My recent blog posts about adapting artistry to commercialization as you pursue your continuing hair education got me thinking about the journey of the “Dorothy Hamill wedge.” The short cut, its clean layers in the back tapering at the neck, debuted in Vogue in the 1970s and launched the amazing career of British hair designer Trevor Sorbie, who at the time had just joined Sassoon salons. “Seeing my work in print was inspirational,” Sorbie writes on trevorsorbie.com. “The Wedge captured the spirit of the time and was flaunted in nightclubs around the world. I now understood the power of invention.”

But while in Britain the wedge caught on with both men and women, it was not until figure skater Dorothy Hamill wore it in the 1976 Olympics that it became wildly popular in America and throughout the world. Hamill’s cut, interpreted for her by Japanese-born hair stylist Suga, captured the public’s imagination because when Hamill did her skating spins, the stacked wedge flared out and looked magnificent. Everyone wanted that kind of movement.

Victoria Beckham’s “Posh bob” is one recent descendent of the cut, and now Kimberly Caldwell (pic at right), who owes much of her fame to her hair anyway, showed up at the 2009 Grammy Awards with a longer, shattered wedge that has hairdressers again studying the original Sorbie lines. It’s so interesting how this look has traveled through time to stay current. Doesn’t it make you want to learn how to cut hair artistically—and adapt it commercially?

When clients show you a pic of a celebrity style they’d like you to recreate for them, which celeb is it? I’m wondering if your experiences match those reported by dailymakeover.com,  which operates a makeover site where more than 4 million women each month upload their own photos and “try on” virtual hairstyles worn by pretty much any celebrity they choose. The top celeb choices aren’t necessarily the ones you might have guessed.

This site skews young, so it’s not surprising that Miley Cyrus is among the popular names that come up, and every girl with a square face wants to find out whether she can look like Angelina Jolie. But think about it: what’s been hot so far this year? I’d say beachy waves and chin-skimming casual looks. Between January and March of this year, Daily Makeover’s number one celebrity search was Adrienne Palicki, TV’s Friday Night Lights dirty-blonde with the very cute, graduated, straight-hair bob. From April to May, it was Brittany Snow, a lighter blonde whose long, flowy hair sometimes takes that beachy turn.

Also among the top picks during the first half of this year were Jennifer Lopez, Ashley Tisdale, Adrienne Bailon, Paris Hilton, Alexis Bledel, Ashley Greene, Janet Jackson, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Tara Reid and Alicia Keys. If you don’t recognize some of those names, maybe it’s time for your online hair education to include browsing sites like omg!, tmz.com, perezhilton.com and people.com to prepare for clients who fail to bring in a photo.

This style from Luis Alvarez for Aquage is the type of short cut that women try on in their virtual makeovers.

When you take a hair styling class or a hair color workshop, often you can apply what you’ve learned right away. A client will walk in who could benefit from the very technique you just practiced or who asks for the trendy style you just learned how to design. It’s great to keep adding to your repertoire of commercial, wearable looks.

But sometimes you learn, or you create through your own experimentation, a look that the vast majority of your clients clearly would not find wearable. It’s your artistic expression more than an intended style for the streets. Short of entering the avant-garde category of a hair competition, how can you make this artistry work for you?

First, I’ll state the obvious: just the process of following your creativity wherever it leads has value in keeping you motivated and sharpening your eye regarding shape and color. But I suggest you take a good look at what you’ve designed to identify any shred of commercialism in there. Maybe there’s a line you could use to freshen up a popular cut, or a color formula that will brighten some client’s world if you just tweak it a little. The trends that have caught on at some point—the Dorothy Hamill wedge, “Rachel” pouf, Posh bob and the rest—all grew out of some stylist’s creative vision. Originality counts in this business, so don’t forget to share yours with your clients. Give them something they haven’t seen done quite the same way anywhere else.

Your hair education can take you in lots of different directions. Sometimes you start playing with hair as if it’s clay or wire or marble—an artist’s material that you can mold, twist and chisel into absolutely anything. You can get so into your own creativity that you just want to break free from the “serving clients” cage and do your own thing.

