It’s a quiet confidence that hasn’t been found quite yet. Perhaps two dozen or so sets of eyes, ears and nerves were quietly watching Angie Higginbotham snip a few inches of faux hair from a lifeless scalp. There was more movement in a couple sets of hands, slight tremors of nervousness covered by a few semi-positive nods of ‘yep, I got it.’
And then off they went back to their stations, the newest crop of Fairfield Cosmetology students trying to emulate what Higginbotham did. Their mannequin heads didn’t care, either, if the cut was crooked or too much, and that was the fun part of the opening days of The Chop Shop.
“Things are going great, I’m feeling very prepared,” said Elise Schwartz, tucked in a corner of the cosmo room. “I’m really excited to be trying something new. It seems pretty basic and Mrs. Higginbotham did a good job explaining it to us.”
The Chop Shop is a week or so of training for the new cosmo students to get their bearings with their cutting equipment, hence the name. Most of the students haven’t had much, if any, experience cutting actual hair or doing any substantial styling, per Higginbotham, so the lessons in the room are vital to their progression. The mannequins serve as stand-ins for what eventually will become real human clients later this fall. Some of the key tricks of the trade were taught that first day of Chop Shop, including a little salon magic.
“Do any of you know how to measure how much hair to cut?” Higginbotham asked. Most shook their heads, but one student immediately raised her hand. “It’s on the comb. They have markers on there that tell you the length.”
A pleased Higginbotham nodded in agreement and enlightened the others on the measuring devices on the combs. It would be the first of dozens of tools for the bag of these young ladies and gentlemen in the room.
“Higs did a nice job of explaining what to do and I feel like I’ve specified her information to what works for me,” Schwartz said. “I feel like I am finding my way.
“It’s definitely not as terrifying as I thought.”