Nick Arrojo - Great Hair: Secrets to Looking Fabulous and Feeling Beautiful Every Day

W hen I was growing up just outside Manchester, England, I was constantly re-creating my image. Completely inspired by music and fashion, I spent every day of my teenage years reading the key fashion magazines of the time (of which there were very few) and getting into all the new trends. My older brother was a hair colorist at one of the best salons in Manchester, and he was the coolest and hippest person I knew. He changed his style frequently, and he inspired me to do the same.

Although my clothes would change, it was difficult for me to change my hair because I had some insecurities about my looks. My sticking-out ears and high forehead made me determined to keep my hair long to cover up these so-called failings. I didnt like my hairs curliness much, either. On the one occasion I cut and straightened my hair, the results were disastrous and embarrassing.

I suppose it was inevitable that I became a hairdresser. At first, I just thought a hair salon would be a great environment in which to work, that Id get to meet lots of new and interesting people and have the chance to be creatively involved in the fashion industry. Besides, I needed a joband some spending moneyto help me enjoy those teenage years. At sixteen, I landed my first job and became a hair assistant at the biggest salon in Bolton, a town just up the road from where I lived.

I loved my new job straightaway. There was a hip young staff, music playing all day, friendly clients, lots of energy, and parties every weekend. How could I not love it? I realized pretty quickly that I wanted hairdressing to be my career. I also realized that if I was going to do this for the rest of my life, I wanted to be great at it. Now I had to work out how to be the best that I could be and make it to the top of my industry.

I was sure that I needed the best education possible in order to have a chance of making it big, so I went to the Big City: Manchester. By luck or by fate, I landed a job at the best salon in the country, Vidal Sassoon.

Vidal Sassoon was located in an iconic five-story building on famous King Street, Manchesters fashionable epicenter, complete with cobblestones and dainty trees. With its brown-tinted windows and larger-than-life images of amazing cuts and colors hanging throughout the majestic and futuristic space, Vidal Sassoon had an intimidating presence that reminded me of ultrahip London. I had arrived at the real deal, the place of excellence that was all things hair and all things cool. Vidal had revolutionized the hair industry with his precision-based technique, and now I was one of his new disciples.

I soon realized that I lacked true natural ability, but I vowed not to let that stand in my way. I would just have to work harder. And I did. Every day, I was the first in and the last to leave. I wanted to make a name for myself and build a reputation that would earn me the respect of my peers. I attended every single training class and gave 100 percent toward improving my skills. I learned from my mistakes and observed carefully, striving to be the best.

Once my apprenticeship was over, I became a stylist, and two years later, I was promoted to assistant creative director at the Manchester salon. I was just twenty-one then and I had already learned a lot. I learned that hair is an accessory to your total image. I learned that if you work with your hair in its natural state you will achieve greater success in maintaining your style. I learned that a precision cut is the most fundamentally important thing. I learned that my skills were getting better and better as my experience grew. And I learned that I was slowly overcoming my insecurities about my own hair, forehead, and ears.

With this newfound confidence, I began encouraging clients to change their opinions about their hair. I wanted them to work with their hair in a more natural, easy way, but I was faced with many people who had their own insecurities to contend with. I realized that if I was going to counsel people to look past their issues to see what the possibilities were, then I had to banish my own insecurities for good. After all, how could I give advice that I wasnt willing to take myself?

I liberated myself by shaving my head. Without the long bangs Id been hiding behind, my forehead and stick-out ears were completely exposed. This was my lesson to myself, and do you know what? It really helped! Nobody else seemed to mind what I thought were my odd features. I experienced and overcame my insecurities. Change was good!

I continued to evolve as a stylist and I continued to love my work. I helped people to become ecstatic about the way they look every day, and I still love the feeling I get from sharing that moment with them. Whenever I get the chance to see a new client, someone lost in her own hair dilemma, I gladly take it. I believe I have the confidence and the skill to lead people toward a whole new perspective about themselves, and when they get there and can finally see themselves as I do, its like magic. It gives me a great sense of personal satisfaction every time.

I moved to New York City in 1994. It was a dream fully realized and a fantasy come true to live in the Big Apple. As education director for a major New York City salon, I began formally educating other hairdressers. I loved, and continue to love, this part of my job. To pass on my experience to the next generation of stylists and help them to become true masters of their craft is a real honor. Its why I recently opened my own academy for advanced hairdressing education.

After living in New York for eight years, I was lucky enough to be asked to show my skills on the television show What Not to Wear. It was around that time that I began thinking about how great it would be to educate not just hairdressers but clients as well. I thought that with the right education and understanding about their hair, clients would have a better chance of maintaining a great hairstyle and be loads happier.