Retraining as a hairdresser

[worriedmammy1992]

I have an interview to go to college to do hairdressing.

for the last 5/6 years I have been running businesses for other people and I’m sick of having a boss more than anything.

Hairdressing is something I think I would like and my goal would be to eventually run my own salon.

anyone done this? Any thoughts? I’ve already made sure I can afford to do this - well the training, the salon would be a long way in the future after I’ve paid my dues I’d imagine!

I did. I did level 2 & 3 in college. I’m a nurse by profession then retrained as a hairdresser.

The difficulty for me being older was I didn’t ’fit’ because I was older. An apprenticeship was the most desired by employing salon because you had time served experience but it’s very difficult to get one being older because it’s traditionally a role for young, fresh out of school people & that’s also the expectation of the salon.

Unless you’re going to work for yourself straight out of college, you might find it difficult. I certainly did & returned to nursing.

I did this 20 years ago in my 30s as I had always wanted to be a hairdresser and it has been brilliant! I started with an introduction course then did a Level 2 qualification whilst doing my ‘day job’ part time. I did this with a friend and was fortunate enough to convert her cellar into a salon which has worked really well as a home salon, so I would recommend this if it is possible for you to do this. We started offering hairdressing services for free whilst at college then charged a minimal price which we increased as we felt more confident/gained experience. I did work for 2 years in a small boutique salon as I thought I needed commercial experience but it showed me what I knew and gave me more confidence.

We have built up a long standing loyal client base over the years and have never advertised, so it’s been a success. I really recommend this - it’s a lovely job - hard work but well worth it!

Good luck with it all! X