Hair stylist – master and apprentice
When I was planning the content for HÅNDVÆRK bookazine no. 14 – a theme issue on master and apprentice – I reached out to Birthe Gleerup, a hair stylist who owns and runs three salons in Aarhus. In 1990, she established the first eco-friendly hair salon in Denmark, which avoided all products with harmful chemical ingredients.
I was hoping that she might have one or several apprentices and that I could do an interview with Birthe and one of her apprentices.
She replied that, unfortunately, she would have to give it a miss. At the time, she had 20+ employees but no apprentices. She usually did but not right now. Maybe, maybe not, she would take on an apprentice later.
Just as I had finished the manuscript for the bookazine, in December, I learnt that the salon had hired an apprentice, and that I was welcome, unless it was too late.
It was too late for the print bookazine but not to late to have a conversation, so we decided to talk during a haircut in February when I already had plans to go to Aarhus to be present for the printing of the bookazine, as I do twice a year.
Late February
Birthe takes turns working in her three hair salons and has made an appointment for me at Jægergårdsgade.
When I arrive at the busy salon, I am greeted and offered a cup of herb tea, with liquorice root as one of the ingredients. ‘Years ago, I had the blend made especially for my salon,’ Birthe explains.
While I wait for my turn at the shampoo station, we talk about what I would like to have done – happy with my current hairstyle, I just want a trim.
We talk about the many eco-friendly salons on the street and in Aarhus overall, which has more ‘green’ salons than Copenhagen. ‘Many of the eco-friendly stylists in Aarhus initially worked for me,’ she says.
Her own interest in eco-friendly approaches was sparked by her own problems with allergy. Just two years after she had completed her training, her eczema was so severe that she no longer saw a future for herself in the profession – and the craft – that she had imagined growing old in.
Taking a time-out to work out her next step, she attended folk high school and stayed at a kibbutz – and met new friends from New York who introduced her to the early green movement of the 1980s, including hair salons that used henna dyes and natural soaps. Then she returned to Aarhus and opened a salon in the city’s Latin Quarter. Her first salon was just 30 m² (it has long since moved across the street to a 120-m² space).
She was off to a good start. Male customers in particular appreciated the absence of pungent chemical fragrances, and women with damaged hair due to bleach and perm chemicals also flocked to the new salon.
‘At first, it all had a pretty activist and grassroots feel,’ she says. ‘But gradually, new products came onto the market, and for many customers, what had initially seemed like a hippie-style alternative became a natural choice or even a luxurious treat. Today, it is not seen as being about limitations or going without, except that we don’t do perms.’
There is room now at the shampoo station, and Birthe instructs me that here, you just stay quiet and enjoy. That is easy – the shampooing and scalp massage are wonderful, and the chair has a built-in massage function that takes care of the last tense knots from sending the bookazine to print.
When I am seated in front of the mirror, she talks about the joy of having a craft and how she insists on practising it a couple of days a week, although managing three salons and a large staff consumes much of her working week. However, she also talks about how rewarding she find it to improve her leadership skills and take good care of the people she works with.
She says that she always tries to put together a diverse team – not in terms of aesthetic preferences but in terms of temperament. She also explains that she trains her staff to be able to engage with different customer types and maintaining a professional attitude, regardless who is in the chair.
The topic of staffing brings us to her apprentice, Katrine, who is about to finish her work and join our conversation. ‘She is an adult and very committed, and when she applied, we had no doubt that we were ready for a new apprentice,’ says Birthe, who explains that the reason they did not have an apprentice for some time is that it is not always easy to meet everybody’s needs. Today, workplaces have learn to engage with a generation of employees who are not simply going to grit their teeth and bear it. Birthe says, ‘You can learn a lot from today’s young people, who are the first generation to express the vulnerability that I think we all have, or used to have. It’s no problem for me to ask, “What will it take for you to have a good day at work?”.’
And what about you, I ask Katrine – who has joined us and needs to speak up to be heard over the blow drier – did you always know that you wanted to be a hairstylist?
Katrine says that she always had it as a dream, in the back of her mind, but high marks on her upper secondary school leaving examination qualified her for university enrolment, so she chose an academic path. Before deciding to pursue her original dream, she earned a bachelor’s degree in religious studies.
Do you use any aspect of your degree in your work here? I ask. Absolutely, she says. Her university studies have given her a different outlook and the confidence to talk to the customers about their interests. Her added maturity also helps her fit into the salon team of adult women.
Training as a hairstylist takes four years and alternates between college courses and apprenticeship training. Katrine recently completed her second basic course.
