Graduates Work Behind The Scenes on Music Video

April ’12

Three graduates from the Salon Success Academy got to experience how exciting working behind the scenes as an editorial stylist can be. BJ Fite, Edgar Medina, and Breanna Ortiz, all graduates of the Salon Success Academy Redlands campus, recently styled the hair and makeup for a music video for Kaden’s song “Black Light.”

BJ happened to be longtime friends with Gerry Garcia, the photographer who shot the CD cover for musical artist Kaden. He told BJ he was looking for a hair stylist for Kaden’s music video and asked her if she might be interested. When she agreed, Gerry asked her to bring two hair stylists to accompany her and makeup “just in case.”

BJ reached out to her two friends from Salon Success Academy, Edgar and Breanna. BJ knew they would work well together because they had previously worked together on a wedding. None of the three had ever styled hair or makeup for a video before, but BJ was confident they could figure it out.

“I told them to be confident in their abilities. If they ask you to do something and you’re not completely sure on how to do it, do it anyways. Stick to the basics and make it work,” BJ said.

It was a good thing BJ gave her team a pep talk, because there were lots of unexpected surprises the day of shooting! When the trio first arrived on the set, the director told them he needed everyone styled right away so he could start shooting. To everyone’s surprise this included makeup along with hair.

The director also gave the team a wig to style for the lead actress. BJ had never worked with a wig before, but she brushed it out, cut and styled it in record time.

Working together as a team, they were able to style six actresses in a short amount of time. BJ and Edgar would start styling each girl’s hair, while Bre would start doing the makeup. One scene had a 60’s Valley Girl theme, with thick eyeliner, powdery lips, and bright cheeks. While another scene was styled old Hollywood glam, with finger waves, dark smoky eyes, and red lips. When the director would call for hair and makeup on the set, BJ would leave her team to keep styling and go up to the roof top to do touchups. The team spent over 12 hours on set that day, doing hair and makeup retouches to the very end.

“In between takes, I would run over and fix things. I just wanted everything to look perfect, especially for their close ups!” BJ said. “We stayed all night. Even on the last scene, they wanted all the dancers’ hair to be down. So we went over, pulled all their hair down, and intensified their makeup.”

BJ said her team received lots of positive feedback from the director and the dancers that day. While it was a stressful, they all agreed it was well worth it. They got to experience a whole new side of the beauty industry and learn valuable lessons while doing it. BJ said she stays in touch with Gerry and they’re hoping to work together again on future music videos.

If you’d like to work in the exciting beauty industry, Salon Success Academy can give you the training you need to get there! Salon Success Academy has five campuses throughout the Inland Empire that each offer cosmetology, esthetics, and nail technology training, with both part time and full time programs.  Call 1-877-987-HAIR (4247) to find out more about training to be a licensed beauty professional.

Students Work Hard to Raise Money for American Cancer Society

Students from all five Salon Success Academy campuses have been busy raising money for this year’s Relay for Life. They’ve been doing this by selling raffle tickets, dress passes, baked goods on campus throughout the month of April. The staff at Salon Success Academy is also taking a bus trip to the casino in Stateline, Nevada on April 29, and all of the profits will be donated.

The Relay for Life will take place this year on May 19 at Guasti Regional Park in Rancho Cucamonga. Last year, Salon Success Academy raised over $4,000 for the American Cancer Society.

Redlands Style Competition is Out of This World

Students at the Redlands campus used their skills and creativity to makeover their models into different planets in the solar system during a student style competition. Check out the photos on Facebook!

About Salon Success Academies

Salon Success Academy offers five locations in California’s Inland Empire, in Redlands, Fontana, Upland, San Bernardino, and Corona. Our mission at SSA involves caring for every student as a member of our family, furnishing the chance to finish their educational objectives as affordably as possible. SSA incorporates first-hand, real-world practice of the principles of cosmetology, skin care, and nail artistry. The campus teams with members of the beauty industry to educate our graduates on the technical and customer service skills they need to succeed in their careers.

For more information go to www.gotobeautyschool.com or call 1-877-987-HAIR (4247).