GLOBAL OUTLOOK

Adrienne Hughes is vice president of Cidesco and heads up the organisation in Norway. She tells Erin Leybourne how the industry has evolved and how the right qualification can take you around the world

How did you start out in the beauty industry?

“I’d always been interested in skincare and beauty therapy, but of course, when I started in the late ’70s, it wasn’t like it is today. You would probably find beauty salons in big cities but I lived in the countryside, so there was not a lot where I was at all.

“I started out doing beauty within a hairdressing salon, where a lot of people would ask me how they should do their makeup or nails and how to look after them. I felt like I was just teaching people how to do it for themselves.

“Then, a girl came in and said she would love to do beauty therapy but didn’t know where to learn, so I started in-salon training with her. I’d already registered with ITEC. I got two girls and then I realised that if these two people from a small village are interested, there could be others.

“So, I found a premises in Cheshire and opened a school there. To start with, we got six students, but it just continued, and I added Cibtac and then Cidesco qualifications.”

How has education changed since you began teaching?

“Shorter courses have become very popular. Not all people want to do everything, they want to specialise in lashes or nails or skin. The spa and aesthetic medicine sides of the industry have also become huge – it’s so much more than classic beauty now.

“Cidesco did webinars over lockdown, and it’s changed the way we educate. Where you used to have to go and sit in an auditorium, now you can just sit at home on a computer. I think practical work should be done in-person, but for meetings this is a perfect way to do it.”

How did you end up in with Cidesco in Norway?

“I worked with Cidesco students for some time then I decided I should be an examiner for them. My first commission was here in Norway, and I became very good friends with one of the tutors, who had always wanted to have her own school.

“I agreed to help her. I was planning to stay from May until September when the school opened – and that was 33 years ago. I became her business partner, then also the principal of another school we had. “When I moved on from that position, I contacted Cidesco and said I would like to head up the organisation here in Norway. So, four years ago I put my plan to them in a board meeting and became the Cidesco representative for Norway. Earlier this year, there was a change of board, so I applied to be vice president and was voted in.”

Why is CPD so important in the beauty industry?

“Because everything’s changing so quickly. One day this is the trend, the next day, it’s something else. I’ll always remember when lash extensions came out. Growing up, I was a ballroom and Latin American dancer and we used to have to wear stick-on lashes. I remember the problems we had to get them on and keep them on.

“So, when I was at the Professional Beauty show and I saw a lash extension company’s stand, I thought ‘who’d want lashes?’ Now, the answer would be ‘the whole world!’

“I think to have a solid foundation of education is very important so that you can do a cross section of things. A lot of people want to specialise now and that’s great, but you need to fully understand the basics first. “I’ve been able to transfer what I did in England to Norway, because my standards are international. If I was transferred somewhere else, I would still do it the same way. Cidesco is all over the world and has a very high standard. An international qualification opens up your options.