Hairdresser

thumb|right|Hairdresser washing a woman's hair

A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A hairdresser may also be referred to as a 'barber' or 'hairstylist'.

History

Ancient hairdressing

Hairdressing as an occupation dates back thousands of years. Both Aristophanes and Homer, Greek writers, mention hairdressing in their writings.

Barbers were called koureus (κουρεύς) in Greek and tonsor in Latin. Greek and Roman barbers cut and styled hair, shaved beards, trimmed nails, and removed hairs with tweezers. Wealthy individuals were groomed by their own slave attendants, while ordinary people went to the barber shop (κουρεῖον, tonstrina), which was also a popular place to hang out and hear gossip. Female barbers (κουρεύτριαι, tonstrices) were apparently not uncommon. Before the barber began, a rough cloth (ὠμόλινον, involucre) was placed on the customer's shoulders to keep hair off their clothes. The second part of the job was shaving (radere, rasitare, ξυρεῖν), done with a razor (ξυρόν, novacula) stored in a razor-case (θήκη, ξυροθήκη, ξυροδόκης). Some people avoided shaving with razors by using strong hair-removal ointments or plasters like psilothron, acida Creta, Venetum lutum, and dropax. Any hairs missed by the razor were pulled out with tweezers (volsellae, τριχολάβιον). The third part of the barber's job was trimming fingernails, expressed in Greek as ὀνυχίζειν and ἀπονυχίζειν. The tools used for this were called ὀνυχιστήρια.

Many Africans believed that hair is a method to communicate with the Divine Being. It is the highest part of the body and therefore the closest to the divine. Because of this Hairdressers held a prominent role in African communities. The status of hairdressing encouraged many to develop their skills, and close relationships were built between hairdressers and their clients. Hours would be spent washing, combing, oiling, styling and ornamenting their hair. Men would work specifically on men, and women on other women. Before a master hairdresser died, they would give their combs and tools to a chosen successor during a special ceremony.

In ancient Egypt, hairdressers had specially decorated cases to hold their tools, including lotions, scissors and styling materials. Barbers also worked as hairdressers, and wealthy men often had personal barbers within their home. With the standard of wig wearing within the culture, wigmakers were also trained as hairdressers. In ancient Rome and Greece household slaves and servants took on the role of hairdressers, including dyeing and shaving. Men who did not have their own private hair or shaving services would visit the local barbershop. Women had their hair maintained and groomed at their homes. Historical documentation is lacking regarding hairstylists from the 5th century until the 14th century. Hair care service grew in demand after a papal decree in 1092 demanded that all Roman Catholic clergymen remove their facial hair. Hair fashion of the period suggested that wealthy women wear large, complex and heavily adorned hairstyles, which would be maintained by their personal maids and other people, who would spend hours dressing the woman's hair. A wealthy man's hair would often be maintained by a valet. It was in France where men began styling women's hair for the first time, and many of the notable hairdressers of the time were men, a trend that would continue into contemporary times. The first famous male hairdresser was Champagne, who was born in Southern France. Upon moving to Paris, he opened his own hair salon and dressed the hair of wealthy Parisian women until his death in 1658. During the French Revolution he escaped the country hours before he was to be arrested, alongside the king, queen, and other clients. Léonard emigrated to Russia, where he worked as the premier hairdresser for Russian nobility.

By country

United States

thumb|Shelf with a great number of different hair colours, each having a colour code printed on the packaging, at a hairdresser in Germany. In practice, often two or more colours are mixed with each other to achieve a certain intermediate colour tone, which requires significant experience.