So it’s no wonder that everyone loves the “avant-garde” category at hair competitions. Hairdressers enjoy competing in avant-garde, because it’s a no-holds-barred, anything-goes demonstration of unrestrained creativity. It fascinates the public, too, because avant-garde is sort of the freak show of what can be done with hair. The photos here are great examples. Designed by Darian Bishop of Dallas, TX, this collection topped all other avant-garde entries at the 2009 North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA) held in Las Vegas earlier this month.

Think about it: if you could cut and shape hair as anything you like, what would it be? I suggest that, every now and then, you do just that. Take a long-haired mannequin and just go crazy. You might find that you’ll want to keep it and even display it! At the very least, capture it with your camera. It’s not a bad thing to remind clients and colleagues that you’re an artist at heart. Click here to see this year’s NAHA winners and nominees in all categories, and next time I’ll talk about how I think avant-garde hair relates to your work in the salon.

I am “invited” to a webinar this Wednesday. Having just encouraged you to attend the continuously available “iFoil in Color” free webinar (click here) to take advantage of some great online hair color education, this email invitation interested me. Just as I believe that you could benefit from online hair education, perhaps I could benefit from whatever this webinar had to offer.

Upon closer look, I saw that this webinar had little to do with me. It seemed to give instructions for using online social networks like Twitter to recruit employees. The sender assumed that I have employees, which I do not, but I suppose I could pass on some of the tips I’d learn to salon owners and managers who read the blogs and articles I write.

But then I saw the price: a buck short of $200. No thanks. The “iFoil” webinar that I hope you attend is free, since it’s offered by Product Club in an effort to introduce you to the company’s hair color accessory line. Our education here on ModernSalonLearning (MSL) costs $19.99 to $45. In both cases, you hairdressers receive detailed instruction that you can follow in a hands-on manner. I have no problem with charging something; like the company that contacted me, MSL is in the business of online education so there’s a fee. But for a whopping $199, all I’d be getting is generic networking information I can read anywhere. It shows you what a bargain online hair education is!

I just learned that “iFoil in Color,” the free webinar I suggested in my previous blog post that you try to catch, is now available 24/7 just like our own online hair education here at ModernSalonLearning! Although you will not have the ability to submit questions for the live Q&A, of course, you can hear other people’s questions, and I’m sure the Product Club artists who conducted the webinar—Patrick McGivor and Adrienne Rogers—will be happy to answer any questions you have if you contact them directly.

During the webinar, Patrick shares his “Haircolor 2.0” philosophy, which approaches coloring as a service that creates a fabulous, customized experience for the salon guest. In this economy, Patrick notes, it gives you an edge when the client knows that each time she visits, you’re looking at her with fresh eyes and not just doing the same thing every time. He credits this approach with boosting profits at his two Color Studios 14 percent and 12 percent, respectively.

Adrienne demonstrates the “Petal Spray” and “Color Scoop” color techniques. If you like an asymmetrical look and want to learn how to place foils for a precise effect that depends on where the client parts her hair, you won’t want to miss Adrienne’s patient instruction and the beautiful results. In the Q&A, Adrienne shares how she prices her color services. So when you have an hour, day or night, to have fun learning something new, click here to register for the free webinar!

Doing anything tonight? I mean anything better than spending an hour with two of the best hair colorists around? Did I mention that it’s free? You may have received an email from Modern Salon alerting you to the “iFoil in Color” webinar this evening that offers an hour of online hair color education to anyone who signs up for it. What’s the catch?

It’s not a catch, but it is somewhat of an advertising strategy or, you might say, “gimmick.” By inviting colorists to a free webinar, a company called Product Club will have the opportunity to introduce its products to the people most likely to purchase them. Product Club offers about 200 products having to do with hair color—everything from caps, capes and gloves to mixing bowls and foils to educational DVDs. If you enjoy the webinar, perhaps you’ll throw a few things in your shopping cart. But is there a catch? No. You’re perfectly welcome to enjoy the education and leave your credit card in your wallet.

