Uta Higuchi - Hair & Beauty

Uta Higuchi has been fortunate to discover her passion for hairdressing at a young age. From Queenstown and currently studying Year one in the New Zealand Certificate in Hairdressing (Salon Support) in Invercargill, Uta has always had an interest in hair styling, and was introduced to the profession at high school through a STAR course.

She then progressed to Trades Academy and she said it helped her understand how they teach at SIT, giving her insight into what it would be like to study there. She enjoyed the balance of theory and practical they were taught on the course. Trades Academy incorporates both Beauty Therapy and Hairdressing in its Salon Skills programme, and this provided Uta with the opportunity to experience the two different strands, helping her discover what she wanted to continue studying.

“This helped me experience the different courses and what I was more passionate to learn about”.

The value of Trades Academy in providing a glimpse of her future study path, as well as learning something Uta was interested in, helped spur her onto the next step in gaining knowledge and skills for her career. In her Salon Support programme she’s learning the basic skills and primary knowledge of preparing a client, working in a salon environment, understanding how the hair and skin works and learning basic hair styling methods.

It’s these learning experiences Uta values highly – she says the most enjoyable part of student life for her is getting to learn things she’s interested in and has a passion for.

“I thoroughly enjoyed learning how the hair and skin react when we put chemicals in, or when we wash and style the hair. I also enjoy learning new techniques – finger waves, pincurls, sets and braiding... there’s always something to improve on and different ways to do it”.

Uta equally relishes time spent learning in the SIT salon with her tutor and class, and her work experience every week at a local hair salon, which is a requirement of the course. She enjoys the two side-by-side as she learns different things at the two salons, so feels wherever she is, it’s a learning experience.

“I really like the tutors here because they are so passionate and willing to help us improve”.

However it’s the learning process and wanting to constantly improve that drives Uta forward in her pursuit of excellence.

“My highlight of this course is coming into school and knowing that I will learn something or improve, whether it be a practical session on a mannequin or working on a client”.

It’s Uta’s goal to continue learning as much as she can through her SIT programme during her years as an apprentice. She wants to be a hairstylist who works on movie sets, and/or with models and celebrities. She has a passion for styling using braiding and hair ups and wonders where this could take her, but at this stage she is very keen to keep learning different hair styles, and gaining more experience in styling different hair types.