The Importance of Education in the Beauty Industry
Jazz Pampling was in Auckland recently teaching a brow sculpting masterclass. We caught up with her to chat about the importance of education in the beauty industry.
In a previous interview Jazz spoke about a masterclass she attended early in her career held by influential Australian makeup artist, Rae Morris. Now visiting Auckland to teach her own brow sculpting masterclass, we met and spoke with Jazz about the important part education has had to play in her own success as a beauty business owner.
How important has education been to you in your career?
I wouldn’t be here without education. I attended Rae Morris’ masterclass 8 or 9 years ago. It led me to brows and it led me to running my own business. Had I not attended that class I wouldn’t be here doing what I do today. I wouldn’t have realised how important eyebrows were for the makeup industry.
Rae Morris is a leading makeup artist in Australia. Her 10-day masterclass at the time cost $4,000 (AUD), but I didn’t have $4,000. My friend was doing it and I sat in as her face model. Every day Rae was speaking about eyebrows. Eventually she said “If you haven’t finished the eyebrows, I’m not going to look at your makeup“.
I learned that eyebrows were really important and thought, ‘Right, I’m going to learn about brows’. A lot of what Rae taught formed the basis of my work, and then I went on and grabbed information from different people, and kind of created my own ideas and concepts around how brows should be shaped. That’s what I pass on to other girls.
“I think education is incredibly important.”
Both girls and boys will come to my classes. They may not take on everything I say, but they’ll take on all the pieces that they think are important. They’ll go on and develop their own ideas, and find their own success.
Being able to do eyebrow shaping has given me my own independence, and educating people to do what I do gives them their independence. That’s why I love education.
Would you say that qualifications are necessary for success in the beauty industry?
Absolutely. You have to at least complete a waxing certificate to be able to handle wax. You can’t be an eyebrow artist and wouldn’t be covered by insurance without it.
“An understanding of skin is also incredibly important.”
You don’t necessarily have to do an entire beauty therapy course, but I think it’s important to understand colour, skin, and makeup, for brow shaping.
With makeup they teach you to look at the face in a way that I don’t think you would learn just by doing a waxing certificate. It’s important to understand how we age, our bone structure, our facial structure, and how the brow balances all of it.
With all the short courses and workshops available, how can you tell what is quality education?
Research who is providing the course. The great thing about social media is that people are putting themselves out there. If you’re looking at their images, and you’re liking what they’re producing, chances are you’ll like what they’re teaching.
Have a look at how long they’ve been working for, what their own education background is, who their clients are, so that you can get a really clear understanding of their skills and whether they’re going to deliver something that’s great. There’s so much to choose from, and there’s some shady characters out there. It can be tough trying to find someone that’s good. I know there are great artists in the world, but they can’t all teach.
How would you balance online education with in person training?
Again, it comes down to who’s teaching. If you think the best teachers in the world are overseas, and you can’t get over there, then do it online. If you work on your own, and can go and work with someone in person, then that would be good. I know working on my own in my studio, I can get a bit disconnected from the world. You get tunnel vision, you forget that there are other ways to do things.
You might already have all the skills, but you also may have forgotten some of it.
“The key is to keep learning.”
Try and do another course every year, even if it’s only for a day. Work with other people, get out of the studio, grow your perspective.
How frequently does a business owner need to be participating in education?
I believe that you should be participating in education at least once a year. Try and converse with people that you admire as much as possible. Expos, online, whatever your education looks like. It doesn’t have to result in a certificate, as long as it has you out there looking at other ways to do things.
Would you say regular education is a competitive advantage?
I believe so, yes. There is a brilliant group of young girls in Canberra who run a business called The Lab. They are continually educating themselves, and are one of the most successful brow businesses, and beauty therapists in Canberra.
Another example is a business in Bathurst (country NSW) called Macquarie Medispa. The owner Karla McDiarmid attends every expo around Australia and internationally, using it as a great excuse to travel. She may only pick up and implement one thing from every expo or class, but she applies it across both her businesses. She has won several awards at the International World Luxury Spa awards. She’s brilliant and educates herself more than anyone I know, constantly getting people’s ideas and thoughts.
Do you believe in lifelong learning?
I do believe in lifelong education. It’s about keeping an open mind and listening to what other people can teach you. You’ll never know everything.
“The moment you do think you know everything, you’ll probably fail.”
I always try to keep an open mind in everything that I do, especially in my classes. Students will come to me and they’ll approach the brow in a whole new way that I never thought of, and I can’t sit there and tell them ‘no that’s the wrong way to do things’, there are a million ways to approach the brow. So even through my own education while I’m teaching, I’m still learning just by keeping an open mind.
What’s the best piece of education you’ve have ever had?
My Dad always taught me “You can’t change a person’s life just by giving them money, but you can help them change their own life by educating them.” That’s had a big impact on my life. I continue to learn all the time, I never assume that I know everything.
Thanks for taking the time to talk to us Jazz. Your story is an inspiration and we love the way you invest in the industry you’re so passionate about through education. Here’s to a lifetime of learning!
