L’Oreal Professional Hair Academy Setting Benchmarks

The first L’Oreal Professional Academy for freshers – Hair, Internatinal Hairdressing Academy passed out it’s first batch this year and can be easily applauded for the work exhibited by the students in the passing out fashion show organized at the academy itself. Now very much into it’s second year, having become a year wiser, Beaute Espace spoke to Caroline Lanuzel , Manager of the Academy, Priya and Cybelle, instructors and a few students to understand the workings, plans and the nature of students enrolling in a course that costs a hefty 2,00,000 for six months of intensive initiation into hairdressing.
Whilst Lanuzel has studied hairdressing in France for over 5 years and was trained at the Jacques Dessange Hairdressing School in Paris, her career initiated at Jacques DESSANGE Salon with international experience in hairdressing in countries like UK, Cyprus, Middle East and India, where she set up salons and provided extensive training to hairdressers. Over the past one year, Caroline has been working closely with international hairdressers such as Bertrand Kaizner and international communication expert Julie Eldrett. Caroline has been instrumental in setting up the INTERNATIONAL HAIRDRESSING ACADEMY - the first hairdressing academy established by L’Oreal Professionnel worldwide. “It has been a fantastic learning experience” shares Lanuzel.
“The curricula”, she explains “combines both theory and practical experience and that is perhaps the most unique aspect of the educational experience in this academy”. She feels that the entire experience in a salon comprises of 50% emotional and the rest technical and hence the hairdresser has to be good at diagnosing and understanding the customer’s psyche.
Spread out in 4000 sq. ft., the academy offers a course for beginners that hones their skills in understanding the science of hair, shampoo and conditioning, cut and style, colour, perm and straightening, usage of styling products and communication. The students spend 3 days in a week at the academy and the next 3 days at practicing their skills at the L’Oreal Professionnel partner salons. Caroline Lanuzel lists “passion, motivation and ability to communicate” as perhaps the only eligibility criteria that they look for in a student. The academy also has facilities for translating communication in hindi and a class includes maximum 16 students and two educators.
Given such low numbers one wonders if L’Oreal Professionnel with its resources could do with facilities for recruiting bigger numbers. Explains Patrick de Dainville, GM, L’Oreal Professional Products (Africa- Orient- Pacific Zone) “at this stage our objective is to create a benchmark – in terms of standards in the industry”.