Sami Halaseh enters Wichita’s crowded market for cosmetology education

Everything at the Sami Halaseh Institute gleams: the pedicure chairs, the mirrors, the hair product displays, even the floors.

But the scuffing starts Monday when the first class starts at the cosmetology school in Andover.

It’s the latest cosmetology school in the Wichita area, which already has five.

It’s a very competitive business, both for the schools and for the graduating cosmetologists, nail techs and aestheticians – many of whom wind up leaving either during school or afterward.

Even so, there has been a constant stream of interested young women and men signing up for slots at the schools. There is a powerful allure to being able to work every day on something they really like – hair, makeup, nails, skin. Plus, the profession promises flexibility, glamor and, for the ambitious, a chance to build a business.

It’s an image that the schools don’t hesitate to emphasize.

“With a little cost they can make an incredible career,” Halaseh said.

Sami Halaseh Institute

The 20,000-square-foot institute sits at 1034 N. Andover Road, adjacent to his newly opened Aveda Lifestyle Salon.

It’s equipped to handle between 120 and 220 students for nine months of training.

It features a main room equipped with hair cutting and styling stations. There are also rooms for pedicures and manicures, a color-mixing desk, stations for makeup training, a massage and aesthetics training room, three classrooms and a breakroom.

It’s a high-end facility with high-end equipment. The massage tables, he said, cost at least $1,200 each.

“In most schools, they just don’t spend the money,” he said. “They just put in average quality equipment and that’s the difference between us.”

He will use the Pivot Point curriculum, which students can access remotely at any time.

He also plans to open a robotic hair transplant center and spa next door in January.

It’s a significant advance in what Halaseh describes as his “empire.” He opened the Sami Halaseh Salon in Bradley Fair 20 years ago and the Soho Salon in 2010. He also owns part of a location in Annapolis, Md.

Born and raised in Jordan, the youngest of eight in a Catholic family, he said he has a powerful urge to better himself.

“I was always messing with hair,” he said. “So, when I was 17 I left to go to London to school. The decision to leave was hard on my mom and dad: ‘Oh, the baby’s leaving home.’ ”

He came to Wichita at 18 in 1984 because a brother was studying Wichita State University. He attended cosmetology and barber schools, and really let his entrepreneurial spirit run. He became recognized as a specialist, taught others and demonstrated products. He traveled extensively, doing hair for celebrities, fashion shows, magazine shoots, even MTV.

He has developed one of the biggest names in hair care in Wichita, and he’s looking to leverage it into another step up.

Market for cosmetology schools

But with five state-registered schools in Wichita already teaching cosmetology and nails, can really Wichita absorb another school?

In Wichita, there are: Eric Fisher Academy, 6727 W. Central; Crave Beauty Academy (formerly Xenon), 3804 W. Douglas; Marinello School of Beauty-Wichita, 1675 S. Rock Road, Suite 101; Paul Mitchell, The School-Wichita, 3242 N. Rock Road, Suite 106; and 21st Beauty Academy, 4950 E. 21st St.

Some are quite large and modern, while others are less so, but Halaseh isn’t worried about finding a place.

He said the far east location will keep it from conflicting too much with the west-side schools. But maybe more important for drawing students is Halaseh’s high-profile salon and reputation, and his connection to Aveda. It’s an exclusive high-end, all-natural brand with a strong following. Stylists can’t be certified to use Aveda unless they go through Halaseh’s school.

Erin Sutton, director of the Eric Fisher Academy, said it’s too early to know the impact of the new school in the market, but said she isn’t worried.

“I’m fairly comfortable,” she said. “Competition is always a good thing. We will try to focus on what we can do to provide great education and be successful.”

The good news for cosmetology schools in general is that the number of students seeking to become cosmetologists continues to rise.

The Kansas Board of Cosmetology – which licenses cosmetologist, nail techs, aestheticians and a couple other smaller categories – showed that there were 24,774 people in Kansas holding such licenses in 2015. Most of those were cosmetologists.

The number of Kansans certified in cosmetology and related professions has risen by more than 2,000 since 2010, an increase of nearly 10 percent.

Cosmetologist crunch

The bad news for the graduating students is that they are enrolling four times faster than their primary target audience – Kansas women – is growing.

That’s a recipe for tough competition for customers, low pay and higher turnover for the young cosmetologists trying to build a regular customer base. It’s a career that takes lots and lots of hours to develop, and many young women wind up leaving the field after they get married or have children.

There is a lot of attrition, said Nikky McCormick, a stylist who owns Bloom Beauty and Nail Studio, inside Soho. Many aspiring stylists don’t realize the amount of technical knowledge required to get their certificate or the amount of work it takes to survive once out in the world.

“It’s pretty tough,” she said. “I would say that a good 50 percent leave.”

She attended Xenon eight years ago. She said that 38 people started out in her class, but just 12 finished. A year after graduation, another six had left the industry.

In school, there’s chemistry, anatomy and biology, she said. All schools provide some business training, but it takes maybe five years to build a clientele – and that’s without taking more than a few weeks for vacations or risking losing customers.

“It’s all about how you work,” McCormick said. “A lot of teenagers see cosmetology as just fun. It’s fun talking with your girlfriends and doing hair.

“That’s not enough to make it a living.”

And cosmetology school is pretty pricey.

For a cosmetology certificate, the going rate is $18,000 to $20,000 for the 1,500 hour, nine- to 11-month course. That includes the “kit,” all of the tools needed to actually work professionally.

The actual cost is closer to $10,000 to $12,000, according to filings by the schools with the U.S. Department of Education, because most students receive federal aid such as a Pell grant.

But most students also take out loans. There are plenty of loan defaults and lengthy payback plans because of school loans, according to the Department of Education. Falling out of the profession long before the loans are paid off can be pretty painful.

Halaseh said that he understands there are many, many cosmetologists out there, but he said there is still a shortage of good ones with well-maintained skills. It’s a business that rewards hard work, good people skills, entrepreneurship – and good technical skills when it comes to cutting and styling hair.

“Yes, it feels very competitive to them, but to me they are not competitive when they become stagnant,” he said.

This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 7:29 PM with the headline "Sami Halaseh enters Wichita’s crowded market for cosmetology education."