Curly haircut training from overseas academies
Often talked about are those in Australia wanting a “deva” trained or Lorraine Massey curly haircut.
Unless you have trained with Lorraine Massey Academy, Deva or Rezo and have certificates from these academies, you should not advertise you do any of these named curly cutting methods.
Curly Training in Australia
In Australia, we have Australian curly training. A select few Australian curly educators have trained overseas, with these American academies bringing that knowledge to Australia to teach curly hairdressers willing to pay or take the time to train in curly cutting.
A very small amount of hairdressers/educators were also fortunate enough to complete training with Lorraine Massey when she came to Australia to teach pre covid.
Moving forward to learn curly cutting available in Australia
When creating curly cuts, I aimed to hunt down as close as possible to education involving overseas methods available in Australia.
I planned to train myself to be then able to teach and build a team at Curly Cuts trained in newer curly cutting methods. This took time and is ongoing.
Developing our curly cutting over the first few years
Learning the many curly methods required was never a one course scenario.
Curly Cuts was always going to be an ongoing project that developed over the first few years after opening the salon.
The lockdown in Canberra delayed our initial training, but there was no stopping team Curly Cuts after the lockdown.
Curly Cuts completes certified curly training
Throughout the first couple of years of Curly Cuts, certificates were completed by various educators and their curly academies. Clever Curl is our leading educator.
Curly Cuts became a Clever Curl Curl Specialist Salon after I finished our first masterclass. Almost a year later, I completed our second masterclass with Clever Curl in Afro, tight, textured hair.
Our other training completed ( during covid lockdown!) was online certificates with Amanda Rickman, a certified Deva and Rezo stylist. This training was excellent, and I learnt a lot from these courses. I completed two certificates from CHEA.
In our opinion, Curly Cuts has currently completed the most current curly training in the hair industry closest to American education.
Curly Cuts trains with Clever Curl
On top of our two masterclasses with Clever Curl, Curly Cuts was also fortunate in 2022 to have had Nathalie from Clever Curl come to our salon for a day to train and pass on her expert knowledge.
Nathalie, an educator who learned from Lorraine Massey when she came to Australia, was brilliant and helped perfect our techniques.
Our Clever Curl masterclasses (one being an Afro tight textured masterclass) with David Corry were terrific, and I learnt so much from him. He helped me perfect my technique, especially the “pinch”.
I learnt and continue to learn so much from David and Clever Curl. I asked many questions and pushed my skills to the limit to gain maximum knowledge at these curly masterclasses to be able to teach our team this knowledge.
Forward thinking curly hair education in Australia
Clever Curl is a forward-thinking company that has evolved, helping many Australian hairdressers get updated to new curly cutting methods and techniques.
Australian curly hair products
Clever Curl also created a brilliant range of curly girl products in Australia, so our curlies now have access to affordable curly products.
Curly Cuts is an authorised stockist for Clever Curl, which includes our unique Clever Curl refill bar at Curly Cuts.
Clever Curl can be purchased instore or online from our sister online curly shop Natural Eclipse.
Curly cutting methods at Curly Cuts
The best way forward for a curly salon is to train and perfect as many techniques as possible! There is no one method to cut curly hair;
For example, individual curl cutting is done in tiny sections approximately 1 to 2 cm wide and cut to each unique curl family.
We use what we call a “pinch method” to hold and cut the hair without combs, controlling the correct tension on curly hair.
.Curly Cuts may combine that curly cutting technique with some specialised freehand cutting to shape.
Why does curling cutting cost more?
The type of curl cutting we do at Curly Cuts is dry curly cutting, individually cutting the curl families in small sections bit by bit with our scissors without combs using our hands.
The curly cut can take up to an hour for just the curly cut because curls are cut in tiny sections bit by bit. This curly hair method also shapes the curls so you don’t get ledges or triangles!
NO thinning, NO slicing, NO wet cutting!
How is a curly cut different to a traditional haircut?
A traditional curly cut is a wet cut ( or a dry cut) in which large extended areas are sectioned with a comb and then the hair cut. Cutting with a combe in large sections is very quick.
