing mop. Still, I think I did okay for my first go at the style!:

Sorry the quality of the photos isn't great but as you can see it's nicely layered and pushed forward. The hair on the dolly heads isn't great so the side fringe was tricky to shape but I think given another go or two and I'd have it down.

Then tonight I was watching my guilty pleasure - Glee  - (hears the sound of all my readers clicking 'unsubscribe') and they were having an episode dedicated to ol' JB himself and I figured it was a sign to show the world my handy work. So ladies and gents, if your pre-pubescent boy wants to sing about never letting 'you' go 'babe', and how his 12 year old heart is bursting with joy and love for 'you... girl...' then bring him my way. We'll pop one of these on his head and he'll be raking in the cash in no time, so it'll be an early retirement for you! Hurrah!

- BE

The 'V' Haircut

Hi Everyone!
Well I'm back in college a week now and I've moved onto working on lots more clients and also to learning particular styles, rather than just cutting techniques, on my dolly heads. It helps me to see how to put all of those techniques I've learnt together to create a finished look. 
One of the first styles I've learnt is one that is HUGELY popular here at the moment amongst boys in their teens and its called the 'V'. The name is self explanatory as the shape of the hair forms a 'V' at the back. It became popular last year particularly in the football scene and, as most trends develop from fans copying celebrities, David Beckham was a big influence on the popularity of this style:

While it looks simple enough the blending between the short sides to the longer length at the top can be tricky to get right esp. on the back as the V gets smaller. Cutting hair on a dolly head is never overly easy anyway as, due to the threading, it will stick out from the head esp. on tighter cuts.

The sides of this cuts can be done either by shaving the sides and then blending into the top, or by creating a graduated cut at the side that then blends into the length on top. The graduated version provides a smoother transition as it is a less tight blend. In the picture of my dolly below I have blended from a number 2 shave at the sides. This picture was taken the day after I cut it so its a little messed at the sides.

You can see the V point at the nape of the neck, and while it looks patchy in the left photo it wasn't in real life. Again that it just the threading of the hair making it stand out so you are looking down the strand at the scalp in the photo giving the appearance of a patch.

This style could be developed into more of a mohawk, or kept longer at the sides and made into a faux-hawk. However as is, this is the V. Personally I'm not a big fan as I think it can look quite common and a bit 'football hooligan laddish'. Though I think the 'make-up' on my dolly head gets rid of that image somewhat! What do you think of it?

- BE

Barber College - The Story So Far

Ah the first couple of weeks of a new year: you still write '10 when writing the date down, you make resolutions you'll never keep, and, as you polish off the last of the selection box, you think back on the year just gone and the new one to come.

Today was my first day back in college and so a recap of what I've covered so far is in order I feel. This year had gotten off to a less than great start due to some family illness (apologies in the lack of blogging as a result) but oddly enough getting back into college was something solid and familiar and I enjoyed my first day more than I though I would (though I didn't stop yawning until 11am!). Next week the new group of students will start. Yes, the NEW group... already my group are the veterans of the college and it's strange to think I'm nearly half way through. This last half is going to require a huge amount of drive from me, but I want to do it, and simply being in there again is getting me motivated. 


For those thinking of going to barbering college and are curious as to what is covered, here's a list of what I've learnt so far in the space of roughly two and a half months. I won't elaborate on them all, but a simple search on Google will explain most terms to those who want to know more:

- Cuts: one length, box layers, uniform layers (long and short), graduated layers, fringes, scissors over comb, clippers over comb, clipper shaves, slicing, point cutting, texturizing, using the straight to tidy up the neckline, removing "weight" using a number of techniques and I've seen a bit of the shaper razor in use (can't wait to give that a go!)
- Blow-drying: Straight, curly, flick, finger, sausage, volume.
- Colouring: Highlights, Semi colour, root tint, full head colour.
- Theory: Health and safety, shampooing and conditioning, skin diseases, infections, abrasions etc., reception duties, client consultation, hair tests for colour, strength etc., strand tests, patch tests, some colour theory.

I still have so much to practise and learn but I'm going to give it my all. I hope I can get enough people in to practise on. I have a great American guy called Michael in tomorrow. He's a real character. Last time he came in he was full of hugs for me and stories to tell even though I'd never met him before in my life. He's an older gent and has salt-and-pepper hair but, to quote his own words: "just because there's snow on the roof doesn't mean there isn't a fire in the furnace!". 

Oh and if someone is looking for a late Christmas, or just "hey you are awesome!" present for me...:

(I mean look at that yellow one! It's like a fish! I love it!

Shame these are custom made shorties. You can see more of them HERE )

- BE

The Magic Hour

I've decided to push myself even more with my studies now that my course is finally deviating from the general "hairdressing" lessons. I'm doing more short cuts on the dolly heads and learning new barbering-specific things. It's very exciting and I have a new found energy and passion as each new piece of information is given to me. Like learning a dance step by step, the routine slowly comes together.


