Blown away by hair expertise

My blow-drying technique involves hanging my head upside-down, ruffling it up and hoping for the best. Needless to say, I never quite manage that ‘just stepped out of a salon’ look.

So when Kelly Russell, an assessor at Woodspeen Hair and Training Academy, invited me for a hair styling consultation, I jumped at the chance to learn from a professional. With the Christmas party season underway, a girl needs all the help she can get.

Part of the national Woodspeen Training network, the academy provides apprenticeships, vocational qualifications and skills programmes for occupations including childcare, IT, business administration and hairdressing.

The hair academy has relocated to bigger premises at Cheapside, Bradford, providing trainees with a salon experience. Open to the public, it offers hair cutting, blow-drying, styling, colouring and barbering carried out by learners on level 2 and 3 apprenticeships, under supervision.

Each course combines theory and practical work with placements at salons. Apprentices are aged 16-plus, and there’s a weekly class for adults over 24.

Kelly asked me to bring my hair products, and recommended brands to use. Because I have fine hair she advised high-volume shampoo to give it a lift, and to use a weekly hair mask rather than conditioning after every wash, as this can make it too ‘fly-away’. I also learned that the nozzle on my hairdryer is too big, which I guess is why it blasts my hair like a hurricane.

I’m naturally blonde and occasionally have highlights, but Kelly suggested streaks of a darker colour to add lift and gloss. I’m tempted to give it a go.

“People often stick to the same hairstyle all their lives” said Kelly. “They’re scared to try a different style or colour, but making that leap can work wonders. It’s about knowing what works best.”

Kelly is keen to develop the consultation aspect of hairdressing.

“So many people don’t know what products to use or how to style or blow-dry their hair. Often they’re using the wrong shampoo and can’t get the shine and volume they want. With a consultation we provide advice, it’s a personal touch that hopefully encourages clients to return,” said Kelly.

“Having their hair done gives people a boost – clients often say they’re off to buy a new lipstick or a top straight afterwards. It makes us feel good about ourselves. There are many things you can do with hair, but doing your own hair can be tricky and that’s where a consultation helps.”

She added: “With a lot of hairdressers you’ve no idea what they’re doing. We encourage apprentices to talk people through the process. When it comes to colouring, they learn that you don’t just slap it on – a skin test is essential and we discuss things like hair texture, skin tone, eye colour.”

Kelly began by washing my hair and massaging my scalp, which was bliss, then rubbed in a little argan oil for shine – she advised putting it on hair ends and leaving overnight – and divided my hair into sections.

She blow-dried underneath bits, flicking them out, then started curling top sections around the hairbrush and blow-drying.

Kelly made it look easy, but when she handed me the hairdryer and brush I wasn’t even sure how to hold them! I usually dry my hair first, then brush it, so doing both together was baffling.

I’m lefthanded, so hold the hairdryer in my left hand, but I needed the brush in that hand.

Finally, I wrapped a section of hair around the brush and held the dryer over it, as instructed. Usually I’m faced with drying a mass of hair, but splitting it into sections made it easier to manage.

I’m always impressed by how hairdressers blow-dry around the brush – I end up tangling my hair around it – but eventually I got the hang of slowly pulling the hair out, creating a springy, root lift effect. It made my arms ache but, finally, my hair was looking like it had some life in it.

After the blow-drying came the rollers. I’ve always associated curlers with headscarves and Hilda Ogden but, witnessing the effect they had on my hair, I wondered how I’d managed to get through life without them.

Kelly used velcro rollers on top of my hair to create volume. “Put them in while the hair is hot from the hairdryer,” she said, handing me a roller. I wrapped pieces of hair around a few rollers, applied hairspray, then pulled them out, and Kelly used straighteners on the ends of the underneath sections, wrapping them around to achieve a curling-out look. Who knew straighteners could do that?

After a bit of back-combing, I had full-on, root-lifted, high-volume hair. I was thrilled!

“That should take about half-an-hour to do at home,” said Kelly. “People want good hair but they’re not prepared to put in the time or effort. There’s no quick fix, but if you just want a bit of a lift in the morning, just put a few rollers on top.”

I felt in safe hands with Kelly, who started hairdressing at 16. “I did my friends’ hair, they’d come to the salon so I could practise on them. I just love hair, it fascinates me – what we can do with it, how it changes, the colours, fashion, new techniques,” she said.

Kelly trained at Christopher Paul training academy in Bradford, working to NVQ City and Guilds standard, then opened her own salon aged 21, which she ran for ten years.

After training in team leadership, Kelly was keen to help young people with apprenticeships. “There are so many opportunities out there, if you have an apprenticeship it will help you a long way,” she said.

“As an assessor I help find the relevant hair salon to match the learner. Once we’ve found the correct placement, they begin their apprenticeship journey with Woodspeen.

“We work with the learners from the day they begin their apprenticeship until completion. We often go into the salon environment to see how they use their talents on the salon floor; this way we get to know the employers and their business needs.”

I learned a lot from Kelly’s masterclass; it was useful to have a go myself and I’ve picked up tips and techniques which I’ll take on board. I’ll certainly be putting rollers at the top of my Christmas list!

For more about Woodspeen Training and Hair Academy call (01274) 721391 or visit www.woodspeentraining.co.uk