Besides how amazing hair can be, it’s also about the sheer
amount of potential it really has. One can craft hair into an extraordinary
work of art that can formally appeal to many. Hairstylists know this, and they
play an important role. They help people to find out who they are as a person
while helping them to become confident, beautiful, and sexy inside and out.
They can help bring out the ambition and courage in a person, which is why they
choose to do it through hair services.
Hairstylists are really capable of changing the lives and
personas of their clients in a positive manner. But it also means they themselves
must allow their skills and strengths to evolve continuously to then strive to
achieve to a high level of greatness seen amongst the eyes of their peers and
upcoming talent in the industry.
Passion is the driving force that fuels a person’s eagerness to find
their skills and strengths, and to exploit them for the end result of
benefiting the client, and further progressing their career in hairstyling.
There are many skills that a professional behind the hair or
educating others on stage can wield, but what should be the most important
skill one can possess? For Michael Esse, a National Educator for John Paul
Mitchell Systems, the one skill/strength he believes is the backbone of what
brings out the quality of services from the hairstylist is “Style.” That is
what he believes brings out the creativity and artistic abilities of a person
to develop and form hair into something truly magnificent.
What makes ‘Style’ such an important skill? We talk with
Michael to hear from him what makes it an element every stylist should have and
implement.
Sheldon Alexander: Define
what "Style" is and its importance for a hairstylist.
Michael Esse: When I look at style, I
think of something like unique, the anticipation of the movement of hair. It's
dynamic to work with hair because it has the ability to create a shape, to give
form and structure. It’s great to give hair something that makes it look very
amazing to, for example, compliment a model, and the wardrobe that the model is
wearing. It depends on the photo shoot, like a photographic competition. When
you think about haircutting, coloring, and moving hair to the person's liking,
it all comes down to style. It's about making the hair really come to life. If
you do a haircut or a color, for example, you cannot find the true potential or
polish of the hair without styling it.
SA: What have you done to
craft your own unique style?
ME: I'm a bit of a rebel when it comes to
doing hair. There are times that you really need to set yourself apart. The
thing is, what do you want people to say about you? A certain style I want that
can define me. It's about taking a look at the shape to see what you can do
with hair, like putting pieces of hair in, taking pieces of hair out, and
creating the end result.
SA: What challenges did
you have along the way of developing your style?
ME: I think the challenges that I had in
developing my own style was doing things at my own terms. It's more about doing
things from within. Sometimes self-doubt comes in where you do not believe in
your confidence or your craft. You
must believe in your potential and not doubt your capabilities. For me it was
more about dealing with the inside forces than the outside forces. We cannot
let ourselves become our own worst critic, which I gained revelation of early
on. You’ve got to look forward ten years on in, which means looking into
fashion, magazines, and events. You have to sit down and look into your skill,
and work on developing those skills.
SA: How does this
particular skill show in the quality of your work?
ME: It sets apart everything that I do. It
does really bring clients in to a whole new level. Every one of my guests and
colleagues are really intrigued by the quality of work that I have. They see
the passion and drive that I have in the transcendence when styling, shaping,
and forming the structure of hair.
SA: Out of the strengths
and skills a hairstylist must have, what makes having style so important?
ME: The thing that makes style so
important is that the client can see the true form. Whether after the styling
or blow-drying, it all really does transcend the work. It's about really laying
the style in, how the client stands out, and how different they look from
others that make you really stand out from other hairstylists.
SA: In your experience,
have you seen other hairstylists pick up on this skill very well?
ME: There are really people who excel in
styling, people who possess those skills, and others that don't. Hairstylists
have to have a passion and really love it in order to work on possessing the
style. Hairstylists around me have excelled in developing and crafting this
skill through the love of styling. There are standards to be had, but then you
have to raise the bar.
SA: Who are some of the
veteran stylists in the industry that inspire you through their work?
ME: I have a lot of them, but the main
people that really brought my work to a whole new level with style included
Vivienne MacKinder, Robert Cromeans and Stephanie Kocielski, whom I
worked for. Kocielski for one pushes hair really well, and helped push me to go
above and beyond. However, they all have helped create that site for me. I've
had the chance to see their work, and see how passionate and caring they were
of styling hair. They provided me that mentorship and training that really
helped me get the site to seeing hair in a different capacity. There's a vision
to hair, and giving it a foundation is an amazing thing. It takes a little
imagination, and they helped me to see that.
SA: What made their style
of doing hair appealing to you?
ME: It was seeing the ability they had in
making hair come alive, watching them using every tool and product that hair
can handle, and seeing how they helped transcend hair into a great structure. I
was involved with Paul Mitchell Systems and its directors because of their
approach when it comes to styling hair.
SA: In what ways can
hairstylists stand out from the rest?
ME: It's the passion and commitment when
it comes to their work. Word of mouth really then speaks for itself. The
hairstyle of the client, when truly developed, is going to walk down the
street. It's not going to be placed on the wall. Other people will really get
to see how the hair bounces, sways, and how beautiful it looks overall. When
people see the hair you've done on the clients, you hope they will compliment
the hair, ask where they got the service from, and if they have an extra
business card.
SA: What other
skills/strengths are very important for hairstylists to have? How do they work
in line with having style?
ME: Having the ability to understand the
client while having the haircutting ability, that comes to mind with style.
It’s about understanding color, haircutting, while having the ability of being
a texture specialist. It still matters when giving that hair a polishing finish
through styling the hair. There has to be great coloring, great hair cutting,
and great texture. Every skill eventually needs to be strong. I believe these
are skill sets that work in line with style 100%.
SA: What will you do to
continuously improve your "Style" of hairstyling?
ME: Keep working with doll heads while
utilizing every tool/product that I have. I will continue to make sure that the
hair will have polish. So whenever I mess up, I'll redo and make sure that it
looks great to standards. If you don't look good, we don't look good. I think
staying self-motivated will make you the true artist that you want to be. Stay
committed and you can achieve anything. Whether in the salon, on the chair, or
on stage, you can achieve the level of success you like to have if you’re
motivated and committed. Believe in your potential, as there are no limits to
your potential.
Find out more about Michael Esse, review
his portfolio and experience as a national educator/hairstylist, visit www.michaelesse.webs.com
_________________________________________________________________________________
Darlene Alexander is a licensed cosmetologist
for 31 years, is an author, and is a manufacturer of professional hair
products. She helps salon professionals provide healthy hair solutions for
their clients to give them beautiful, healthy, sensational hair! You can
contact her at her email pureityhairbeauty@gmail.com and visit www.heavenlyessence.net for the
latest hair care and salon business tips.
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