‘We’re a good group. The youngest are 16, and at 26, I am the oldest, but we are good at helping each other out, regardless of our different outlooks.
Still, quite a few have dropped out. I think maybe only half of the people I enrolled with still remain. Some dropped out because they realized this was not the right profession for them – it’s a big decision for a 16-year-old to choose a programme that requires you to spend most your time at a grown-up workplace. Others left because it is hard to find an apprenticeship placement.’
Was it difficult for you to find an employer, and was Birthe Gleerup’s salon your first choice?
‘I aimed for a salon with an eco-friendly profile, and I applied with Birthe and with a colleague of hers down the street . That was where I started, but due to change of ownership, I was able to transfer here.’ Katrine looks quite pleased.
Mostly directed at Birthe, I say, It has been a while since I was up to date on what hair stylists do for continuing education – once, it was all about courses in New York and London. Is that still the case?
‘We look to London. Once you are fully trained and master the basic principles, you can begin to refine and develop your techniques. Training is a career-long endeavour. A couple of years ago, all my stylists went to London for a training course, but today, there are also many online options,’ she replies.
Do you talk about trends?
‘Not the way we did when I first started out,’ says Birthe. ‘It’s more about tendencies. After a period with 1970s bangs, we are opening up and looking at a wider range of periods. There are a lot of big, soft curls right now.’
But not permed, I note, and admire Katrine’s curly locks before I thank her for my classic page cut.
Da jeg planlagde indholdet til HÅNDVÆRK bookazine no. 14 under temaet mester-elev, rakte jeg ud til Birthe Gleerup i Aarhus. Hun er frisør og har tre saloner i byen. Hun var den første i Danmark, som tilbage i 1990 etablerede sig som miljøvenlig frisør – det vil sige en frisør, som ikke benytter produkter, der indeholder skadelig kemi. Min forhåbning var, at hun havde en eller flere elever, og at hun og en af dem ville give interview.
Hun afslog – med beklagelse. På daværende tidspunkt havde hun 20+ ansatte, men for tiden ingen elever. Det plejede hun ellers at have, men lige nu, nej desværre – og måske, måske ikke skulle hun have en igen på et tidspunkt.
Netop som jeg havde sat sidste punktum i bookazinet i december, løb rygtet, at nu havde salonen ansat en elev, og jeg var velkommen, hvis ikke det var for sent.
For sent til printbookazinet var det, men ikke for sent at tale sammen, og vi bestemte os derfor for at gøre det over en klipning i forbindelse med trykstart som hver halve år bringer mig til Århus – altså for nylig.
Slutningen af februar
Birthe cirkulerer mellem sine saloner og har sat mig stævne i Jægergårdsgade.
Jeg bliver budt velkommen i den travle salon og får serveret en urtete med blandt andet lakridsrod, ”som jeg for mange år siden fik blandet specielt til min salon,” forklarer Birthe.
Mens vi venter på, at der bliver en plads ledig ved vasken, taler vi først om, hvordan jeg ønsker at blive klippet – det er hurtigt overstået; jeg er tilfreds med frisuren, som den er, men vil blot have kanterne frisket op.
Dernæst taler vi om, at der er mange miljøvenlige saloner i gaden, og at der i det hele taget er mange saloner med den profil i Aarhus, mange flere end i København. ”Mange af dem, som har etableret sig i byen, er startet hos mig,” siger hun.
Hendes egen interesse for den miljøvenlige retning tog sit afsæt i allergi. Allerede to år efter hun var udlært, var hun så plaget af eksem, at hun ikke så en fremtid i det fag – med det håndværk – hun ellers havde forestillet sig at blive gammel i.
Efter en pause – højskole, kibbutzophold og nye venner fra New York, som viste hende vej til slutfirsernes spirende grønne bevægelse, der blandt andet indebar åbning af frisørsaloner, som farvede med henna og vaskede med natursæber – tog hun hjem til Aarhus og åbnede sin første salon i Latinerkvarteret på 30 m² (den er for længst flyttet over gaden til 120 m²)
Hun kom godt fra start. Navnlig mandlige kunder værdsatte fraværet af kras kemilugt, og kvinder, som havde fået ødelagt deres hårpragt af blegning og permanentvæsker, fandt også hurtigt vej.
”Det var ret aktivistisk og græsrodsagtigt i begyndelsen,” siger hun og fortsætter: ”Men langsomt kom der flere produkter på markedet, og det, som fra begyndelsen lignede et lidt hippieagtigt alternativ, blev for mange kunder det naturlige og endda eksklusive valg – som ikke er forbundet med fravalg eller begrænsninger, bortset fra at vi ikke permanentkrøller.”
