How to Become a Hair Stylist to the Stars, And Start Today February 4, 2016My CareerOff

If you’re training to be a hairdresser or you’re already qualified, then you’re probably looking forward to a bright hairdressing career in front of you. Many hairdressers go on to run their own business, either freelancing or becoming salon owners. However, some hair stylists go the extra mile and end up becoming a hairstylist to the stars! How do you think people get ready to perform on the big screen? You could do hair for theatre performances, film, TV shows, and even become a personal hair stylist for a celebrity as they go about their day to day lives. They are busy people, and they just don’t have the time nor the skill to do it themselves. If you’re truly passionate about hair styling you could become a well paid hairstylist to well known celebs. Here are some steps you can take to get you on your way!

Master the Art of Hairdressing
You don’t need to be a famous hairdresser yourself before you can do a celebs hair. Many hairdressers get snapped up by film sets and celebrities in other ways. However, you should master as much of the art of hairdressing as you possibly can. You need to be confident in your skills, and have the talent to create most styles. It’ll more than likely take you years to do this, unless you have a natural talent for hairdressing. Even so, it’s unlikely you’ll be snapped up right out of hairdressing school. You’ll need to make sure you have all the tools needed to practice in your spare time; brushes, clips, a clipless curling iron, hair straightener, etc. The most successful hairdressers live and breathe hairdressing. You need to be that into it to succeed!

Create a Professional Portfolio
You need to create a professional looking portfolio if you’re going to apply for high paying freelance jobs, or hope to get snapped up by a lucrative company. How can you create a professional portfolio? You’ll need lots of models, and the pictures will need to be well styled too. You might need to call in a favour from a photographer friend, or pay for shots. This is your chance to showcase your very best work. Do plenty of research online and know exactly how you want your portfolio to look before you complete it.

Remember to invest time, care and creativity into the way that your portfolio is packaged. If you’re presenting your photos in a binder, be sure to select one with the proper ring capacity to hold all of your materials; otherwise, your work will appear cramped and unprofessional.

Showcase Your Work Online
Not only should you showcase your work in your portfolio, you should showcase your work online too. Create social media pages such as Instagram and Facebook where your posts will likely be shared. You may even go viral if you post enough quality content! You might even want to create your own website, allowing people to book in with you. Your website and social media pages can give people a chance to get to know you better. You could even start blogging some of your hairdressing adventures to get people interested in what you do. Just make sure you’re as professional as you can be online. You don’t want anything to go against you when you’re hoping to land a lucrative job. Sharing valuable tips and bits of info that you know will help people will make you more popular too.

Get Agency Representation
Having agency representation is a great way to get celebrities interested in working with you. You may not get the top jobs right at the start. You may need to work a few mediocre jobs before you hit the big time. Creating that portfolio should help you to get representation, so take your time with it and do your best.

Move Somewhere Lucrative
If you live in a remote area, move somewhere more lucrative to help spread the word and get more clients. It goes without saying that hairdressers who live in places like London and New York will stand more of a chance of making it big than those who don’t. You can’t expect to live in a remote village and have a top Hollywood celebrity knock on your door. Most of the time, anyway!

Help Out on Sets
You might need to start out simply helping out on sets. You’ll learn a lot and have a good time, but you’re unlikely to be doing the main styling here. You’ll probably just be brandishing hairspray and handing clips to the main stylist. That being said, doing things like this will give you more of a chance of making connections. It’s a good networking opportunity, and you might even get agency representation or bigger jobs out of it.

Keep Up With Trends
Keeping up with trends is so important in the hairdressing industry. To do this, you’ll need to read up on what all of the other hair stylists are doing. You’ll watch catwalk shows. You’ll read hair magazines. Do anything you possibly can to stay ahead of the trends. A celebrity hairdresser always knows what’s ‘in’.

Do a Course in Fashion Styling/Makeup Too
If you can do a course in fashion styling and makeup too, you will get loads of benefit from it. You can create some amazing pictures for your portfolio with little outside help. You’ll also probably hold an advantage over other people who are applying for the same jobs as you. The more skills you have, the more chance you have of being hired by the right people. You could even create a niche for yourself, which might get you less clients but you’ll be able to charge more. You’ll also be able to attract a more targeted audience.

Becoming a hair stylist to the stars will take a hell of a lot of work. You won’t be able to slack or just hope for a big break. You’ll have to focus on developing yourself and your skills, as well as marketing yourself properly. If you can do that, you should be able to start getting bigger and better clients! Do you have any tips that helped you to develop in the hair and beauty industry? Let us know on our Facebook page.

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