Occupationally, hairdressing is expected to grow faster than the average for all other occupations, at 20%. A state license is required for hairdressers to practice, with qualifications varying from state to state. Generally a person interested in hairdressing must have a high school diploma or GED, be at least 16 years of age, and have graduated from a state-licensed barber or cosmetology school. Full-time programs often last 9 months or more, leading to an associate degree. After students graduate from a program, they take a state licensing exam, which often consists of a written test, and a practical test of styling or an oral exam. Hairdressers must pay for licenses, and occasionally licenses must be renewed. Some states allow hairdressers to work without obtaining a new license, while others require a new license. About 44% of hairdressers are self-employed, often putting in 40-hour work weeks, and even longer among the self-employed. In 2008, 29% of hairstylists worked part-time, and 14% had variable schedules. As of 2008, people working as hairdressers totaled about 630,700, with a projected increase to 757,700 by 2018. During the COVID-19 pandemic, hairstylists in the United States became independent professionals rather than employees in increasing numbers, a trend that was also facilitated by the proliferation of booking and business management apps in the salon industry. By 2022, according to the Professional Beauty Association, the majority of the approximately 1.2 million salon-related businesses in the United States were independently owned. These can cause skin irritation, respiratory problems, and long-term health effects, including cancer and reproductive issues. Exposure risks are highly variable throughout the profession due to differences in the physical workspace, such as use of proper ventilation, as well as individual exposures to various chemicals throughout one's career. Hairdressers encounter a variety of chemicals on the job due to handling products such as shampoos, conditioners, sprays, chemical straighteners, permanent curling agents, bleaching agents, and dyes. While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does hold certain guidelines over cosmetic products, such as proper labeling and provisions against adulteration, the FDA does not require approval of products prior to being sold to the public. This leaves opportunity for variations in product formulation, which can make occupational exposure evaluation challenging. However, there are certain chemicals that are commonly found in products used in hair salons and have been the subject of various occupational hazard studies.

Formaldehyde

Formaldehyde is a chemical used in various industries and has been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as “carcinogenic to humans”. The presence of formaldehyde and methylene glycol, a formaldehyde derivative, have been found in hair smoothing products, such as the Brazilian Blowout. The liquid product is applied to the hair, which is then dried using a blow dryer. Simulation studies as well as observational studies of working salons have shown formaldehyde levels in the air that meet and exceed occupational exposure limits. Variations in observed levels are a function of ventilation used in the workplace as well as the levels of formaldehyde, and its derivatives, in the product itself. Aromatic amines have also been found in oxidative (permanent) hair dyes; however due to their potential for carcinogenicity, they were removed from most hair dye formulations and their use was completely banned in the European Union.

Phthalates

Phthalates are a class of compounds that are esters of phthalic acid. Their main use has been as plasticizers, additives to plastic products to change certain physical characteristics. They have also been widely used in cosmetic products as preservatives, including shampoos and hair sprays. Phthalates have been implicated as endocrine disrupting chemicals, compounds that mimic the body's own hormones and can lead to dysregulation of the reproductive and neurologic systems as well as changes in metabolism and cell proliferation. There have been studies linking mothers who are hairdressers with adverse birthing outcomes such as low birth weight, preterm delivery, perinatal death, and neonates who are small for gestational age. However, these studies failed to show a well-defined association between individual risk factors and adverse birthing outcomes. Other studies have also indicated a correlation between professional hairdressing and menstrual dysfunction as well as subfertility. However, subsequent studies did not show similar correlations. Due to such inconsistencies, further research is required.

Oncologic

The International Agency for Research on Cancer or IARC, has categorized occupational exposures of hairdressers and barbers to chemical agents found in the workplace as “probably carcinogenic to humans” or category 2A in their classification system. Other malignancies such as ovarian, breast and lung cancers have also been studied in hairdressers, but the outcomes of these studies were either inconclusive due to potential confounding or did not exhibit an increase in risk. Other notable respiratory exposures included ethanol, ammonia, and formaldehyde. Decreased lung function levels on spirometry have also been demonstrated in hairdressers when compared to unexposed reference groups. Allergen sensitization has been considered the main cause for most cases of contact dermatitis in hairdressers, as products such as hair dyes and bleaches, as well as permanent curling agents contain chemicals that are known sensitizers. Hairdressers also spend a significant amount of time engaging in wet work with their hands being directly immersed in water or by handling of wet hair and tools. Overtime, this type of work has also been implicated in increased rate of irritant dermatitis among hairdressers due to damage of the skins natural protective barrier

History

Ancient hairdressing

By country

United States

Formaldehyde

See also

References

Further reading

External links