You might be wondering if barber school is the right fit for you. If you are interested in pursuing a career in the hair industry and want to enhance your skills, obtaining a degree from a reputable barber school is the best way to get started. The qualifications of a barber are different than a typical hair stylist. This means that you need to pursue and education through a school that teaches the skills that are most valuable.

Here are the biggest benefits that can be gained by going to barber school:

Obtain Steady Employment

Getting a degree from a barber school makes you a more desirable job candidate to any employer. This type of education is designed to help you get access to steady employment once you are done with your schooling. Finding a job at a barber shop is easy if you have the right education. Even when many jobs are on the decline, employment options within the barber industry are still available. This means that the cost of your education at a barber school will pay off long-term. You will be able to gain employment right after you finish your degree and will be able to find a job in your field no matter where you relocate.

Choose Your Own Hours

One of the biggest benefits with choosing a career in this field and going to barber school, is that you will likely get to create a flexible work schedule. Getting a degree from a barber school is just the first step in pursuing a career that allows you to work more flexible hours. You might even take your degree and become self-employed due to the high level of skills that you have mastered while in school. Most jobs come with set and strict schedules, but you will have the opportunity to obtain flexibility in your work schedule. This is something that many people are looking for.

Get the Skills that Make You Desirable

When you are looking to start in any field, you need to separate yourself from everyone else. The only way to do that in the barber industry is to have adequate training. Getting a degree from a barber school can be just the thing you need to help you stand out from other job applicants. You will be fully qualified to begin work at a barber shop right after completion of the program.

Split ends are an ongoing problem that many men and women face every day.  Although you may not notice them right away, they can cause your hair to look dull, fragile, and relatively unhealthy. With all of the products available we are always struggling to remedy split ends when in reality, it can be simple with patience and a few key tips and tricks.

Tip 1: Washing Every Other Day

Even though we like the idea of having clean hair every day of the week, it can be quite hazardous for our hair.  When you decide to wash your hair every other day you are giving the strands the strength that they need from the natural oils in your hair instead of stripping them out with shampoo.  The more natural oils your hair has, the smoother and more protected it will be.

Tip 2: Brushing Properly

Everyone needs to brush their hair after they shower otherwise you’ll get knots over time.  For your daily brushing you will want to get a brush with a cushioned paddle with bristles that are relatively flexible.  You should always brush from the end of your hair to the roots to ensure that you do not cause any excessive damage.

Tip 3: Selective Shampooing

There is one area of your hair that should get the most shampoo and that is the scalp.  Lather the shampoo in this area and then have the ends of your hair get the suds that trail down from the scalp when it is being washed out.  This way you won’t be over drying the ends of your hair.

Tip 4: Conditioning the Ends

To prevent over drying, always be sure to condition the ends of your hair after a shower.  You should then give it several minutes to soak in and be absorbed to get the smoothest hair possible.  When you’re rinsing your hair, be sure not to rinse every trace of conditioner out for longer conditioning.

Tip 5: Towel Drying

Instead of scrubbing your scalp with a towel all over your head, wrap a towel around your hair and squeeze it gently.  This will help to get all of the water out of your hair without making it frizzy and filled with knots.  People who have curly hair will find this tip to be particularly beneficial as you won’t have to worry about fly-aways and frizzy hair.

If you’ve never dyed your hair before or if you’re ready for a drastic change, it is important that you choose a color that you can love and look good in.  Getting your hair dyed is a simple process, whether you do it on your own or if you seek the assistance of a professional.  These tips for changing your hair color will help you to make the most informed decision so you look and feel your best.

Tip 1: What Do You Want?

Think about what it is that you want to achieve.  Do you want to look more modern, soft, or edgy?  Do you have any life goals of becoming a blonde, brunette, or a redhead?  Once you have an idea of what you are interested in, you will then be able to move forward with selecting the right color that you have always dreamed of.

Tip 2: Look At Your Features

Pull out a mirror and look at yourself without makeup so you can see all of the features of your natural face.  This will help you to choose the right shade for the color of your hair.  You can even consider visiting a local wig shop to try on some colored wigs without any makeup to make sure that a color won’t enhance any flaws or make you look washed out.

Tip 3: Going to a Stylist or DIY

The next thing to consider is whether you want to hire someone to do the coloring for you or if you want to do it at home.  Going darker is simple so it can always be done with a box dye but if you’re going significantly lighter, it is advised that you go to a professional to protect your hair and to make sure that it comes out properly.  If you’re going 2 shades lighter than your natural hair you can buy a box dye but any higher than that will require a skilled professional.

