By Patricia Griffin Mangan
Never underestimate the living that a hair stylist could earn if trained at an institution such as Kaye’s Beauty College “where knowledge and talent meet” according to owner Jim Galloway. Kaye’s has been in business since l974 when Kaye Maxwell opened her shop on Conner Street in Noblesville.
Sarah Colby, 2l, works in the Senior Program where she will complete 200 of the 1,500 hours required to graduate. Colby will apprentice at the upscale beauty salon, I.D. entity Hair Design, in Indianapolis. The Westfield resident is already working part time at a salon which could earn her big bucks despite dropping out of Indiana University. Uncertain about what she wanted to do in life, Colby said she was influenced by a beautician whom she knew and who worked out of her home.
Galloway, director of admissions, does not guarantee job placement, but staff at Kaye’s does their very best to give references to salons. All staff members are former stylists and when in the final stages, students are trained by Sarai Thacker, director of advanced education. Galloway attributes the success of graduates to Thacker.
“Compared to other four-year colleges, we have a much better placement, less loan debt and provide more job opportunities for the 2,500 students since we have been in business,” Galloway said. “People do not realize all that is involved with obtaining a license.”
Galloway said it takes 1,500 hours and almost two years to complete courses for cosmetology and to prepare students to take state board exams to transition to a salon environment. Thacker prepares them in the Senior Studio. Another 700 hours, which takes six to nine months to complete, prepares students with skills developed in final preparation for medical esthetics (facials) in advanced areas such as chemical peels and micro-dermabrasions.
Kaye’s also has a men’s salon with separate accommodations and offers a program where high school students attend in the mornings and train to be stylists in the afternoons. Noblesville and Westfield high schools offer this program.
To visit the senior program, clients must call and make appointments. This program offers advanced hair color and permanents as well as cutting for the style of your choice at a price less expensive than salons. The salon is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday; 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday; and is closed Sunday and Monday. For more information, call 773-6189.
