Zach West of Howell practices braiding the hair of an extremely patient customer Aug. 8 at the Paul Mitchell Lab in Ewing. Photo by Diccon Hyatt. According to Federal Aviation Administration rules, it takes 40 hours of flight time in order to earn a pilots’ license. At the Paul Mitchell Lab in Ewing, students need 600 hours of instruction time in order to practice their trade – hairdressing – on people who are not family members or brave volunteers. No one ever died of a bad haircut, but in an airplane, there is usually time to correct a mistake. A stroke of the scissors can never be taken back. That’s why Lab admissions leader Jill O’Dwyer says students consider hair cutting the most difficult and nerve-wracking facet of the school’s 1,200-hour full-time cosmetology program. In a suite of rooms on the second floor, of the Suburban Square Shopping Center, about 50 students learn the art of hairdressing. On one afternoon, less experienced students were plying their trade on mannequins, while veterans had progressed to cutting hair on patrons who paid $12 for the privilege. The Paul Mitchell Lab opened in January 2006, the brainchild of Sasha Rash, who also owns the La Jolie salon in Princeton. Rash, who is also a motivational speaker and president of the Salon Association, said the training of Paul Mitchell students goes beyond the technical aspects of the job. Grads emerge from the program wielding scissors with confidence and also knowing how to run a business, she said. Rash said much of the training is in how to deal with customers and manage the business of owning and operating a hair salon, a dream for many students. Rash said every single Paul Mitchell Lab graduate so far has been placed in the industry. The students also participate in a number of community service efforts. They offer free haircuts to anyone who works at a public school, and have done hairdos for school plays and donated $5 back to schools for students’ prom “up-dos.” They have also participated in fundraisers for the Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation. For more information, visit
or call (609) 406-0444.