This cut will roughly take anywhere from 15 minutes to half an hour. A pricing structure will reflect the time it takes to do. curly cut.
Traditional taught haircutting and curly hair
It doesn’t make sense to treat curly hair the same as straight and cut curly hair this way for curly hair for several reasons.
Using a combe, you are not only combing through the curl pattern ( same if you comb and cut dry), but you also cannot control possibly control the tension on each curl.
Using the same tension on wet curly hair as straight hair will naturally appear uneven.
It is common for curly hair to have multiple curl patterns. If you comb the hair in large sections pulling the hair straight, you are not cutting for the tension of the curls or each curl family.
Whilst this will work perfectly for straight hair on curly hair, this can result in an uneven appearance or holes in the hair or what we call shelves or triangles.
The pricing structure for a curly cut using new methods
At Curly Cuts, we allow up to an hour for our curling cutting. The curly cutting is the first process of a curly cut. Then there is the choice of whether you want to book in for a finish.
We allow these choices after the curly cuts to cater to everyone’s budgets and time in our pricing structure.
After the curly cut, the curly hair hydration and curly dry service take up to an hour. The curly cutting time and then the time it takes to do a hydration process and or dry is why pricing differs from a traditional haircut.
On average, a traditional haircut can take 15 minutes to half an hour, and a dry about 15 minutes to half an hour.
Compared to a curly cut that uses newer methods that takes up to an hour, the hydration and drying process takes up to another hour.
This is where you need to research to ensure you are getting what you are paying for.
For example, you may be booked in with a curly hairdresser advertising a dry curly cut only to find you turn up, and the curly hairdresser does a dry cut using a comb and traditional methods and charges you a premium dollar.!
Or worse! You book in with an advertised curly hairdresser to find out they cut your curly hair wet with a comb.
Curly Cuts is proactive and the voice for honesty and integrity in the curl industry.
Research Curly hairdressers and ask the question
If a curly hairdresser advertises a particular method, ask the questions, especially if you are after newer curly cutting that’s not taught in hairdressing school.
Don’t always trust social media. Unfortortunatley some opinions about curly hairdressers can also be biased or set up by people for self gain on social media sites.
Make your own judgements on a curly hairdresser because not everyone has the same opinions, expectations, or curl type.
Hands on training is always the best training for curly hairdressers, especially to learn individual curl cutting. The method of cutting individual curls is a specialised technique.
Curly hairdressers cannot belong to one category
Categorizing curly hairdressers into one group doesn’t work because many will not have been trained in new methods or understand the curly girl method.
Unfortunately, some curly cutters are dry curly cutting with a combe and charging and advertising curly cuts.
Yes, technically, they are cutting curly hair, but does the method warrant the charge?
Confusion and misleading customers with curly cuts
This confusion means customers don’t get what they are looking for because some advertising can be misleading from some hairdressers.
The newer methods cost a lot to learn and takes longer, plus time away from the salon. They are not taught in traditional hairdressing.
The correct information is essential so customers can choose curly cutters based on their needs and budget.
Curly Cutting and what’s taught in a hair apprenticeship
The curly cutting and methods we use at Curly Cuts are not taught in your traditional hairdressing apprenticeship, so upskilling after your training is necessary for hairdressers who want to learn these methods.
Curly Cuts & the movement to change curly hair cutting in Australia
A lot has changed in Australia in the curly world since I first started helping with the curly girl method many years ago, including products and training.
Curly Cuts is an innovative business helping to bring change for curlies by creating services and products for curly hair in Canberra and Australian curlies with our online curly shop Natural Eclipse.
Moving forward with transparency with curly cuts
For curly hair cutting to move forward, hairdressers need to acknowledge that curly hair needs to be treated differently than straight hair.
Hairdressers must also be transparent about the type of curly cutting they advertise and practice in the salons.
Curly Cuts – Keeping a positive, honest voice in the curly community.
Curly Cuts is NOT a deva cut. It is not a Rezo Cut nor a Lorraine Massey Cut.
Our curly cutting is “Curly Cuts.”
Maybe one day, I will give it a name………….
Leeanne Goodwin
Owner
Curly Cuts & Natural Eclipse
