As Show and Education Director for Conair, Jim Roberts’ focus is on growing and directing his education teams (Rusk and Babyliss) while upholding the education format from the stage to classrooms. With Babyliss , the many new tools and techniques to be taught and trained on, including the BabylissPro Volare Clipper, the Babyliss Pro J1 Clipper and the Nano Titanium tools, mean the Babyliss Team has their work cut out for them.
“Babyliss PRO is a relatively new company and we built the team within the past four years,” Roberts says. “We have 25 members and 10 on the Artistic Team. We focus on education around our tools and methods of cutting. Today, there is a blending of the gap between barbers and stylists. Men’s hair is changing and cosmetologists are looking to enhance their clippers skills which aren’t taught much, if at all, in school. Hairdressers are going to their barber friends to learn how to create the hard parts and the modern shapes for men while barbers want to be more in tune with color placement or the ability to texturize longer hair. And because we’re seeing barbers and stylists collaborating to create hair, we developed a system of cutting hair with clippers for female and male clients. We approach the head shape the same way you would if you were using shears but we are using a different tool to create the shape.“
Babyliss has had a busy season, with Artistic Directors José Perales and Bee Salas sometimes doing 10 shows in a row. “This I s the hardest working team in the hair show business right now,” says Roberts. “We keep it small because we care about quality over quantity. “
The Babyliss team also emphasizes the importance of ergonomic design in their tools to reduce misuse.
“We find that cutting hair with clippers is even less stressful than cutting with scissors. With the Volare, you can cut curved lines in bob shapes and you are able to created beveled graduation. It clips like a laser,” says Roberts. “We say the tools and the technique create the talent. We believe in that. They are all high quality tools and when you combine them with technique from our education I have seen hairstylists just starting develop a talent that is overwhelming.”
Because they create editorial style, six team members recently attended MODERN SALON ARTIST SESSION, a two-day education in New York on how to do a photo shoot. Their commitment to improving their own skills and to each other contributes to their success, says Roberts. “More than anything, I look at the team as a happy family. They really care about what they do and they honestly care about each other. It’s 100 percent a team effort; the people on stage wouldn’t shine as bright without all the people backstage. We sometimes do 80 to 100 models, from start to finish, which includes color, cutting, and style.”
Interested in joining the Babyliss team? Roberts says he’d like stylists to have at least two years in the industry but “attitude often trumps that. You must have the right image and be willing to work hard and dedicate your time to the brand and be loyal to it. You need to be young at heart.”
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