Tip 4: Prepare for Maintenance

Regardless of what color you choose, there will be maintenance involved with dying your hair.  If you are choosing an unnatural and vibrant shade, it will inevitably fade quickly.  If you’re going blonde from brunette, you will have to worry about getting your roots done.  Even if you’re going darker as a blonde, your color may fade over time.  Be prepared for the cost and maintenance involved with changing your hair from its natural color.

You tip the waiter or waitress who brings you your dinner at the restaurant so why would you think that you do not tip your hairdresser or barber is the question that is searched for most often. You pay the person who only carries a plate of food from the kitchen to the table at your restaurant but do not feel the person who sticks their hands inside of your hair is worthy of a good tip?

The one thing that most people do not understand is that if you have a hairdresser or a barber who does a poor job on the haircut or who did not do exactly as you had asked them to do, they still should get a tip. They just should not get that much of a tip. The tip for the hair dresser and barber is much like that of your waiter or waitress.

If the barber or hairdresser does an outstanding job and you love the look once they are done, then you might want to tip her or him around twenty percent. If they did exactly as you asked, styled it and washed it, maybe tip more like 25 percent. That is if they were good. If you waited a while to get into the chair because there was people inline, they are clearly worth it because those people are usually the regulars and have had their hair done in the past and know the wait is worth it.

If you got your haircut and were not pleased and do not feel that they deserve a tip, imagine that same feeling for your local restaurant and the fear that if you do not leave a tip the next time you come, they will do something to your food. That same fear should apply to the person cutting your hair. I would feel personally if I did not tip or left a bad tip, that the next time I come back, my hair will be messed up and Ill regret not leaving that tip in the first place.

Your hair is something that is going to take a while to grow out and if there is a mess up, you know how hard it can be to face everyone. At least once in everyone’s life, they have had their hair messed up whether or not they did it on purpose. So imagine having to do that simply because you did not tip. The standard going rate for someone who did a bad job on a haircut is 15 percent.

It’s unfortunate that men in the world today do not get the same benefits of the barber shop that their fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers once had. The benefit of using a regular barber over the salon has been a tradition that is long gone. There are still some barbers left out there but most men end up in the local salon getting their hair cut and style.

One of the downsides to going to the local salon over the barber shop is that you will most likely end up with a different stylist each time. In most salons the stylists are rotated and therefore you might get comfortable with the stylist and find that the next time you come back, she or he has been transferred to another salon.

When you go to a barber shop, the barber has been doing hair for quite a while and therefore he knows what it means to take just a little off the top. Most stylists in the salon all have their own way or their own thoughts on what a little means. They might ask you if you mean this or mean that but generally go with their own thoughts on how much to take off. A barber however looks and sees you and knows just how much you want to lose.

A barber is going to learn from his mistakes in the past and therefore knows how to avoid those same mistakes. He knows how hard it is to gather customers because most go to the salons. He therefore want’s to avoid losing more clients and therefore will take slightly longer to make sure the cut is perfect and is what you want. A stylist is generally in a hurry and therefore will snip quickly and if a mistake is made, oh well, goes on to finish the cut allowing the mistake to decide how the rest of the cut should go.

If you are someone who is always interested in the same cut, then you know how important it is to maintain that same image. If this is important to you, then you want to be able to use the same person for all of your haircutting needs. A barber shop that has been open for year’s know how that is and will do everything in their power to make sure that they are able to keep you coming back to them for years and years.

What Your Hairstyle Says About Your Personality

Long, short, curly or purple, hair says a lot about your personality. While not it is not always correct to judge a book by its cover hair style gives non-verbal clues to who you are and applies to both men and women yet with different interpretations.

Women place a great amount of importance on their hairstyles. It is the one physical trait that can be easily changed without major sacrifice such as dieting. Short or cropped hairstyles on a woman is perceived as confidence if they are slender or fit. Straight hair is perceived as being more formal and business like especially if cut above the shoulders while longer loose hair indicates a less professional manner in the male dominant business world. Short hair also means you don’t like to waste time on your hair, leaving more time for other things.

Curly and wavy hair means you are fun loving, that is why a person with curly hair is often not taken very seriously, yet those with thick and wavy hair are considered creative, while thick hair alone shows you have strong will power.

