The past five years have seen the men’s grooming landscape seriously change, with men paying more attention to their appearance than ever before. At the core of this movement is Sydney’s Alpha Barbering Consultants, guiding the industry in barbering training and equipping salons to shear any request, modern and traditional.
The Cut Throat Journal sat down with Founder and Head Educator, Christos Leontios, to find out more.
Who is Alpha Barbering Consultants?
Alpha exists to give men a guaranteed premium barbering or grooming experience – which is the responsibility of their barber or hairdresser. We run short, hands-on barbering courses for hairdressers and barbers who are looking to broaden their spectrum of skills, or sharpen what they’ve already got. Each of our participants is equipped with the context, skill, practice and confidence to meet any grooming request.
What turn of events sparked the birth of Alpha Barbering Consultants (ABC)?
A few things; primarily, the escalating demand for great men’s grooming and the lack of formal training to service this. Grooming demands have dramatically evolved over the past five years. Current men’s styles and requests need solid barbering skills to be delivered effectively and efficiently. Also, men only account for about 20% of revenue in the hairdressing industry and that’s set to soar.
If we can equip hairdressers (who typically only get the standard 30 hours of barbering training in hairdressing courses) with barbering technique and confidence, we equip them with the ability to handle all requests and increase that 20% to a much higher number. The same goes for barbers who never got any formal training or learnt on-the-job. It takes less time to cut a man’s hair than a woman’s and with our training, we reduce that time still, increasing what they’re able to achieve in a day.
I was lucky, I was born into barbering. Since 1966, my dad owned and ran one of Sydney’s busiest barbers until I took over about 15 years ago. That gives me 15 years in the industry and we’ve found that what comes naturally to us – scissor over comb techniques, blending, short graduation, clippering techniques – doesn’t necessarily come naturally to others (especially after only 30 hours of training). One of the most-asked questions we get is, ‘which styles work best with different head shapes?’ With relevance at the core of our training mantra, these are the sorts of things our courses cover. ABC courses are designed to be experiential and jam-packed with value.
How are ABC courses different to other barbering courses?
All we do is training. We don’t promote products; all of our focus is on technique.
Our courses are generally three hours in length because in the real world, we can’t expect participants to be focused for longer than that, or take a day off work. We also educate onsite in participants’ salons, making life easier and surrounds comfortable. Courses are for 1-3 participants at a time, again heightening the value of those three hours.
At this stage, we offer courses in Primary Clippering, Crew Cuts, Intensive Scissor Over Comb techniques, the Classic and Modern Pompadour and Cut Throat Shaving. We also tailor courses for salons that have specific requirements.
Contact Christos at Alpha Barbering Consultants directly:
e christos@alphabarberingconsultants.com.au
m +61 409 787 897
w alphabarberingconsultants.com.au
facebook.com/AlphaBarberingConsultants
www.instagram.com/alphabarberingconsultants
