Curls, Cornrows, and Confidence

3:05 p.m. could not come soon enough on Thursdays. Tic tock.Tic tock. I excitedly look forward to the end of my period 8 class so that I can head to the Cosmetology Club in room 414.

This club makes me happy because it has taught me things about doing hair and hairstyles that I’ve always been curious about or wanted to do but never had the time or someone to teach me. I now have learned to do my own hair and create my own hairstyles, instead of paying over $200 for a decent hairstyle. 

Each week, staff advisor Atiya teaches us aspects of the beauty and grooming industry. We get hands-on practice with hairstyling, are exposed to new beauty products, organize demonstrations, learn about careers in cosmetology, are presented with guest speakers, go on field trips, and so much more!

Atiya is a wealth of knowledge about cosmetology. She shares her successes and struggles in working in this field, which I love listening to. In addition to being a certified teacher, Aitya is also a licensed cosmetologist. She has had her own hair salon. 

Atiya makes attending the club pure fun! She is a kind and funny person. She supports and encourages us as we learn new things. So far I have learned how to do a wash and set by washing a “mannequin’s head” with shampoo and conditioner and curling the hair using curlers and pins. We watched demo videos and Atiya walked us through the steps before we practiced. She helped each one of us along the way and, because of this, I have improved my ability to do hairstyles. 

We are now working on doing cornrows on a “mannequin’s head”. I have struggled a bit with doing this on the “doll’s head”. But Aitya will have us continue doing it until we get it and are able to do it with ease. Atiya is skilled in knowing how to build confidence in those of us in the cosmetology club. Atiya’s faith in me helps me to show up to club each Thursday from 3:15 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. There is a lot of laughter during club time, even when we mess up because Aitya creates a safe environment to learn.

Glamour Tips 

Here is how to do a curling set: 

1. Make sure you wash your hair (shampoo first, then conditioner).
2. Don’t completely dry it, make sure it’s still a little wet. 
3. Make a part on the top middle of your head into a square shape.
4. Comb out your piece of hair.
5. Take the tip of your hair and grab a hair roller.  
6. Take the roller, start from the top, and curl gently down until you get to the bottom of your head.
7. Once you finish that, hold onto the roller and grab a pin with your other hand.
8. Now open the pin and put it on the side of the roller to prevent it from reopening. (if it’s not stable add another pin to the other side of the roller).
9. Continue to do this down the middle of your head.  
10.  Once you’ve done that, move to the side of the client’s head. 
11. Make a part between the ear and the front part of the head.
12.  Once you do that, get a smaller roller and continue the same process on the side of the head.  

Here is how to do cornrows:

1. Make sure your hair is washed and blow-dried.
2. Make a part from the top of your hair all the way down with a comb. The part should be as wide as you desire.
3. Practice braiding before doing cornrows!  
4. Tie the remaining hair in a scrunchie. 
5. Once that is done, go to the top of your part and make three sections. 
6. Before you start, know that you are doing box braids but make sure your fingers are closer to the client’s scalp.
7. First, you start braiding regularly with the three sections you made.
8. Then you start to add the remaining hair with the three sections. 
9. Keep doing that until you reach the end of your head.