Having a three-dimension visual sense is not always a given with hairdressers. Some have a background in the arts as I do, and some do not. Each stylist has their own approach to color and shaping hair. I am a kinesthetic cutter, meaning I not only cut the shape required, but I work with the hair’s growth pattern and density to work with the fabric the heads have. Hair must have movement and shine to refresh each look and different clients require unique approaches to achieve that. If your hair is missing something and you can’t put into words, artists can be helpful in identifying changes that may help. We can step out of the box when necessary, which is the ultimate strength of an artist. The technical part of haircutting is task oriented, but some solutions are more than just angles. We must dissect where we can make specific adjustments toward better performance of the hair in a look. This is also true in the placement and choice of hair color, along with the chemistry involved. Artists are sought often for the balance of these things, and my passion for what I can create comes through and helps create long lasting connections with clients. For those seeking this balance, it is absolutely worth the investment.
It seems that everyone calls themselves an artist in the hair industry. It can be somewhat subjective though. What is valuable to one client may not hold value for another, due to varying circumstances. Artistry in hairdressing is more than just “creativity “. It is the ability to have not only the vision of an outcome but an ability to communicate what the process of getting to a result will require. Additionally, there are often many ways to ease into a look through a step-by-step approach, and we need to consider a client’s budget, time frame and desired result. In the case of hair upstyling, not every canvas of hair can support the required looks either due to texture, length, or thickness. The artistic opportunity exists in finding alternative ways to secure a look for an event by adding extensions or other items to the look to compensate for a deficit in the hair fabric.
Artistry is the culmination of the aspects of a technician put in the context of manifesting a look or a style solution. From a fee standpoint, it is not simply ordering a burger and fries from the menu. You are asking a hair artist to come into your life and create something from scratch, just for you, with your parameters in mind. Therefore, the fees will also be in alignment with that, which is often misunderstood. In that process is product cost to produce services, years of practice, continuing education and hours behind the chair. This is just scratching the surface of what artists like me can do, and we do it with every good intent and passion.