We wanted to hear from lefty hairstylist and Wella Ambassador Nicolas Anamourlis @nikolas_michael_salon, about his lefty haircutting struggles and successes. We also asked him for Pro Tips for other lefty stylists in the industry.
Learning Right, Working Left
I've learned pretty much everything I know from right-handed people and I did a lot of training as a lefty looking through mirrors. Now it’s become second nature for me to watch and convert. I think most lefties will agree that they struggle with that at first. But it doesn’t last long, because soon enough we figure out that we can swap things around and just do them opposite ... and then we go-go-go!
Lefty Scissors and Ambidextrous Tools
Having the correct tools and understanding how they work is vitally important. You need to be trained to hold and work with the scissor. I don't know any other left-handed hairstylists and none of my hair heroes are lefties so I ended up learning right and cutting with right-hand scissors, with a lot of tension on it, for most of my career. About 10 years ago I got into the Mizutani Lefty range. I now have a whole scissor bag of lefties which are phenomenal. It's really changed my whole world of cutting; using less tension, being more deliberate, really being able to shape hair and make it behave a lot easier.
My razors and everything else are all ambidextrous so no issues there. I blow dry left, but I think most people do: hairbrush in the left hand, dryer in the right. It feels normal and natural to me to work this way.
Cutting sequence
No hard rules here. I start my cuts very differently for every haircut. Sometimes the focal point is the fringe or the baseline. If I'm doing a hectic bob it doesn't really matter which side I start with, sometimes it's one side, sometimes the other, sometimes the back, I think it depends on my mood. Seriously, when you’ve been cutting hair for a long time, there are only so many times you can section it the same way before you get bored. So I keep it fresh, sometimes starting anywhere and ending elsewhere. I also like starting haircuts dry, then wetting, then drying it. Sometimes I start with wet and cut dry at the end. Sometimes it's doing it all dry.
Real-life Lefty Struggles and a Perk
Lefty writing is definitely a struggle. I always smudge all over the page and get ink on my hands, especially with a ballpoint pen. It really isn’t fun because you’ve got to twist yourself around and you still get smudges.
Pretty much everything in life is for right-handed people and not much bothers me, except hand held can openers. The can opener thing really pisses me off! I'm on my fourth one in two years. I don't know how, but I break every can opener I work with. Just can’t do it.
With golf, I struggled! I learned to play golf right-handed before I learned there are left-hand clubs.
With surfing, I’m goofy so I'll take left point breaks where everyone takes the right, but I can also take a nice right on my back hand. So yes, being a lefty really does have its perks!
Pro Tips Body position is everything. It doesn’t make a difference if you are left or right-handed, you need to position yourself properly for cutting. Proper body position for me is getting my energy behind that person and making sure that I have one foot in front of the other to protect the angles and to be precise with my cutting.
Tension is important. Left or right-handed, but especially if you are a lefty using right-handed scissors, it’s important to control your scissor tension. Remember that zero tension will give you the strongest line.
Nicolas’s favourite prep and styling products
Sebastian Professional Potion 9 – excellent for cutting prep
EIMI Thermal Image – great heat protection and slip
Sebastian Professional Shaper Fierce or EIMI Mistify Me, depending on the level of hold needed
Sebastian Professional Dark Oil – brings life back to hair after cutting
EIMI Ocean Spritz – creates great movement, good for summer styles
Order for your salon
To stock Sebastian Professional or EIMI in your salon please contact your Modern Hair & Beauty sales representative or call MHB Telesales on 0860 104 109.
Follow
