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Hairstyling or dressing the hair is an Art that has changed into a wide variety of styles, mainly determined by fashion and cultures throughout history. From the times of the Roman Empire, when women wore their hair in a mass of curls on top, rows of waves or braids and the Middle Ages, when they grew their hair as long as it would naturally grow, to the post–war years of 1950’s and 1960’s, when the popular hairstyles consisted of waves and curls as well as high bouffant and beehive styles, you can observe how a person’s hairstyle portrays an image of the period of time in which they live in.

  
Luxurious and glamorous finger-wave styles are the latest in fashion magazines, runways and red carpets among celebrities.

Over the decades trends in hairstyling are often inspired by fashion or out of necessity for women’s busy lifestyle. It used to be common for women to visit the salon and have their hair styled weekly, this is referred to as the shampoo and set era. In the 60’s and 70’s a new younger generation of women went to the salon less for weekly comb outs and instead of started shampooing and conditioning and styling their hair more at home. Salon services begin to grow in another way such as regular haircuts, colors, and perms. The blow dryer and curling iron became more commonly used at home as well.

As clients styled their hair more frequently at home and depended on a great haircut to making their styling easier. This was a big time of change for salons as they moved away from the barbershop for me and hair salon for women into a unisex salon concept that catered to both men and women. As the 80’s continued the same unisex salon environment you saw new trends appear in permanent waves and big hair. Salon stylists become the specialist in the spiral or permanent wave so clients could have a wash and wear easy style to fit their busy lifestyles.

So it is important as a stylist to have historical knowledge and a strong technical background in the fundamentals of hairstyling. This will allow you to be successful and predict or see emerging trends based on fashion, lifestyle or necessity. The skills outlined in this chapter of the Art of Hairdressing will give you the confidence and technical skills needed to create styled that will satisfy your clients and inspire you to create your own trends.

Client Consultation

In order to have a thorough understanding of hairstyling, cosmetologists should learn about it because:

• The professional can express creativity and deliver a specific outcome desired by the client with this import ant and foundational skill, called Hairstyling.
• You are the expert! Clients rely on you to educate them about their hair and learn how to style it in order to have different options to meet their lifestyle and fashion needs.
• The client will seek your knowledge for that special style desired for that special day.
• Hairstyling skills will empower you to help clients be as up-to-date as they would like, while keeping up trends.

The first step in the hairstyling process is the client consultation. To find the styles that your client likes, the best thing is to show them your own personal portfolio or have them look through magazines to find their preferred styles.

A photo is worth a thousand words. As you determine which style is the best suitable, keep in mind everything that you have learned regarding lifestyle, hair type and face shape in Chapter 7, The Fundamentals of Hair Design.

Imagine that a client goes to a salon and asks for a hairstyle that is not right for their hair. The result is horrific because the stylist does not suggest something more appropriate. As the ‘creative problem solver’, you are now asked to find a solution to the problem. If the style you offer, is easy to maintain and also flattering, they will be your most loyal client.

The following items are wet hairstyling tools:

CHI Turbo Carbon Combs, Turbo Brushes, Magnetic Rollers

All Plastic Clips, and Curl Clips (for sectioning).