Der er blevet plads ved vaskestationen, og Birthe instruerer om, at her er man stille og nyder. Det er let – hårvasken og hovedbundsmassagen er skøn, og stolen med indbygget massagefunktion fjerner de sidste rester af trykstartsspændinger!
Tilbage foran spejet taler hun om glæden ved at have et håndværk og om at insistere på at praktisere det nogle dage om ugen, selvom administrationen af tre saloner og de mange ansatte efterhånden optager en pæn del af hendes arbejdstid. Men taler også om glæden ved at udvikle sit lederskab og om at interessere sig for mennesker.
Hun fortæller, at hun er optaget af at sammensætte sit team, så der så vidt muligt er flere forskellige mennesketyper repræsenteret – og her taler hun ikke om æstetiske præferencer, men om temperamenter. Hun fortæller også, at hun uddanner personalet i at kunne håndtere forskellige kundetyper og i at forholde sig professionelt, uanset hvem der er i stolen.
Samtalen om personale sender os i retning af eleven Katrine, som om lidt er færdig med sine opgaver og vil slutte sig til samtalen. ”Da hun søgte – hun er voksen og meget dedikeret – var vi ikke i tvivl om, at vi var klar til en ny elev,” siger Birthe, og lader mig forstå, at grunden til at de ingen elev havde i en periode er, at det ikke er helt let at få alles behov til at gå op i en højere enhed. Vi taler om at arbejdspladserne skal vænne sig til en generation som ikke bare bider tænderne sammen og holder ud. Birthe siger, ”man kan lære meget af de unge, som er den første generation som udtrykker den sårbarhed, som vi vel egentlig alle har eller har haft, og der går ingen skår af mig for at spørge, ”hvad skal der til for at du får en god dag på jobbet?””
Og du, siger jeg henvendt til Katrine, som nu har slået sig ned og skal overdøve føntørreren – har du altid vidst, at du ville være frisør?
Katrine fortæller, at det har ligget som en drøm i baghovedet, men at hun fik gode karakterer i gymnasiet og derfor valgte universitetet, hvor hun – inden hun gav sig hen til sin drøm – afsluttede sin bachelor i religionsvidenskab.
Bruger du noget fra den uddannelse i dit arbejde her? spørger jeg. Det er hun ikke i tvivl om. Det at have læst giver hende vid og selvtillid til at tale med kunderne om deres interesser, foruden en modenhed som gør at hun kan indgå i salonens team af voksne kvinder.
En frisøruddannelse tager fire år og er bygget op som en vekselvirkning mellem skole og praktik. Katrine har netop været på sit andet grundforløb.
”Vi er et godt hold. De yngste er 16, og jeg, som er 26, er den ældste, men vi er gode til at hjælpe hinanden på trods af vores forskelligheder.
Det til trods har der været stort frafald – jeg tror, at det kun er ca. 50 % af dem, jeg startede sammen med, som er gået videre. Nogle er stoppet, fordi de ikke var kommet på rette hylde – det er en stor beslutning som 16-årig, at tage en uddannelse, hvor man det meste af tiden skal være en del af en voksenarbejdsplads. Andre er faldet fra, fordi det er vanskeligt at få elevplads.”
Var det vanskeligt for dig at finde plads og gik du målrettet efter Birthe Gleerup?
”Jeg gik målrettet efter en salon med en miljøvenlig profil, og jeg søgte både hos Birthe og hos en kollega længere ned ad gaden. Det var der, jeg startede, men da den salon skiftede ejer, fik jeg pladsen her.” Katrine ser meget tilfreds ud.
Jeg spørger – mest henvendt til Birthe: Det er længe siden, jeg har fulgt med i, hvordan frisører løbende efteruddanner sig – engang var det kurser i New York og London. Er det stadig sådan?
”Vi orienterer os mod London. Når man er udlært og kan grundprincipperne, kan man begynde at raffinere og forfine teknikkerne –videreuddannelse foregår løbende i hele ens karriere. For et par år siden var alle ansatte i salonerne i London på kursus, men der er efterhånden også meget, man kan følge online.” svarer hun.
Taler I om trends?
”Ikke som da jeg var ung frisør,” svarer Birthe. ”Mere om strømninger. Efter en periode med 70’er-pandehår åbner vi mere op og er under indflydelse af flere forskellige perioder. Der er mange store, bløde krøller.”
Men de er ikke permanente, konstaterer jeg og ser på Katrines krøllede look, inden jeg takker for min klassiske page.
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