When does one become a good hairdresser?
At what point does hair mastery come into effect and who is the judge of that?
There’s a general rule of thumb when learning any skill set…
10 000 hours!
The unwritten rule is you need to spend 10 000 hours practicing a skill before you can be called proficient in it. That sounds like a long time and a lot of work but how long is that?
10 000 hours is the equivalent of 5.5 years working full time at 38 hours a week for 48 weeks a year.
So that means you’ve become a proficient hairdresser just by doing your apprenticeship and then working for the next 2.5 years? That’s not very long at all. In my opinion…that’s the point when you realise what sort of hairdresser you want to be. It’s what you do from here that makes you unique.
10 000 hours only makes you a proficient hairdresser not an amazing hairdresser.
You become amazing when you’ve done 10 000 of each of the things you do. If you specialise in cutting it’s 10 000 bobs or 10 000 graduations. If you do colour it’s 10 000 balayage or 10 000 tints. That’s going to add at least another 15-20 years on to your timeline for becoming an expert in your field.
Realistically…the majority of us won’t get this far in the industry. Statistics show the exit rate in hairdressing is high. I get it…it’s a hard job and taxing on the body over this period of time. The hours can be long, the money can be bad and your hands and legs are going to hurt a lot.
Most of us will never get to this “perfection” level simply because we won’t be there long enough. The rest of us will never reach the level of perfection we are striving towards because it’s actually impossible to attain. If you’re still hairdressing after that amount of time you obviously love what you do and will always want to be better.
There is no perfect hairdresser…no one gets it “perfect” 100% of the time. Styles change everyday…we always have something new to learn. The looks you see online and in competitions aren’t real. The editing that you see isn’t what it looks like in real life so stop comparing your work to what you’re observing.
Concentrate on your own goals and looking after your clients. This is how you can create a great work environment and life balance for yourself. Enjoy your learning journey for however long you continue this for. Keep it fun and be patient. You’ve got heaps of time.
There are only two real judges of your talent:
- You
- Your returning clients
That’s all you need.
Key Points:
- Hairdressing skills take time
- Don’t compare yourself to others
- You’re amazing to your clients that keep coming back
Until next time…
Craig
The Solo Stylist
P.S. Not sure if freelancing is right for you?
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