The Art of Up Styling — One Pin at a Time by Joe Cignetti

Education in up styling doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time. It takes patience. And most of all, it takes practice.

Yet so many talented hairdressers freeze the moment a client says, “Can you do a classic up style?” Suddenly it feels intimidating — like it’s a separate art form reserved for specialists. But the truth is, it’s just another muscle you need to train.

The beautiful thing about working in this era is that we don’t have to guess anymore. We have an entire library of education sitting right at our fingertips. YouTube is your friend. It’s like having access to some of the world’s best educators anytime you need them. Whether it’s learning structure, balance, padding placement or pinning techniques, there is endless education available — and it’s free.

Imagine building a little “up style hour” into your salon week. Put a tutorial on the screen. Practice on a doll head. Practice on each other. Pull apart what works. Redo it. Improve it. That’s how confidence is built.

But here’s the other important part — tools matter.

To create beautiful, long-lasting up styles, your salon needs to be properly equipped. There’s nothing worse than trying to execute structure without the right foundations.

Every salon should have:

• Bobbie pins (and plenty of them)
  • Ripples in two sizes
  • A teasing brush and proper brushing-out brushes
  • Padding for structure and support
  • Hair ties
  • Tail combs and prong combs

Up styling isn’t about being “naturally good at it.” It’s about understanding structure, having the right tools, and giving yourself permission to practise.

The more you do it, the less terrifying it becomes — and before you know it, you’re the stylist everyone requests for formals, weddings and special events.

And that’s a very powerful place to be.

https://youtu.be/Vb9mtwGoq3I

Hair By Sharon Blain