Making the most of your hairdressing training

When you are starting out in your hairdressing career, it can be tough to make an impact and it's possible to lose sight of where you want to be.

Nikki Moores, HJ's British Hairdressing Business Awards 2008 Junior of the Year, believes that there are ways to get ahead if you throw yourself into the training and make the most of opportunities that present themselves to you.

Here are her top tips on how to get the most out of your training and your early career:

• Always get a good night's sleep 
  
  Training to be a hair stylist is hard work and you only get out what you put in.



• Start as you mean to go on 
  
  Just because you are a 'junior' doesn't mean you have to act like one.  Dress and behave in a mature and professional way and your colleagues and the salon's clients will treat you with respect and request you as you climb the ranks.



• Practise! Practise! Practise!
  
  Just because you have allotted training sessions each week it doesn't mean you have to limit yourself to this.  Use your friends and family and practise every night and on the weekends.  They will love you for it and you will progress so much faster.



• Take every opportunity to learn 
  
  Whether it is a hair-up course, a trichology course or an extensions course, make the most of them all - the bigger your repetoire, the more valuable you are as a stylist.



• Build a contacts book
  
  Building a comprehensive model database is one of the most important parts of your training.  Utilise friends and family, but also think outside the box.  Set up a facebook page, send out blanket e-mails and texts, give out flyers to promote yourself and create a demand.  Your models are what will make you - treat them with respect as you would your clients and you will fly!