I Am a Hair Cutter: Written by Kim Denton Owner/Salon Coach

With over 30 years of Boise hair salon experience, having seen and adapting to so many different hair trends and changes over the decades, my friend Paulo Candido (you might know him from Bravo’s Television show, Shear Genius), and I were recently chatting about our love and passion for the salon industry. Having been trained by renowned stylist Irvine and Louise Rusk, our passion for seeing hair and using it as our artistic canvas has been ingrained in us. We are hair cutters before we are colorists and we are not ashamed to admit it!

In fact, having worked with some of the best mentors in the hair industry, Tatjanna Cyponpionka, Sandra Yu, Andor Bubelenyi and now Gerard Caruso, I feel very blessed.

So why am I writing this? Well, it’s not to brag. It is my concern for the hair salon industry. Haircolor has taken such leaps and bounds within the last decade that I feel many stylists have lost their love for hair cutting. As hair stylists we all looked up to Vidal Sasson and his passion, and vision to cut and sculpt hair for inspiration. But color, oh the wonderful world of haircolor… What really takes my breath away is when color is placed to the cut!

One thing I have noticed in the last couple of years is that hair cutting has really taken a back seat in the salon industry. Companies are pushing color, color theory, product knowledge, color placement and editorial styling but no technical cutting classes.

In fact, many younger stylists like to use the razor to create a hair cut but when it comes down to it, they can never do that same cut again, or they just want long hair because long hair is easy for them. Let’s be honest, cutting hair scares the hell out of them and some of us too! We take some cutting classes but there is no foundation, no vision, and no inspiration: Just. Cut. Hair. As a hair cutter, this is a concern, how do we get around this lack of education?

We share our voices. We make sure to support companies that provide cutting classes that have a technique and get back to the basics. It’s important for us to have confidence, no matter who sits in our chairs, so that we can create the best look for them WITH a color that brings the cut out. Let’s be honest, just because a haircolor is rainbow, doesn’t mean it’s beautiful! Beauty is when all forms of art come together to create a marriage, a silhouette! Have you ever seen ombre hair when it’s not curled? The best style for a client is when the hair is in its natural state without having to do anything to it…

Yes, I am a Boise hair salon stylist, but I am also an artist, a sculptor, and a hair cutter, other than just a colorist!

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