Hairdressing lessons i learned in asia - andrew barton
As much as I'm glad to be back, it was a really lovely trip as the people are so gentle and positive and I really enjoyed the food!
That said, I was completely exhausted because I took in seven countries in just under three weeks and I must admit that by the end I didn't know where the hell I was! - it was just a continuous cycle of shows, seminars, press hair appointments and photo shoots.
When you go abroad to work you have to be aware of different culture and traditions - just like they say in the HSBC ads. So when it comes to hair you have to be aware of what's right and wrong.
In Asia length is increadibly important. Girls have often been taught that long hair is how to be attractive and therefore can help them to marry, which has far more cultural significance than it does in the West.
They also have a huge desire for shiny hair - it's almost an obsession! They have a term called 'sway' where the hair moves and falls in a way that it turns under at the ends, just like in the adverts, and that is their ideal.
They are also obsessed with fighting frizz. Even a few tiny hairs near the parting are frowned upon because it is all about hair being super sleek and super smooth. Having said that, perms are also still big business.
When it comes to hairdressers; generally their training is longer than ours and a bit more hands on than organised training. There are, however, plenty of things that we can learn from them such as customer services and some of the services that they offer.
One of the most novel things I saw while I was away was the shampoo experience in Taiwan and one or two other places I visited.
They get a shampoo soap and a bowl of water and gradually build up a lather and they just keep massaging and keep building. At the end they take the client to the backwash to rinse it all off.
Back home I was privileged enough to be named Hair Industry Icon at an industry awards event. It was an industry vote where readers wrote in to choose their winner, so obviously I was thrilled to win.
Next up for me is the British Hairdressing Business Awards. I'm looking forward to seeing lots of people there and I'll tell you all about it next week...
