The young owner of Sachin’s Head Office Salon in Bandra West, Sachin Kadam has persevered hard to be where he is today. He learnt how to work the scissor from his grandfather and further honed his skills under the tutelage of maestros, such as, Hakim Aalim and Lakmé Lever. As a magician wields the wand, Kadam does the scissor and with great passion! He shares key insights and his journey with Salon India
The beginning
I was born into a family of hairdressers and hence, the passion for hair is in my DNA. When I was in high school, I had decided that a regular nine to five job would not be my cup of tea. I enjoy transforming the way people look and interacting with them gave me a major high. My great grandfather, Deva Seth Jadhav, was my first teacher who taught me the way to hold a scissor and he was the driving force behind my becoming a hairdresser. The other mentor in my life is my father.
Professional education
After practicing the basics for two years, I joined Hakim Aalim’s salon in Bandra as an assistant. It took another five and a half years to reach the top stylist designation in the same salon. My second guru is Aalim Sir, who taught me that the word ‘impossible’ did not exist. Working with him gave me an opportunity to style celebrities, such as, Suniel Shetty, Anil Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Manish Malhotra, A R Rehman, Sonu Nigam, Vinod Khanna, Dharmendra and many more. I went on to join Mirrors Salon in Hyderabad, where I was the Creative Style Director for two years. I received extensive training from Wella and L’Oréal. For a short period of one year, I was the stylist for Sachin Joshi, who is an actor and businessman. I have also worked with Lakmé Lever as the Hair Educator for six of Lakmé salons in Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Pune and I was in-charge of salon audits, basic and advance techniques of training. I was also the Stylist for Lakmé Fashion Weeks for two years where I was trained on TIGI basics, advance cuts and colour and also completed training from Schwarzkopf.
Challenges faced
The initial issues were that of finding the haircuts in vogue and ways to keep myself informed. I overcame them by being passionate about my work and practicing regularly, as both are equally important. One has to make a lot of effort to upgrade oneself on the fashion trends. By constantly being on a learning mode and testing my creativity to try different hairstyles was a challenge. However, I didn’t give up and treated failure as a stepping stone. I have learnt on the job and travelled the world to learn new things and use them to my advantage.
Connecting with clients
I personally connect with my clients who visit my salon. I listen to the client and value their opinion, check their hair history, face shape and put my inputs and create the look for them.
Role models
My hero is my first guru, my father and Aalim Sir, who really taught me so much about
the hairdressing industry. My third guru was Lakmé as it built my foundation.
Defining success
Success comes with passion and practice. I am still a beginner. My success mantra is
to have an aim in life and give it such a top priority that you do not see anything else, not even yourself.
Favourite tool
The scissor!
Trending right now
Classic cuts, waves like that of Marlyn Monroe for women and a quiff such as that worn by Elvis, for men, is in vogue these days. Colours of the seasons are warm tones like copper and auburn.
Views on the hair and beauty industry
The hair and beauty industry is booming. There are so many innovations taking place, be it in a product or service operating procedures. So many people are joining this industry, which in itself, is such a good feeling. I am proud of our industry and the gap
between us and that of the industry overseas, is gradually lessening.
Advice for the newcomers
Newcomers are the future considering the scenario of the industry today. Choose what you love to do and practice your craft passionately, till you reach your goal. Whether you are a hairstylist for celebrities or not, your intense love for your skill will make you stand
out in the crowd.
Achievement
I won the Trainer’s Level for cut and colour and won the title of Master Stylist. Lakmé Fashion Week was a great experience. I got an opportunity to work with renowned designers, such as Masaba, Nupur Kanoi, Sanjay Hingu and many more.
