Appearance means the world – Hairdresser education and training for aesthetic labor

Abstract

During their education hairdressing pupils are often classified by teachers and fellow students according to whether they are “hairdresser types” or not through invoking the presumed preferences of future workplaces. High-end salons use the physical appearance of employees and apprentices to brand themselves. Consequently, as part of their education to become hairdressers, aspiring pupils learn that what a hairdresser sells is much more than the ability to treat and cut people’s hair. The article analyzes interviews and observations concerning teachers and pupils within a hairdresser education and explores how the category of “a hairdresser type” is negotiated and used by teachers and pupils. It describes how pupils react to demands to turn themselves into “hairdresser types” in order to successfully cater to the real or imagined demands of hairdressing salons. In this environment, the boundary between the personal and the professional and the distinction between care and personal transgression are systematically blurred.