Each Thursday we finish class an hour early at 4pm instead of 5pm. However, for the past two Thursdays I've had work in the evening at 6pm. Now I can't get home and back into work in the 2 hours in between 4pm and 6pm, and work is just a short walk away from college, so two weeks ago I asked would they mind if I just stayed in the college practising for an extra hour (as the salon out front would be opened anyway) and leave at 5pm giving me time for food then into work in plenty of time. The tutor said that would be fine and that she'd be hanging on until 5pm anyway. So two Thursdays ago I got a kind of one hour private lesson with my tutor. It was fun being there by myself working away, practising scissors over comb. To be honest, she didn't teach me a huge amount but it was good to just practise and have no real agenda. So last Thursday I did the same thing. The tutor gave me one of the reject dolly heads (the hairdressing girls cut them short but not overly short and then I get them to mess up and do what I want with them) and I just sat there happy as can be. As first I just practised as normal, but then I thought "what the hell", and just started chopping away. I made the hair really short all around high up on the back and sides and left it long on top combed forward into a V-point of hair going down the nose. It was ridiculous and very 80's looking but I really enjoyed just giving it a whirl. In fact when the tutor came back to check on me I got embarrassed as I had gone off on such a tangent but she thought it was great and said that there's a lot of learn from just trying new things. 


So I look forward to hopefully having more of these "magic hours". Time when I can just get an old head and go to town on it for an hour. I'll try to remember to take a picture next time to show you anything weird or wonderful I come up with! As the owner of the place said when she saw my creation - I might just come up with a new hairstyle that ends up on the cover of Time magazine!


- BE

Quick Catch Up

Well I've been really busy the last week so I haven't had any time to blog but I just wanted to write a quick update.
Great news - the tutors in college are really starting to push me into the barbering side of things now and taking my course in that route rather than me just doing everything all the others do (they are all training to be hairdressers).  Up to now it's been fine as it's been general stuff like health and safety and basic blow-drying and straight cuts etc. , but now, while they are all doing pin curls and perms, I'm practising my scissors over comb and necklines. I'm one happy barber!


Also, to make things even better, I got another distinction - the only one in the class! In fact quite a few of the people in the class did very badly so I'm keeping my result quiet, but you guys won't tell will you !?! I am really happy about that as it's my third distinction now so I hope I can keep up the good work. I have another project due next week and a BIG test on the 18th.


Well I'm yawning as I type so it's off to bed for me as I have work experience tomorrow (might have some exciting news about that too in the next few days I hope). But that's enough for now!


- BE

Repeat After Me...

In college we are taught things at a fairly fast pace. Each week we learn several new things and, in general, we do our theory on Mondays and Tuesdays and our practical work on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Often to start the day, our tutor will go around everyone's mirror and write a list of tasks for us to work through before lunch (straight cut, box layers etc.) and we just plough on in and work through them. We time them to see if we are picking up speed.
Our mirrors end up looking like this (yup, there's my fingers too!):

When we learn something new we watch the tutor do it and then we go off and try it on the dolly/mannequin heads. We then show the work to the tutor and, if it's the Wed/Thurs tutor, you can bet she'll say "great... this, this and this are wrong. Take it out and do it again." I don't think I could count the number of times I've repeated the same task over and over but you know what? It works. Each time to try something a little differently, or you pick up time, or something else clicks.

Bit by bit it all comes together.

-BE

And The Results Are In...

Woo-Hoo indeed!

Nearly everyone got distinctions and I'm still thrilled with this and thrilled for everyone else too! Our health and safety project is due this Thursday so I'm off to type, type, type. I just wanted to share the good news!

- BE

First Exam Completed

Just a short note and a preemptive woo-hoo!
I completed my first exam in class today based on the Health and Safety subjects we studied last week. I think I did pretty ok. I hope to get my result in the next day or two so I'll let you all know.
It counts as part of my final grade so *fingers crossed*!


- BE

The Price We Pay

I'm such a butterfingers at times. I must have dropped my combs and clips I don't know how many times in the past two weeks, but you just pick them up and keep going (of course if I was working on an actually human I'd sterilise them first).
But today I did something stupid. It was a complete accident, but I dropped my hairdryer - badly. After the drop it made an awful noise when switched on and something inside it rattled where there was no rattling before. Sometime like that is a serious safety hazard (this week we've been doing health and safety in class) so I had to put a big "Do Not Use" sticker on it and will have to buy a new one.
A good hairdryer is pricey enough, anywhere from €70 upwards. At the moment that is money I can not comfortably afford to spend but I need the dryer for the course so - ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

I was chatting to the other girls in my course a bit about funds, fees etc. and it seems we're all in the same boat. We all had to take out loans to do this course. Hairdressing/barbering colleges here are privately run colleges and thus the fees are substantial and no government aid or support is available. We are all paying to be here because we want to be here. And it shows. We work hard and the course is intense. Of course it's natural that some will work harder than others and maybe some will find out only after it's all done that this isn't their path in life. Who knows?