I know you’re busy, but I can’t come up with a good reason for any serious hair colorist not to set aside one hour. Conducting the education are the fabulous Patrick McIvor and Adrienne Rogers, both salon owners and acclaimed colorists and educators. On the eastern time zone, the webinar takes place at 8pm; that means it’s at 7pm central, 6pm mountain and 5pm pacific time. Click here for full information, and click here to register. Doing anything better?

Photo: Patrick McIvor

Nothing warms my heart more than a good educational scholarship, and I like to alert you anytime anyone offers money to finance your continuing hair education. Today’s scholarship announcement comes from America’s Beauty Network (ABN), an umbrella group for members of Cosmetologists Chicago (CC), Cosmetólogos Latinos, the International Nail Technicians Association (INTA) and the American Association for Esthetics (AAE). ABN pledges in 2010 to award $25,000+ in President’s Scholarships to members who qualify through an application process that just opened and will remain so until December 1. Scholarship winners can receive up to $2,500 each; they are selected on the basis of need and academic record.

CC President Luz Segovia says ABN is happy to fund education, because it “not only helps the individual stylist reach personal career goals but, when winners bring what they’ve learned back to the salon, others benefit.” Originally the Evelyn Bunge Scholarship Fund, the President’s Scholarship was launched more than 20 years ago. Spouses, children and grandchildren of the 6,000 ABN members also are eligible to apply.

Scholarship recipients can put the funding toward any broadly related industry education program or tuition. The scholarship helped four-time recipient Karen Gordon of J. Gordon Salon in Chicago finance both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from DePaul University in applied business practices. Karen notes, “There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t use that knowledge in managing my business.” For details and an application, call 312-321-6809 or  click here to reach the ABN website.

Photo: Karen Gordon

Every tight job market becomes an opportunity to introduce male clients to hair color. Men are out of work or insecure about their jobs, and to stay competitive they must look young and vibrant. Today, with jobs so scarce, why not drop the term “gray blending” into your conversation with the guys?

No matter which color line you use, I’m guessing that you can fashion a quick service with subtle results that will rejuvenate your men without making them feel as if they have shoe polish on their heads, which is probably how a lot of them still regard male hair color. For example, Redken sent me a press release about the company’s new “Customized Camouflage Service” that offers men a five- or ten-minute service right at the shampoo bowl to just take the edge off the graying. “The results are demi-permanent and fade naturally until his next salon visit, so there’s no high commitment level—something male clients love to hear,” the press release states.

Charla Krupp, author of How Not to Look Old, told msn.com that this is no economy for people to embrace their gray. “Krupp has talked to job recruiters, and they tell her they’re looking for ‘energy’ (read: youth), not gray-haired experience,” the article notes and further quotes Krupp as saying, “We live in a competitive world in this job market crisis.” Offer an affordable rate for gray blending, and I’m betting you’ll have takers. Men would rather look like a “has it!’ than a “has-been.”

Photo is courtesy of Redken.

Considering that my most recent two blog posts addressed the habits of upscale Manhattan clientele who come into the salon for twice-weekly blowouts, I wasn’t surprised to see this timely announcement in my email: “Blow, New York City’s premiere ‘blow dry bar’ responsible for transforming the tresses of Manhattan’s VIPs on their lunch hour, is pleased to introduce an exclusive curriculum for salon professionals coast-to-coast seeking to master the art of Blow’s proprietary, award-winning blow out, and who are looking to increase revenue in their salons.”

According to the press release, Blow handles 16,000 blowouts a year for 25,000 registered clients. If you want to add “Certified Blow Dry Expert” to your hair education credentials, you can travel to New York and complete the course at this new Blow Dry Bar Academy. Blow also is using this offer as a way to promote its Blow Hair Care line; if your salon picks up the line you’ll be included as a certified blowout stylist on an online national locator and receive additional incentives.

“The Blow Dry Bar Academy will create a new retail and service revenue stream for participating salons, which is vital for survival in today’s economy,” says Stuart Sklar, Blow’s founder and partner. On one hand, I think this would be a fun course for stylists. On the other hand, individual prices for taking the class start at $300, with group rates available, and I wonder whether practicing on your own might work as well. What do you think?