Raman Bhardwaj at work in A.N. John.Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

You can either win an argument or the client, says Raman Bhardwaj, stylist and director, A.N. John. The hair expert who has had a snip at everyone — Sourav Ganguly to Celina Jaitley — should know. And now, he is gearing up to share his “knowledge and experience” with the host of wannabe stylists in town.

The A.N. John Academy will be a “professional” set up spread across 1,300 sq ft on Elgin Road. Set to open its swanky doors in the second week of February, the Academy is the “next natural step” for A.N. John, an established player in the hairdressing industry for over 50 years.

“I started holding classes at my Park Street salon in 2002. I was barely three years in the industry then. Today, I feel more equipped to hold formal classes for a larger batch of students,” admits Raman.

The Academy, done up in steel and white with a dash of fuchsia, will offer a comprehensive training and education programme. Open to beginners and professionals looking to update their skills, it will offer three courses — Fundamentals for Beginners, Cut & Colour and Diploma Advance Cut & Colour. February 19 will see the 20-week Fundamental course roll out.

“The course comprises colouring and other technical work along with client care, service orientation and communication skills,” explains Raman, who will be training students along with stylist Julie Tseng, also his ex-student. The colour techniques, perming and hair straightening classes will be held by L’Oreal faculty.

Cut & Colour and Diploma Advance Cut & Colour is open for professionals with at least one to three years of experience as a hairdresser. Raman’s approach to training has also changed, along with the venue.

“It is going to be completely hands-on, with 10 students in each class. The guys and girls will have dummies to work on during the first couple of months and then they will practise their creative cuts and colours on models. Basically, they can walk straight from the Academy into a job,” he adds. If the students are “good enough with the right attitude”, a job at A.N. John could be theirs.

Students will also be taught the right carriage and poise. “The techniques will be taught here but freshers will be encouraged to incorporate their individual styles and pizzazz,” points out Julie.

Additional stress will be placed on client communications because Raman feels that most clients today seem to know what they don’t want but are most often clueless about what they do!

Here is where “confidence building” comes in. “The relationship between a stylist and client is exactly like that between a doctor and a patient. Complete trust is a must,” says Raman, who has trained with London-based biggies Toni & Guy, Saks Academy and worked there with the likes of Charles Worthington and Trevor Sorbie.

Students will be awarded a certificate from both the A.N. John Academy and L’Oreal, which will be awarding the school Partner Academy status.

And like everything else, this too comes at a price. The price tag for the Fundamentals for Beginners Course reads Rs 75,000 plus taxes.