Cos Sakkas - 30 Years in Hairdressing

Any anniversary is worth celebrating, but when it’s three decades doing what you love, there’s even more reason to pop open the Champagne. Cos Sakkas is celebrating 30 years since he passed his test to become a fully-fledged hairdresser – and what 30 years it has been!

In fact, the past two years have been the craziest of his career so far – for obvious and unusual reasons. “It’s certainly been a rollercoaster, but now we’re back into the swing of things. Our face-to-face education has overtaken everything – everyone is back to working and are looking for education. There is a real thirst for it; to interact, mix with other people and learn something new.” 2022 has certainly started with a bang – the London Academy doors have flung open to UK and international hairdressers, all the courses are fully booked, and people are looking to enter the industry. “You name it, we are educating it. Our creative courses have never been in such demand – in fact hairdressers can’t get enough education! It’s great to see.”

It wasn’t long after he started his career that Cos realised the importance of education. “Initially cutting hair didn’t come naturally to me, I failed my first test and was told maybe I had chosen the wrong career! I was all fingers and thumbs when it came to holding scissors, but I was determined to prove them wrong and redid the test. I passed and from then on, I learnt as much as I could and wanted to be the best I could be. Since I started, I’ve been surrounded by amazing people, and I’ve always wanted to give that back to the next generation. As soon as I stepped into the Academy, I knew I wanted to teach. I became a cutting geek and enjoyed creating the perfect elevation, I was obsessed with distribution and cleanness of sections. I think teaching is one of my key skills, it’s important to realise everyone learns in a different way and we have to teach them all in a way that suits them. The world is changing, and we have to keep up with these changes, starting with the way we teach young people today.

“As an industry we are nothing without our education. Clients are more educated than ever before about getting the look at home with products and tools – but we are the true experts and the real hair artists. We need to be on top of our game all the time, so they have a reason to come into the salon to see us – and the pandemic showed us how important we are to people’s lives and wellbeing, it’s more than just a haircut, and we are so much more than just a hairdresser.”

As international artistic director and head of education for TONI&GUY, Cos sets the bar for education around the world. So much so, that during the pandemic, he was the driving force behind the success of the TONI&GUY Digital Academy. “The world may have locked down, but as an industry we were closer than ever. It might have kept us apart in real life, but it allowed us to create a new, digital community. Now, we are focused on blended learning, live, face-to-face education supported by a new platform that is there 24/7. There are still people who don’t feel comfortable attending live events and so we need to accommodate them as well.”

Today, the Digital Academy has some 300 hair tutorials and an archive of images to inspire. “Exciting people through a screen is very different; there needs to be more interaction, we use multiple camera angles and a chat box, so people really feel involved. It will never replace live education but there is a need for everything right now.”

It’s no wonder Cos has been nominated for British Hairdresser of the Year four times – and recently been named International Hairdresser of the Year. His passion is infectious but if it hadn’t been for a giving himself a talking to all those years ago, he wouldn’t be here today. And it would be the next generation who would lose out.

Digital academy: www.education.toniandguy.com

www.toniandguy.com

Instagram: @cossakkas