Explore: Hair and beauty

Senior Stylist
Sejour

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Jon H

00:00:02 My name is Jon H and I’m a senior stylist here at Sejour. Day to day responsibilities are obviously to pass my experience onto the younger assistants and generation. Sometimes we have very egoistic people but you know, as a part of being a hairdresser, you have to kind of learn how to deal with these types of people. They’re paying a lot money for an hour’s worth of service so we try and give it the best, you know, we could possibly give them, really.

00:00:26 When I started doing full time I was around 17 years old. I used to work in my Dad’s salon, he was a hairdresser, too. Just basically sweeping the floors up and making horrible cups of tea and coffee. You know, growing up in that environment, that atmosphere, it was quite a relaxed atmosphere. It’s social, it’s fun but, yeah, I pretty much knew that I was going to be heading in this direction. I just knew from day one that this would be my future. To be honest with you, he didn’t really want me to work with him.

00:00:54 His aim was obviously to push me into the direction of Vidal Sassoon, Nicky Clarke and John Frieda type thing. I was working at Nicky Clarke’s and did a youth training scheme and basically built my way up from there. It was a great experience because we were involved in all aspects of hairdressing from music videos to photo shoots to cat walks. Yeah, it was a great point in my life. It was definitely one of the highs. We also did get quite involved with travelling abroad and doing the Milan and New York cat walk shows for various designers. Which was a great buzz.

00:01:29 I like the pressure, I like the pressure factor, having to deliver the goods. You know, I like a challenge. I mean, now we’re trying to implement all that kind of stuff at this salon here and build our creative team. It is a pretty special salon, yes. I mean, you meet all walks of life from models to bankers to lawyers to fashion editors. So, of course, yeah, I mean, these type of salons here are if you wanted to kind of work, would be the place to get in. But obviously, it comes down to your drive and you know, you presenting yourself to, you know, are you going to make it work for you?

00:02:02 The good thing I like about this job is you love it so much that actually you don’t really get tired because it’s so social. I mean, we have the role of kind of the agony aunt role. So, you know, we’re here for them. So, you know, the things we hear in the salon is literally beyond so, going down to that personal level really that’s going to work. You know, they kind of find a lot of trust in you. Yeah, doctor, counsellor, therapist, hairdresser all rolled in one.

00:02:29 To an extent I think luck does play a role but I think you create your own opportunity in life. I was very strong minded, still am and know pretty much what I want. My aspirations and hopes for the next years ahead would be possibly to play a bigger role within this company. I mean, taking on the responsibility of trying to put an art team together is pretty, pretty big anyway but, I mean, if once I’ve achieved that and done that then I think possibly a bigger role within this company. Who knows what the future years…we may have another salon like this possibly to create another art team there or possibly manage that team.

00:03:06 So, I mean, who knows but after I’ve completed one project then I’ll think about the next one.

ENDS

Jon is senior stylist at Sejour and describes his role as “doctor, counsellor, therapist, hairdresser all rolled into one”. His dad also owned a salon so “I knew from day one that this would be my future… The good thing about this job is you love it so much that actually you don’t get tired”.

More information about Hairdressers and barbers

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£17,160
average salary

The UK average salary is £29,813

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33
average weekly hours

There are 37.5 hours in the average working week

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28%  male 
72%  female 

The UK workforce is 47% female and 53% male

Future employment

Future employment?

Description
? Hairdressers and barbers shampoo, cut, colour, style and treat hair.
Qualifications
There are no minimum academic requirements for entry, although some colleges require candidates to possess GCSEs/S grades. Training is provided off- and on-the-job and lasts up to three years leading to the awarding of NVQs/SVQs at Levels 1, 2 and 3. Apprenticeships leading to an NVQ/SVQ at Level 3 are also available.
Tasks
  • Discusses customer requirements, analyses hair condition and other relevant features to define and advise on hair style;
  • Washes, conditions, bleaches, tints or dyes hair and provides any necessary basic scalp treatments;
  • Cuts and trims hair using scissors, clippers, razor and comb;
  • Combs, brushes, blow-dries or sets wet hair in rollers to style or straighten;
  • Shaves and trims beards and moustaches;
  • Collects payment, arranges appointments and cleans and tidies salon;
  • Maintains client records and keeps up-to-date with new products, styles and techniques;
  • Ensures hair products are stored and used appropriately and observes relevant health and safety factors;
  • Demonstrates, sells and recommends hair care products to clients and advises them on hair care.
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Employment status
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