Hairdressing students at West Nottinghamshire College welcomed two professional stylists and experts in their field to the Derby Road-based salons last week, while learning new cutting and styling techniques to incorporate into their own work.
Sarah Inman and Jess Copestake were delighted with their new looks.
Stylists Paul Corbett and Rich Windle visited for a day of knowledge sharing in the Revive salons, bringing students a wealth of inspiration for their up-coming careers.
Stafford-based Paul, director of advanced education at Francesco Hair Salons and a cutting specialist for more than 25 years, teamed up with Rich, who works in Manchester as creative education lead at Wella Professionals, and is a feather blade expert.
Complete restyles were done during two live demonstrations on models – the first concentrating on curly hair looks, followed by a straight hair demonstration. Models for the curly haired look were care experienced coach Sarah Inman and work placement engagement officer Jessica Copestake.
Rich working on getting the right length on Jess' hair.
Using techniques such as feather blading, as well as traditional scissor work, the guests worked on curly hair to disconnect the haircuts, working with the natural curl.
The demonstration can be seen at this link:
Paul took a lot of length off Sarah's hair before creating the new look.
In the second session the artists focussed on working with head and face shapes to frame the face and introduced fringes, texture and soft layering to create a bespoke look for each client. Paul and Rich used thinning scissors to personalise the cut once this had been blow-dried and ‘shattered’ the ends to eliminate bulk and weight leaving an overall blended look.
Students were able to see the demonstrations live, while being able to ask questions about how the looks were created. The audience was made up of around 30 students from Level 2 and 3 hairdressing courses, adult learners, and apprentices, and was organised in partnership with Wella.
Students were able to ask the stylists questions as they worked.
Teaching head of department for hair and beauty Suzanne Szepeta said: “Paul and Rich brought a huge amount of industry knowledge, skill and energy into the salon. It was fantastic for learners to see specialist cutting techniques being used in a live environment, particularly around curly hair, which can often be challenging because every client’s hair texture and curl pattern is different.
“The transformation work they carried out was incredible and really showed our students how to approach and manage a complete restyle with confidence. More importantly, our learners were able to interact directly with two professionals who genuinely live and breathe the hairdressing industry, which is something you can’t always get from watching online tutorials. Experiences like this help to inspire students and show them where a career in hairdressing can take them.”
Rich worked with Jess' natural curls.
Adult learner Victoria Lowe, who runs her business Hair by Victoria from a home-based salon, said: “The session was brilliant, especially learning more about working with curly hair and using blade techniques to remove weight while still keeping the curl shape. It’s given me much more confidence and helped me look at curly hair in a completely different way.
“I decided to retrain in hairdressing because life is too short to stay in a job you’re not content with. The college has given me the opportunity to build my skills and work towards running my own business, and sessions like this are so valuable because you learn new techniques, product knowledge and real industry insight directly from experienced stylists.”
Victoria completed an adult fast-track Level 2 VRQ hairdressing course at the college after previously working in sales and the NHS. She now works from a purpose-built salon at home, offering clients a more private and relaxed one-to-one experience.
The guest demonstrations formed part of the college’s continued commitment to giving students access to industry professionals and up-to-date techniques alongside their practical training.