The debate: should all hair education stay online?

The pandemic has certainly changed the way hair education is conducted. We swapped classrooms for Zoom calls and could tune in from the comfort of our homes. However, as we look towards 2021, should hair education stay online for good? Two experts weigh in.

Should All Hair Education Stay Online?

Yes, says Sheree Thompson, founder of Siren Bridal Styling Online Education

[caption id="attachment_77002" align="alignleft" width="300"] "Online education is the way forward."[/caption]             2020 has certainly been a year like no other, one that none of us had planned or ever imagined. The Covid-19 pandemic brought our industry to a halt for the first time in its history, and being the creatives that we are, it was up to us to get even more creative than we already were and use technology to continue to progress. This is when I fully realised the importance of online education. An educator myself, I couldn’t sit around in lockdown. I wanted to continue education and show my fellow stylists and industry peers that we must use the time in lockdown to progress and excel our skills as much as possible. I created my own online platform for bridal styling and turned to social platforms such as Instagram to communicate and network about the news. At first online education was different. We were out of our comfort zones and it was certainly a learning curve. However, after a few weeks we all found our feet and stylists, not just in the UK but across the world, were for the first time using online education constantly. Going digital allowed stylists to educate in their own time, at their own pace, revisit a section they weren’t so sure of, interact with many different people they may once have never have come into contact with and created a community feel – we were and are part of something new. Online education is new, it’s fresh and it’s showed us that it works. With the future uncertain whether live, workshop demonstrations will return in the near future due to restrictions, online education is the way forward. It allows the stylist to learn at their own pace, in their own time and in their own comfort zone – it’s the new way.

Should All Hair Education Stay Online?

No, says Richard Darby managing director and head of education, Mark Leeson

[caption id="attachment_77003" align="alignleft" width="240"] "There is nothing that compares to the intimacy and the camaraderie of a classroom from both a teaching and student perspective."[/caption]                 There is a need to offer education virtually, especially in this current situation. When it is theory based it can be advantageous, as students can work not only at their own pace, but at a time that suits them. However, I feel that there is nothing that compares to the intimacy and the camaraderie of a classroom from both a teaching and student perspective. Hairdressing is a very social profession and interacting with others and having that ‘touch and feel’ in practical based training is essential in honing anyone’s skills. As students as educators, we miss out on social interaction, but more importantly, both miss out on the instantaneous feedback and the opportunity to ask questions that it lends. Of course, you can have online chat during an educational session, but this doesn’t compare to the benefits of a face-to-face experience. I am aware that some people feel the need to retain their anonymity and find online education not only more convenient, but easier to manage and lessens anxiety. Also, it reduces cost for the salon owner of not only the course, but travel and often hotel bills. However, the student will invariably miss out on vital learning curves – independent travelling, broadening their horizons and interaction with fellow students. I also think it’s easy to become distracted during online education and the tutor can be a little robotic, as not only have they got to deliver the course, but concentrate on ensuring the camera angles are correct for the viewers. Hair cutting is so personal and so based around touch that for me and my team who educate, being able to see ‘up close and personal’ is what the students are wanting and having the ability to be able to guide them more precisely is so much more valuable and rewarding for both parties.