Student stylists can’t go wrong with these hairdressing academy curriculums

By Laurie McLachlan Brown

There is a lot to consider when choosing the best salon institute, hairdressing academy, or cosmetology school for your training.  First, choose only an accredited school, with an earned reputation for producing top-notch talent, one willing to share a portfolio of graduates who have landed great jobs in the beauty industry.  Second, choose a school that offers a curriculum best suited to your needs.  Doing so will significantly contribute to your success as a cosmetologist, esthetician, barber, or nail technician, as well as impress salons, day spas, resorts, hotels, and medical offices during a job interview.

The Certified Learning in Cosmetology® curriculum, commonly known as CliC, is arguably the most popular teaching method in beauty colleges today.  The design program caters to haircutting, styling, coloring, and chemistry; as well as makeup, skin and nails.  Both students and teachers cite the fun and visually appealing textbooks, contemporary approaches to teaching, unique methods for nurturing creativity, and, in particular, the Salon Mentor training program, as examples of how their learning experience was enhanced using the CliC approach.

The Pivot Point curriculum will soon celebrate its fiftieth anniversary, which stands in tribute to the program’s sound commitment to staying ahead of the ever changing and competitive world of beauty education. Most recently the program launched “Designer’s Approach,” a revolutionary method that blends old school (i.e., lectures, texts and demonstrations) with new school techniques, such as a greater emphasis on visual artistry and design concepts.

Yet for more than 80 years, stands the internationally recognized Milady educational system.  Since the 1930s, more than ten million design professionals have earned their licenses using a Milady product. In fact, Milady claims that more than 90 percent of all students currently enrolled in hair dressing or nail schools use its textbooks. Milady prides itself on its commitment to providing bi-lingual learning materials, in both English and Spanish, as well as its comprehensive toolbox of resources to help cosmetology teachers perform at their peak.

Smart stylists will ask each hairdressing academy under consideration what curriculum the school uses, why they have chosen that unique approach to education, and how it will benefit his/her career.