LEARNING from the best

Calyx Professional had organised a look and learn workshop on cuts and styles with nayana Karunaratne. They had invited Sean taffe and Maeve o’Healy-Harte as special trainers from Ireland to teach the latest hair cutting techniques and styling trends to Indian hairdressers. Kanishka ramchandani’s interactions with these world renowned hair educators bring the spotlight on continued training in India.

What is the idea behind this seminar?

The idea was to promote the Institute of Hairdressers and Beauticians (IHB). We entered a partnership with Calyx Professional as Ravi Ravrani (owner) is committed to education and he wanted to conduct seminars all over India. It has worked out well for us as he is not promoting his products on this platform nor is he interfering with the education aspect of IHB. We are together promoting both education and the brand Calyx Professional.

Sean Taffe is an IHB trainer and we requested him to visit India for this training programme and it got underway.

How does it make sense to have an Irish hairdresser come to India?

At IHB, we have international trainers from all over the world. Apart from Sean, we have Joaquim Roos from Sweden, Rosalie from China, Rohan Ekbal from Pakistan and Nanara from Russia, and of course, Asha Hariharan from India.

An international trainer attracts attention, especially from the West, as people tend to think that trainers from the West know better than Asians. However that is not the case. And we are looking forward to getting all our expert trainers from abroad here.

How do you think Indian hairdressers and trainers have evolved over the years?

They have evolved a lot! When we started in 1996, there were only a handful of top hairdressers here. Even the salon chains were very few. But now we see so much education happening. Asians lack a common level of education, and we are doing our best to bring standardisation in the industry.

How are things in Sri Lanka now for the industry?

The hairdressing industry has always survived and I am proud to say that we faced COVID extremely well. Although the government banned the salons openly on TV, the industry got together and appealed to the government. IHB had put together a 150-page long manual on health and safety standards. We went to the World Health Organisation (WHO) with it and convinced them to allow salons to resume work.

The recent economic crisis has hit the entire country, and we are bouncing back although we are still facing issues with regards to foreign exchange. We have had a 30 year civil war in our country. But the industry never suffered.

What is the thought process behind starting the Sri Lanka Association?

To unite and educate the beauty professionals and give them exposure to an international arena. We have been winning gold medals at global events. We have come a long way from when we started. Initially, we had to train the participants on how to talk and dress before going for international events. Now they are winning awards.

Tell us about the OMC Hairworld Championship

The OMC Hairworld Championship is getting back on track. Earlier we conducted online competitions. This year, we came up with the physical event but discouraged live models. We are back to normal now. OMC is evolving and I am looking forward to more and more Asian hairdressers to participate in it and to win at it, too.

OMC is evolving and I am looking forward to MorE and MorE aSian HairdrESSErS to participate in it and to win at it, too.”

What is your opinion of Indian hairdressing?

I think Indian hairdressing is amazing. Everyone is so passionate. This is the bridal season and yet we have a full house every day, including weekends. That just shows the dedication and enthusiasm to learn. I’ve huge admiration for India .

What do you think is lacking in Indian harassers?

I don’t really like to say there’s anything lacking. There’s so much long hair here that the long hair techniques probably can be expanded a little bit more. My fundamentals are consultation, face shape analysis, hair analysis, creating the plan and executing it. That’s what is lacking, not just in India, but globally. These elements have to be all completed together so that you are operating more like a hair architect or designer rather than just a hairdresser.

What does it take to be a hair educator?

I think not every good hairdresser is a good educator. And not every good educator is an amazing hairdresser. It’s more the case of being middle of the road. I consider myself a good hairdresser and a good communicator. Being able to get the message across in such a way that the audience identifies with you and goes along with you, rather than trying to put you on a pedestal. I always try to share my mistakes because we all make them. it makes the audience think “I did that, too” or “That’s a problem I have.” It’s a case of “I make all those mistakes; I could do what he does,” and that’s our job. Our job is to elevate.

How important is it for a hairdresser to grasp the technical details?

If you want to be able to cut hair properly, you need these 10 techniques, and that’s not me saying it - everybody agrees. Some say 9, some say 10. If you don’t know these techniques, your ability is limited. I’m not saying it’s bad, but you’re severely limited. If you want to become the best you can be, the first step is to master these 10.

What is your opinion of a uniform system of grading?

In Ireland, we’ve only just established a new national hairdressing apprenticeship. Three years ago actually. It was a combination of the Irish Hairdressing Council, a government body, and a number of other organisations. For the first time in 50 odd years, we have got a proper apprenticeship. If there are core techniques for each aspect such as blow drying and upstyling, we would have standardisation and we can work forward from there.

What advice would you like to give to Indian trainers?

I think more people should do it because it elevates your own standard. If I spend 4-5 weeks in the salon without teaching, I find my standards slipping a little. We all tend to get complacent.

Tell us about your journey in hairdressing.

I am a hairdresser, a manager, a competition winner, a magazine editor and much more. When I became Team Ireland’s manager and trainer, I spotted Sean Taffe and other members who are part of the team now. I go to events and pick stylists who can demonstrate styles for the championships.

Nayana is the OMC President for Asia and I used to be the OMC President for Western Europe. She asked me to suggest someone to teach cutting techniques for this training tour in India, and I thought of Sean. He asked me to accompany him, and here I am.

As hair education is your forte, what is it about training that draws you to it so much?

It’s to educate the younger people so that we can leave a legacy behind. Because legacy has been filtered down a little bit. The young people now have a vision, and all you need is to feed that vision for them to rise up as stars and to have something to motivate them.

And that’s what I do. I motivate the team. I train them in things they can do or need to improve upon. If I can’t train them, I’ll find someone to train them. I have never charged to train any member of Team Ireland. It’s my gift to the industry because I call them my family. Sean is part of my family, too.

Tell us about the role of OMC in taking hairdressing to another level across the world. Why do you think OMC is important?

OMC is important because it’s the largest organisation that does competitions. It’s very important that we have more participants from India, too. Ireland is a country of five million people. But we have had up to 200 people participating at OMC, and we have 886 medals. I’ve been a judge before and now I am an advisor for OMC. Sean is going to be the judge at the Paris show in September. We’re hoping a load of people from here will come to Paris and meet us.

Do you think Indian hairdressers are ready to participate and win at the OMC.

If they’re not ready, they should come and look. Look, watch, decide, follow winners on Instagram, follow mentors etc.

Indian hairdressers should follow mind mentors, too, because if you’re not focused, you can’t cope with the stress. I would love to see more Indian entries in international competitions.

What advice would you like to give to trainers here?

Don’t hide anything. Tell everything to young people. Some people hold back a little bit of knowledge - don’t keep anything back.