Those with straight hair who curl it mean they crave more adventure in their lives while those with curly hair who straighten it want a less chaotic life giving you more calmness and control. Long wash-and-go styles give the perception of being more in touch with your feelings akin to hippy style but medium length wash-and-go style makes you a logical thinker.

High maintenance hair indicates you are self-critical and a drama queen. Every hair has to be perfectly in line shows a fussiness and superficial focus on life. The other side of the coin is those who throw their hair into sloppy pony-tails or braids show they put everyone else’s needs before their own.

Asymmetrical hair styles shows a woman as being more fun, adventurous and a go-getter like someone with a blunt cut. The blunt cuts show a person who is direct and to the point, not a time waster. Those who choose bald or shaved heads are romantics.

The choice of color also speaks about your personality. Blondes receive more attention but are considered less intelligent while brunettes are considered mysterious. Currently, going natural and letting the grey through is trending which shows confidence and self-security in the face of an age discriminate society. Bright colored dyed hair shows either rebellion or a need for attention. Natural red-heads are placed in the fiery category while dyed red-heads are considered attention seekers.

Hair accessories such as weaves, extensions, ribbons or bands shows you are not afraid of change and like the ability to express yourself beyond physical hair.

Our hair styles give a glimpse into the personality behind the style. If you are feeling the need for a change it is simply a matter of going to the salon to find a new way to express yourself. A woman will change her hairstyle many times during her life that can be signs of her ever evolving personality and focus in life.

The color of your hair should not really matter to a prospective employer however it really does.

It is not that they do not want you to dye your hair, it’s that they don’t want your hair to be something out of this world working for their companies.

The company you work for or are trying to work for will have a list of rules and regulations that will tell you what they do not allow and what they do allow working for their company.

There are some companies who will say that the person who they are looking at for a prospective employee should not have hair that is wild as this makes the company itself look bad. For instance, if you are applying for a job flipping burgers, well most likely they really do not care what color your hair is dyed but if you are applying for a job being a therapist, they most likely will not want you to have dyed hair that is orange or blue or purple. For this reason, it is best to think ahead about what exactly you are trying to achieve and consider if the right decision is dying it a color that is presentable or if you even want to dye it at all.

Another thing that you might want to consider when you are thinking about dying your hair is that there are some predisposition ideas out there that there are some colors of hair that dictate whether or not you are smart enough for a job. For instance, think about all of those blond jokes you heard growing up. Now think about what else is said about blondes. Most people think that blondes are dumb and they are known to have more fun. For this reason, an employer who sees a prospective employee coming into their company might shy away from a blonde who is coming in to apply for a job.

It is not that the employer would discriminate against a employee but if there are two people walking in for the same job and one person looks more professional, has a different color of hair than what someone else does, they most likely will hire the person who appears to be more professional than the other. So keep this in mind as you ask yourself, will dying my hair affect my chances of getting a job!

Hairstyles for Professionals

The first thing that you present to a person is your appearance. While your appearance is important in almost all settings, your image is very important in the workplace. Maintaining a professional look is key to keeping and maintaining that edge in the workforce. So your hairstyle is just as equally important, it needs to be kept in a professional manner.

If you like to keep your hair on the longer side, try a hairstyle that accentuates the length. Or you can wear your long hair up, such as in a clip or hair tie, it’s an effortless yet classy look, all while maintaining that professional look and demeanor. Below are just one of the few but many ways you can style your hair as a professional at work!

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Women’s Hair Styles

The 1920’s brought flappers with bobs and short hair but those are far from the trends of the spring runways this year. Whether the hair is pulled back in to a bun or let down in loose waves all of the styles have a lot of length.

For women with dry and frizzy hair waves are perfect. Hair should have texture, and frizz is the perfect way to achieve that. When hair is wavy it needs to have this texture, otherwise it would just fall flat. Someone without frizzy hair can also achieve perfect waves by using certain hair products.

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by Valerie Valdez

When it comes to healthy hair, it is not just what you put on your head that counts, but what you put in your body, too.

If you eat a balanced, protein-rich diet that includes these foods, you will be giving your hair the important nutrients it needs to grow healthy. At the top of many healthy food lists is Fish, like salmon, herring, trout and mackerel because these are loaded with protein and vitamin D, plus omega-3 fatty acids that your body needs to grow hair.

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