...to ask your honest thoughts when someone tells you they're a hairdresser?

[westmommy]

First thoughts, any assumptions? Fully transparent and honest answers please, no judgement whether good/bad!

Also any hairdressers out there, what are your honest experiences and thoughts about the job? Do you enjoy, would you recommend it etc?

It's meant to be one of the happiest professions. I don't judge people on what they do. I generally just ask if they enjoy what they do.
I always think of hairdressers as artistic and good communicators. Just go for it if it appeals, don't live your life according to other people's attitudes. You'll always be in work that's for sure.

Honestly I'd love to be able to do hair. I can do it so it looks okay, just hasn't got that neat look that people who are good at hair manage to get. So probably admiration really.

I would think how can you talk mindless drivel with all those different people in one day? And, don't you get bored doing the same thing over and over again?

However, my hairdresser is very intelligent and an original thinker. She does not spout mindless drivel. She's not afraid to disagree with me, and we have some great discussions.

I know an engineer who retrained as a hairdresser.

As I said, I’m not tarring everyone with the same brush and there definitely is a very skilled/knowledgeable minority in the hair/beauty professions. I seek these practitioners out!!

So this is what I would have thought about the girls in my school when I was younger. I don’t really think that now though when I meet people that are older and they have the experience / have pursued this as a career. Not judging your post @Blueeberryby the way, just quoting to piggyback off that as it used to be my thought

A great hairdresser is seriously underrated. Our local lovely lady has done my my teens from when there tiny and My dad when he was in Hospice

Creative, skilled, businesswoman, with the patience and tact of a saint.

Have had my hairdresser for 27 years. I think I know more of her secrets than she knows of mine which is a good job because she cuts dh's hair now too.

She came to the UK with little English, learnt her trade, took over the shop, built it up, manages the beauty side (they are challenging to manage) and rents a couple of chairs to other stylists.

If I.go on a Friday night, we drink wine; on a Tuesday morning, coffee.

She's quick and efficient and a brilliant colourist.

I really detest the English for being snooty about the vocational trades. Where would we be without hairdressers, electricians, plumbers, mechanics, carpenters, etc. Usually small businessen who are organised and disciplined. We were invited to our decorator's wedding - we were thrilled and had a great time. In an emergency one of his mates always helps us put.

That they cut hair for a living?

I’d think lucky them. I wanted to train as a hairdresser when I was a feckless but creative and practical school dropout but my snobbish father put me off and I continued to drift for years.

This is a very British attitude. In all other countries in the world hairdressers are very well respected and sought after. The UK has a whole list of jobs that are looked down upon only here, but else where people really respect those trades. Along with hairdressers, travel agents, bank tellers, parking attendents, plumbers, painters, electricians, builders, plasterers, childcare workers, beauty therapists, hospitality, florists and many other trades that are seen as Mickey Mouse by UK standards, but the world over they are highly respected and highly skilled jobs. It just shows how elitist this country is when your measure of success is only defined by very few professions. Medicine, Law, and Finance. We really do have a problem in this country with snobbery when it comes to professions that are "deemed acceptable" This is simply not the case elsewhere.

"Wow, you're so brave. How on earth did you get to the point that you had the confidence to chop into someone's hair?"

Meh. It's just a job. It can give you a bad back though, a lot of standing.

This.
I'm not interested in hair, would hate having to stand up all day and would hate having to make small talk all day, would probably have a breakdown after a week! But it isn't judgment, I'd feel the same way about being a GP and/or other supposedly enviable careers.
I understand there's a lot of skill involved in hairdressing, and it can be very lucrative so good on anyone who makes it work for them and enjoys it (I still hate going though).

That I wished I'd married a hairdresser. My friend is my hairdresser & she sometimes feels a bit intimidated when her more supposedly intellectual & professional friends start talking.
I just remind her who was missed the most during lock down - hairdressers or solicitors/accountants etc 😀

Going to college to train or undergoing an apprenticeship isn’t the same as ‘dropping out’.

That they must be very creative and skilled

I think "they must think my hair is shit".

@Blueeberry I have no words, not polite ones at least.

I just think I hope they don’t mind I take my kindle out and read my book. Tell me when we’re done.

I could learn to be a hairdresser. Yes, I could. I might not end up a top stylist but I absolutely, definitively could learn to cut hair to a decent standard.

Yes, I could. Yes, I know this for a fact based on reality and my own experiences.

It's not looking down on the job to say it's just an everyday, ordinary job. I don't look down on anybody who works for a living, all work has dignity.

I could not learn to be an electrician, a builder, or a plumber. I might manage to be a painter though again it is an incredibly taxing physical job.

Hairdressing is not an equivalent to those jobs they are much (much) more physically taxing and require a lot of stamina.

Electrician training involves electrical theory, maths, code compliance, blueprint reading and safety training to prevent lethal errors. Plastering and bricklaying require precise calculations for materials and mixes, structural alignment, load bearing knowledge, and handling heavy physical setups.

Plumbing requires in depth knowledge of pipe systems, water pressure, drainage and gas lines and in many cases building codes blueprint reading maths for calculations and strict safety protocols to avoid leaks, contamination explosions or structural damage.

Hairdressing centers on artistic techniques like cutting, colouring, and styling, with far lower technical or safety thresholds.

What would I do without a hair stylist? Cut my own hair. I have and often do and particularly since discovering the unicorn technique, and I've been using Schwarzkopf wash in wash out colours for years. What would I do without a plumber or an electrician? Possibly die, or lose my home or live with an unbearable problem. The stakes are not the same.

You're not hearing disrespect to hairdressers, it's just indifference.

And it's not a British attitude it's the attitude of the commenter you replied to.

I love mine, she's a great friend too. Didn't go to university but is far more informed with regard to world events, current affairs than lots of friends who were better educated so...

My thoughts are that they are very skilful and talented.

This. Excellent hairdressers, ie: the most skilled/talented/knowledgable are very hard to come by. It’s an unregulated profession that realistically anyone can do/call themselves - doesn’t mean they’ll be any good but it’s still safe and legal.

Running your own business, managing staff, setting prices, working out profit margins, accounts, tax, VAT. It's really skilled work.

And then there's being responsible for taking care of so many people's hair and ensure they have a great experience.

I think it's really hard work, highly skilled and I am so grateful for my hairdresser.

As for retraining as an apprentice, you can and should do it. AI can't ever take your place.