A while ago, my two-year-old daughter started experiencing tantrums, and everyone around me advised that regulating her sleep schedule would help reduce her anger. While I strongly believed in the importance of sleep regulation, I had no idea where to start, and all my attempts failed. Eventually, I consulted a parenting expert who had a child the same age as my daughter, and she provided me with a simple, step-by-step approach to follow. Surprisingly, within just a week, everything changed. Before consulting her, I had already tried some of these steps, but without the proper sequence, they never produced the desired result!
This story closely resembles the struggles faced by anyone aspiring to start their own business or learn the secrets of a profession—especially in an era where we constantly hear calls to “follow your passion,” “break free from limitations,” and “reach the peak of success quickly.” While these ideas may hold some truth, achieving them without a structured step-by-step process is an exception rather than the rule.
### Passion and the Hairdressing Profession:
Every day, I meet passionate women eager to pursue a career in hairdressing, signing up for my online courses to improve their skills or start from scratch to build their own business. However, a common mistake I see is their overwhelming desire to begin with makeup and coloring courses. I don’t blame them—this was the exact mistake I made at the start of my journey in hairdressing. But why is starting with makeup and colors the wrong approach in hairstyling?
Simply put, hair coloring is one of the most challenging specialties in hairdressing. Moreover, it relies on mastering a fundamental skill beforehand—blow-drying (hair drying and styling with a blow dryer). Without mastering this step, achieving success in hair coloring is nearly impossible.
It may come as a shock, but blow-drying—often dismissed as a simple task—is actually a fundamental and primary skill in the logically structured process of hairdressing. Without learning the techniques and secrets of blow-drying, a hairstylist cannot truly master hair coloring or any other specialized skill in the field.
Additionally, large, specialized salons prioritize blow-drying when hiring new employees. It is the first skill they test to assess experience and potential for growth. This is exactly what I do when hiring new staff. No matter how much a candidate claims to be skilled in coloring, makeup, or protein treatments, the first task I assign them is blow-drying. This reveals their actual capabilities in hairstyling rather than their perceptions of what they can do.
### What Comes After Blow-Drying?
After mastering blow-drying, the next step in the hierarchy of hairdressing skills is curling with a curling iron, followed by haircutting, coloring, and hair treatments (such as protein or keratin treatments). Finally, hairstyling techniques like updos and bridal styling come last. This structured progression makes each step easier and smoother if the previous one has been fully mastered.
I won’t deny that I made the same mistake early in my career—I wasted five months and a lot of money on multiple hairstyling courses. When I applied for my first job, I was asked to perform a blow-dry, and I failed! I felt like I had graduated from my training without truly mastering anything. That’s when I dedicated two full months to practicing blow-drying until I perfected it. Then, I moved on to curling, haircutting, coloring, and later, hair treatments, styling, and makeup. I gave each step the time and dedication it deserved, refining my skills through practice and experience. Over the years, this structured approach helped me build a strong foundation, paving my way to success and ultimately allowing me to achieve my passion in the hairdressing industry.
