Hair apparent

MIRIAM HILL

The smell hits you first. The scent of shampoo, conditioner and hair dye wafts through the hall on the ground floor of Arctic College’s North 40 campus in Iqaluit, and gets stronger at the door of what used to be a residence.

Inside, four rooms have been transformed into a hair salon, complete with workstations, wall sinks and posters of shiny hairstyles decoratively arranged on the walls. Plants rest near each of the windows.

Kanadaise Uyarasuk sits covered by a black plastic cape in a swivel chair in front of a mirror. Her hair is a bright shade of lavender and stands straight up from her scalp.

Uyarasuk, a 40-year-old mother of six, is one of 13 students enrolled in the college’s hairdressing course.

She has never had her hair coloured before, but it’s Friday, the day the students get the chance to experiment on each other with cuts and hair dye.

This is the first year the college has offered a hairdressing course, but Cindy Cowan, the director of community programs at the Nunatta Campus, says there has been interest for about 10 years.

“In the past, individuals who wanted to do hairdressing would have to leave Nunavut and go to Ottawa and Fort Smith,” Cowan says. “It also requires a lot of infrastructure. We had to renovate for a salon classroom and then the purchase of all the equipment that was needed.”

The materials for the course cost about $30,000, she says, and then the college had to renovate, costing an additional $10,000. The students in the course come from around the territory and one more is expected from Arviat.

Back in the salon classroom, which is painted a bright sunflower yellow, the course instructor, Suzanne Laliberte, checks on Uyarasuk’s purple do.

“It’s very important you cover all the hair,” she tells the small group of students. “See how I’ll comb the colour right through to the ends?”

Laliberte has run her own salon in Iqaluit for years and has taught a similar course to students in Kuujjuarapik. The six-month program, Basic Hairdressing, Level I, will allow the students to obtain a college diploma in April.

Uyarasuk is one of three students from Igloolik. She says she was always interested in haircutting and thought the course looked interesting.

The haircutting services in her home community are slim, she says. “There’s nothing in Igloolik.”

Soudloo Kootoo of Kimmirut gets ready to rinse the lavender colour from Uyarasuk’s hair. Being the only man in the course was uncomfortable at first, he says, but he’s getting used to it.

“I’m here to learn,” he says matter of factly. “And so far so good.”

Near Kootoo’s station is a board with pictures of heads with their hair divided into sections, some horizontal, others diagonal.

“Cutting is definitely the hardest,” he says. “I’m not used to cutting in the horizontal way.”

Laliberte calls the group to a wall sink where Uyarasuk is having her hair rinsed.

“I want you to listen carefully,” she says, waiting for others to turn off their blow dryers and join the group. “You don’t just rinse a colour, you foam a colour.” She wets the hair slightly and massages the scalp until foam is created. Her hands are purple, but she says the colour won’t stain if you rinse it off right away. She then explains how best to remove any colour that has been left on the client’s skin.

“When you go back home, you’re not washing in a kitchen anymore,” she says, even though you may be working in your kitchen. “You want it to look professional and the customer will have more confidence in you.”

Laliberte leaves the rinsing to Kootoo and asks another student to wash the hair of the next student in line for a hair cut.

“It’s hard to believe a week ago there was no floor in here,” Laliberte says smiling as she looks around the room.

By April, students will have all the tools they need to do haircuts permanents and hairstyles and will have learned to apply hair colour, she says. If this first level is successful and funding can be secured, a second level will be offered to teach more sophisticated haircuts, styles and more hair colour techniques. It will also concentrate on business skills to help students set up their own salons.

Come November, following a few more weeks of practice, Laliberte says the students will be offering haircuts and permanents at a reduced rate in the salon.

“They will be ready for basic cuts and simple styles,” Laliberte says.