By Cynthia Rodriguez, Tricoci University in Glendale Heights
On March 4th, I attended America’s Beauty Show at McCormick Place in Chicago, which is a show hosted once a year by the members of Cosmetologist Chicago as a way to improve and educate all salon professionals and future stylists.
What started off as a normal Sunday ended up being one of the most exciting days of my life. As I checked into the beauty show, loud music filled my ears as beauty demonstrations surrounded me. The beauty demonstrations varied from learning about different coloring techniques to which products are best to use while styling and cutting hair. I was astonished by all the stylists’ talents and unique work ethic.
At the CHI’s cutting demonstration, the stylist used the show’s music to determine how he cut his model’s hair; the louder and faster the music, the more he cut off. In the afternoon, I sat through Schwarzkopf’s fashion show and learned about what the process is like for a hairstylist to prep the models for a runway show. Despite the fact that I genuinely enjoyed all the demonstrations, I would have to say that my all-time favorite was American Crew’s runway show. This show primarily focused on the different techniques to use while cutting and coloring men’s hair, which I feel is a topic that is commonly overlooked. All the stylists were extremely detail-oriented and made sure that each step they taught was clearly articulated.
At times I felt like a kid in a candy store because the show had more than 150 stations to visit. Each station taught me a new technique, introduced me to a new product, or simply educated me about working in the beauty industry. I wanted to soak up as much information as possible because I knew opportunities like this do not come very often.
This show made me realize that there is an endless amount of information that a stylist can learn, and that I should attend America’s Beauty Show every year in order to keep up with new and upcoming products and techniques. Overall, this show has taught me so much about the beauty industry and reassured me that this is definitely the career that I want to enter into, and I can’t wait to be part of it!