Beauty

[sillycat]

Anyone have their hair done at a beauty school?  I want color, highlights, and cut.  My co-worker is trying to talk me into going there.  I'm kind of afraid to do it especially the color.  Tell me about your experiences good and bad!!  Thanks

[queendiva]

@sillycat: I go all the time- have for years!

Fantastic for color and highlights. I prefer to pay an experienced pro for a cut with the money I save on the other services. Also love to get a shampoo /blowout.

The students are great, the teachers are helpful, the products are professional quality- better than anything you buy in the drugstore and you save a ton!

Cosmo school is my Me time!

[NycVixen]

An old co-worker of mine was attending costmetology school and she suggested I go. The cut was subpar but the highlights and base color were amazing. This was several years ago in NJ and it was less than $60 for over 3 hours of work.

I would highly recommend it. There is usually a teacher there overseeing everything so the chances of it going awry are low IMO. I would get a cut somewhere else and let them do the color until you know which student is the best at cutting hair.

[JeanLouiseFinch]

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@sillycat wrote:

Anyone have their hair done at a beauty school?  I want color, highlights, and cut.  My co-worker is trying to talk me into going there.  I'm kind of afraid to do it especially the color.  Tell me about your experiences good and bad!!  Thanks

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@sillycat  I did it all the time when my daughter was a student.  Keep in mind, everybody needs to start somewhere, and the student is probably going to be a bit nervous too, but the instructors are right there to consult, observe, and step in if needed.  One of my daughter's instructors had a saying, "There are no mistakes, only discoveries."  Aside from a cut being too short, anything can be corrected.  When you go in, ask for a student who is close to graduation as she will have more services under her belt and be more comfortable than someone who is just starting to see clients.

[Sueme]

I went to costetology school 5 years ago, as a second career.   I went to a prestigous school in NYC.  I felt that if this was a second career I needed the backing of a great education.  I turned out some amazing work! Didn't know I had it in me! You are guided by a teacher every step, from consulation, to formulation of color, to products to use.  Everything.  And they would walk around and watch as you were doing and even come join in if it was going slowly (highlights).   I think it can be a great experience. Just tell the truth about what you've done to your hair. I saw a woman not say she had used henna and they started putting in bleach(Foils)  and her hair started to get very hot and the foils started to burst and those peices were ornage.  But this goes for any hairdresser, student or not. They need to know whats in your hair to know where they can go from there. 

[Carmie]

I was a Beauty School Student and I will give it to you straight.

As with every stylist you go to, you will find the good and the bad.  Some students are good, some are awful and will never make it even if they eventually get their license.

Beauty School teaches you what you need to know to pass your state board exams.  Most of what you need to know is theory.  The exam itself will consist of a basic hair cut with shears and a razor.  A manicure and probably some outdated things such as how to set the hair in  rollers and pin curls and how to properly apply perm rods.

You answer questions on how to color the hair and might have to section it off for color, but you do not actually color the hair for your state boards.

When I went to Beauty School, I only did a few clients color.  Instead, I preferred to be in the dispensary mixing the color for the other students to apply.  There I learned how to achieve certain results with the color chosen.

Some of my teachers were very good and had worked in salons for years.  Some never worked in a salon in their life.  They just got their teachers license with no experience.  You only need more hours of school to be a teacher and pass that exam.

As with anywhere you go, you could have a wonderful experience or a bad one.  If you get a basic cut and color, you should be okay.  If your cut is difficult  and your hair color is very involved, you probably won’t be happy.

Then again. You could be thrilled.  When you find a student that you like, that student won’t be there forever.  They will graduate and move on and you will need to find someone else.  Yes, you  can follow them to their job, but it could be far away and might be months away.  They have to pass the exam to work and the exam might be months after they graduate.

Maybe your coworker can recommend a certain student to your that she likes.  That way you can be sure to get an experienced student stylist.

You might want to go in just for a manicure or a shampoo and blow dry to check it out first.  That’s what I would do.  Test the waters first and see how the clients look.  You might also find a stylist that you would feel comfortable with to cut and color.

[dex]

@Carmie@If you don’t mind can you answer a question for me.Why does almost every hairdresser seem to cut my right side shorter than my left.

[Carmie]

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@dex wrote:

@Carmie@If you don’t mind can you answer a question for me.Why does almost every hairdresser seem to cut my right side shorter than my left.

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I don’t know for sure, but if they are using your ear as a guide, one ear might be higher than the other one, or your hair might grow directional, say from Left to right. That means that on the left side  the hair directions behind your left ear.  Once it circles around your head, it directions towards your face on the right.  Your stylist could be cutting your hair by pulling it straight down and not taking this into account.  That could make  the right side longer. You could also have a whorl or cowlick that causes this.

[pommom]

The few times I went to a cosmetology school I came away very pleased.  Had great haircuts and a color.  $15.  Left the gal a $20 tip.  Still out for much less than going to a salon.

[mac116]

I used to live close to a Beauty School, and went there frequently.  The work was good, and the prices were amazing...BUT, it took 2-3 times longer to get the work done.  The students were slow and careful, and they often had to wait for an instructor to double check their work. I stopped going when a simple haircut could take up to 90 minutes .