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A career or further study in the Hair and Beauty sector is as varied, exciting and fast paced as the fashion industry. The Diploma helps to prepare you for it by giving you the skills and experience you need to succeed. What’s different about the Diploma is that businesses in the industry are investing their time to help you do this.

This is why you’ll be learning everything about the industry from the people who know. What the sector can offer keen young people in return is a fun, trendy place to train and work, lots of encouragement and really great rewards.

So, what’s it really like?

There are more than 56,000 hair, beauty, nails and spa businesses in the UK, with over 230,000 people working in them right now. Just over half of these people are under 26; making it a great starting point for young people to succeed. It’s a growing industry, especially with people increasingly concerned about looking good- so it’s no surprise there are that many businesses out there.

It’s also a really vibrant area to work in right now. People have more money to spend on personal appearance, and they like to treat themselves to hair, beauty and nail services as well as grooming products. The male grooming industry is positively booming; there’s the luxury end of the market, with more people going for expensive products, spa treatments and in-salon therapies and then there’s the everyday market with the services that count as necessities. In fact, there’s more than 500 million client visits each year!

Fashion is always changing, so if you want to work in the industry you’ll have to keep up with the latest trends and looks. You can specialise in certain areas, like nails or African-Caribbean hairdressing. Or do a bit of everything if you see yourself running your own business in the future.

Complementary and alternative therapies are also really popular. Things like nutrition, exercise and spa treatments, reflexology and aromatherapy. Even newer disciplines like hot stone healing and Ayurvedic therapies are found in more and more salons now.

You should have a better idea of how big an area this is to explore, whether you’re thinking of working in it or studying more about it. By doing the Diploma in Hair and Beauty Studies you’ll get the chance to do just that: Explore everything.

Useful links

The first website you should look at is Habia. It’s the government body for hair, beauty, nails, spa therapy, barbering and African-Caribbean hairdressing, and runs the Diploma in Hair and Beauty.

Because it’s such a popular industry, there are many websites you can look at to get an idea about what’s involved. Like the Good Salon Guide, the Hairdressing Council or the National Hairdressers Federation (NHF).