Prom Night Makeover is free to local teenagers
Teens headed to prom have a lot on their plate, first finding a date, then picking out the perfect dress or tux along with the necessary accessories, all while they finish their classes and prepare for the end of the school year.
Remington College Webster campus is doing its part to make prom a little easier and to help students save money on the big night.
During the school’s Prom Night Makeover event, cosmetology students provide salon services to teens, including updos, manicures, pedicures and makeup for girls, as well as haircuts for guys.
The next Prom Night Makeover is May 21-22 during regular salon hours, 9:30- 11:30 a.m. and 1-2 p.m. at the salon, 20985 Gulf Freeway in Webster. And the price is right. “They don’t have to pay any money for it,” Bridgette Williams,
the college’s department chair of cosmetology.
“We have instructors out on the floor making sure everyone has a nice experience. Their hair and make-up will be done right.”
The school already hosted one event on April 2 and 3.
“We had a great turnout,” instructor Kayla King said. “Everyone was so excited. It’s our way of giving back to the community, because they support us so much.”
“They can make an appointment or they can also do walk-ins,” Williams said.
She said the college wants to send high schoolers off to prom in style.
“This is something that we’ve been doing for several years,” she said.
“Students have a lot of expenses during senior year. This is something we do to help them out.”
King said that a number of students cannot afford both a dress and a hairstyle session.
“We’re giving them the opportunity to look beautiful,” she said.
This is Remington College’s sixth Prom Night Makeover promotion.
The nonprofit college system, headquartered in Heathrow, Florida, operates 17 campuses across the U.S.
The colleges combined have provided more than 3,000 students across the country with free salon services through the annual event.
Students in the Remington College cosmetology program have been trained to provide good service, Williams said.
She said her students practice listening and customer service skills by helping the teens.
“The students get the experience of working with clients, seeing what students need, what clients want,” she said.
“We teach them in the classroom how to have a conversation with their clients.”
Williams asks that girls looking for an updo come with clean hair that has already been blown dry.
“We’ll take care of the rest,” she said. “They can get the whole package, hair done and makeup done.”
For high school students who cannot make it to the event, there are also monthly specials at the salon, which is open to the public.
“It’s a full-service salon,” Williams said.
“We do haircuts and chemical services, color from just a rinse to permanent color.
“We do highlights, shampoo and blow dry, facials, manicures and pedicures and facial waxing.”
She said Remington College’s cosmetology program teaches students the art of hair, skin and nail care through traditional classroom instruction and hands-on training.
Williams believes the amount of time her students spend working at the Salon at Remington, helping real clients achieve their ideal look, sets the college apart.
Williams said other cosmetology programs do not provide as many opportunities for students to have hands-on experience.
“That hinders them a lot when they finish their programs,” she said. “They’re terrified, because they’ve been working with mannequins.”
Students at Remington, on the other hand, spend the majority of their time in college working with in a real world environment, she added.
The first three months of the year-long course are spent doing book-work, and then the students start working in the salon.
The last three months of the program are focused on passing the state board exam.
“We’re fine-tuning the information they learned in the past few months,” Williams said.
“Every week, we take a mock state board to get prepared. They have to pass that exam to get their license, and they’re pretty well prepared by the end of the course.” Lindsay Peyton is a freelance writer.