For me, I truly want to be here.
I want to learn and I will struggle through the things I find hard to do. This is something that doesn't come easily for me but as I've gotten older I've pushed myself more and more to keep going at the things I want to do but that I'm not good at, or am slow to pick up, or am afraid of. When I was younger I wanted to be good at everything I did. I wanted to be really good, the best, and I was far too hard on myself. I was interested in so, so many things and wanted to be amazing at them all, all at once, and if I wasn't I would be disheartened at myself.
Over the years though I'd learnt not to be so hard on myself. To accept that I will be better at some things than others. To accept that there will nearly always be someone out there who's better than me and learns it faster. To know that and to still pursue the things I love.  I will work at them and not let them get the better of me.  I just take them one by one now instead of all together. For the most part I am more focused, and though something like my dryer breaking this morning can still get me down, I try to brush it off and just keep on keeping on.


Right now I'm finding sectioning work hard. I found it hard on day one and I still find it hard. It's when you run your finger along the scalp to separate the hair and create neat, clean partings/sectionings. It's something so simple and seems to come so naturally to everyone else in my class. It reminds me of when I used to do ju-jitsu and how, even as I got more advanced, I still couldn't do a straight tumble.


So I'll work harder at it. And if that doesn't work I'll work harder again. I'm giving up a lot to be here so I gotta work hard. And you know what Sectionings? Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of my life - you will be mine!


- BE

The Journey Of A Thousand Miles

... must begin with a single step.
Or, in my case, two days in my new, exciting course!


So today was my second day in the college and already it's been a bit of a roller coaster ride. There are 9 other girls in my class, but I'm the only one studying barbering, which I am hoping will mean I'll get some great one-on-one tuition. The other plus side to that is that I will also pick up a lot of the hairdressing skills along the way too, which can only be a good thing in my opinion. My mind is open and ready to learn and boy has the information been pouring in!


There's another college not too far from here that does the same course but in 12 months; my college teaches it in 7 so it's very intense. No time for bleary-eyed starts or daydreaming. In fact, it's kind of like going to work everyday in a job that needs a lot of focus and learning.


On day 1 we were thrown straight in with minimal faffing around. We spent the morning chatting about the college rules, getting folders, registering and talking a bit about ourselves. We each had to stand up and talk for 60 seconds. I've plenty of experience waffling on about nothing in particular from my photography job, so knowing I have this basic skill down pat gave me quite a confidence boost and helped to calm the first-day nerves which had been chasing the butterflies in my stomach. As the tutor explained; she can teach us how to do almost anything with hair, but if we can't have a conversation with our clients then she can't help us with that, and it's one of the most important things we need to do. I was kinda surprised how hard some of the girls found this and how shy they were, and I did note that both the other 2 girls who are in their mid-twenties, and myself, find it the easiest to do. The rest are in their late teens and I guess it's only natural that I have ten years more stuff to ramble on about! We'll have to do this 60 second talk twice a week to help everyone build up confidence with this, and I'm sure I'll end up telling my life story during that time and man, will I feel old in comparision!


Once all the basic welcomes etc. were covered we were given our mannequin heads and taught how to do a straight blow dry. We were told how important posture is and the tutor is so very right about this. While we were doing the blow-dry, each time she passed by me I found myself correcting my posture, not having noticed it had slipped a bit.
Barbers and hairdressers are on their feet all day with their arms raised at roughly chest height, so if your posture isn't good you won't last 5 years without seriously damaging your back or hips.  I'm also a bit taller than the others in my class so I need to watch this even more.


This morning we took off our coats and 'BAM!' we were straight back into doing another (timed) blow dry. And another. And another. Each time trying to speed up while also doing a better job than the last. We're in a room that has 14 stations/workspaces in it so it's small enough and that heat sure builds up! So another important thing the principle mentioned to us really came into play today and that is hygiene. You WILL sweat doing this and showering daily, as well as having fresh clothes and using a good deodorant, are a must.


Then, after our break we learnt how to do a 'brick-set' with curlers. The tutor apologised to me as it's not really anything I technically have to do on my course (I had to borrow the equipment for it too as I don't have rollers in my kit) but, being the only barber in this semester, they are catering the course to me as they can. At this stage though I'm learning lots from everything I do. Learning how to do a brick-set really helped me with creating clean sections/partings in the hair which is something I struggled with yesterday. 
Here's a picture of how I did as I was very happy with it!

After lunch we worked on client consultation: finding our what they want, their hair type etc. We did some role play and again I found this part fairly easy, though you do have to remember to get a lot of information.

The course is great and very hands-on which is good, but I've been making sure to make notes after each day, and on breaks too, so I don't forget everything by the end of the week!

Initially my course will be the same as the hairdressing one as the first 4 modules (health and safety, washing hair etc.) are the same for both courses. Then, as time goes on, I'll diversify, which should be great.

Of course there's also my work experience every Friday in a barbershop down here, so I'm very excited to see how that goes. I imagine I'll be making enough tea to float a small island on but I'll keep my eyes and ears open to take in everything I can!

Just call me the human sponge! And speaking of sponge - I still have some birthday cake left from yesterday so I'm off to have a slice. 

BE