Step into a world of creativity and style, where every session is hands-on and full of new, inspiring looks.
Whether your passion lies in hairdressing, beauty, or media makeup, you’ll experience the vibrant atmosphere of the industry from day one.
Build confidence, express your creativity, and take the first steps towards a fun and rewarding career.
Our high-street quality commercial salons are open for appointments throughout the academic year. These spaces provided you with many opportunities to gain customer service skills and technical skills whilst working with real clients.
You’ll also benefit from working with top-quality equipment and products in our makeup studios. This includes working with special effects makeup and designing body art to create unique looks fit for film sets.
As a Hairdressing student, you’ll gain valuable experience in our on-site Salon and during work placements with local businesses.
Theatrical and Media Makeup students can often be found backstage at local theatres, including the Faversham Theatre and The Marlowe Theatre, creating theatrical looks for shows.
There’s no point in keeping your talents hidden, which is why you can take part in skills competitions and industry showcases throughout the year.
The annual KFE4Skills competition could see you compete against students from across Kent in a series of hairdressing challenges.
Previous years have seen our learners win gold medals for their work.
We work with the community regularly on social action projects to benefit local causes.
Our students have offered everything
from nail art demonstrations to
introductory hairdressing workshops
for children.
They’ve also provided luxury treatments such as manicures, pedicures, facials, and professional cuts for the staff and women who access the Rising Sun Domestic Abuse Charity.
We work with local and national industry experts who give you the skills you need to be successful in a future career.
Our Hairdressing students took a trip to Broadstairs to attend an interactive showcase with L’Oréal Paris, one of the world’s most iconic hair and beauty brands.
Events like this are designed to inspire you to think about future careers in your industry of choice.
Trips include visiting places like the Harry Potter Studio Tour, to explore their makeup and hair department. Students also explored how they achieved special effects for many of the characters in the movies.
Opportunities like these will give you the chance to see different aspects of the industry and consider a variety of potential career paths.
Our students are taught by highly qualified tutors, many of whom have extensive industry experience.
Katrina Hobbs, Deputy Head of Professional Services, spent many years travelling the world with, and teaching for, the International Dermal Institute.
She is a firm believer that training and education is the key to success.
“I honestly wasn’t expecting to win, but it feels amazing. I definitely felt more confident this time, so it shows how much I’ve grown since competing last year.
“Taking part has taught me how important the process is. You need to plan properly and understand your process. My favourite part of the look is definitely the headpiece. It’s made from hot glue and soap with little lights in it. I’m really proud of how it turned out.”
Every year, Level 3 Theatrical Hair and Media Make-up students have the exciting opportunity to take part in the wedding syndicate at Winters Barn wedding venue, where they help prepare models for a professional shoot.
They are joined by photography students, who capture images of the finished looks.
Hair and Media Makeup students took part in a professional wedding photoshoot at Winters Barn.
They were tasked with preparing the models playing the brides for the photoshoot, creating two distinctly different looks.
Hairdressing students recently attended an interactive showcase with L’Oréal Paris.
The event was designed to inspire students about future careers in the hairdressing industry.
Our aspiring Hairdressers travelled to EKC Broadstairs College for the annual KFE Hairdressing Semi Final Heats, judged by industry experts Vicki Lord, Stuart McDonald, and Rachelle Allistone.
Explore our courses online and see the wide range of academic opportunities that are available to you.
You can make up to five applications across East Kent Colleges Group’s family of Colleges.
Click ‘Apply’ on your chosen course, and follow the steps on the application portal.
Early applications are strongly recommended, as they give you the best chance of securing a place on your chosen course.
Come along to EKC Canterbury College to meet our team, explore our facilities and see if the course is right for you.
If you receive an offer, this must be accepted to secure your place on your chosen course.
“Competing in competitions while at College helps grow your confidence and practical skills. My tutor put me forward for the KFE4Skills competition, it was good to know I am supported and they believe in me.
“In the future I would like to own my own salon, the skills I am learning at College will help me achieve this.”
“What I love about College is that you’re not critiqued on your creativity – nothing is off limits. You can really test the waters and experiment. If you want to turn someone into an alien, you can.
“There’s no box you have to fit into, and I really enjoy seeing how far I can push my creativity.”
“The facilities on the Hairdressing course are fantastic; it’s amazing that we get to offer our services to real-life clients.
“Coming back to College and studying has given me a real sense of what being a Hairdresser is like, and has definitely developed my customer service skills.”
