In a perfect world, you’d be able to take one-on-one classes with a master stylist whenever you needed them, or at least take advantage of micro-education (small classes or events) in your area. The truth is, for one reason or another, hands-on workshops or trade shows are out of the picture for a lot of hairdressers. Regional education may be in scant supply or they find it difficult to put money aside for education. The good news, however, is that the Internet has brought education to the masses and revolutionized learning in a big way.
Thousands of stylists with limited access to hands-on education have taken online workshops or get ideas they can use from social media platforms. Ideally, you’d be supplementing hands-on education with online classes, but remember, good sources of information share other good sources of information, so check out links to other sites on, say, Guy Tang’s YouTube channel. Eventually, you’ll have a solid list of platforms offering quality education at your convenience.
In Demand: Sam Villa Edcauting the Masses
One of the benefits of online education is immediate accessibility, says Sam Villa, who has mastered the art of online education. Video education is the top driver of content on his website. You can download his VODs (Videos on Demand) for only $5 on samvilla.com/pro/ondemand. “People are looking for convenience and the user is able to control what they watch and when they watch it,” says Villa, which is a major plus for busy stylists. One benefit of watching a video tutorial, for example, is that you can replay sections as many times as you need, something you can’t do at a live show, so the learning curve is less steep.
If you’re an educator, don’t underestimate the power of your social media presence to attract people to your live events. Villa did a class in Salt Lake City last year and out of 65 people, 10 were there simply because of his online presence. “I create interest with our education sound bites,” says Villa. The sound bites consist of short videos or blogs on hair trends and techniques. This brings in more people to his live events. “As soon as I discover something, I get it out there,” he says. “I want to find quality information and share it.”
If the thought of slogging through thousands of websites and YouTube channels to find quality education is too daunting, not to worry. We did the work for you. Here, some of the best places to start:
- Sam Villa samvilla.com/proyoutube.com/samvillahair
- Butterfly Loft butterflyloft.com/education
- Guy Tang youtube.com/guytanghair ; Instagram@guy_tang
- Mane Addicts maneaddicts.com ; Instagram@maneaddicts
- Unicorn Tribe Instagram@thereal_omgiloveyourhair
- Heather Chapman heatherchapmanhair.com
- Rodrick SamUEls/Men’s Grooming vimeo.com/rodricksamuels ; Facebook Rodrick Samuels