International hair guru launches style gaming app at WITT

Gaming and hairstyling don’t typically go together. But Taranaki-based international hair guru Patrick Cameron has just launched his world-first app designed to teach hairdressers by video – with WITT’s hairdressing students the first in New Zealand to try out his www.stylechallenge.app

Cameron spent an afternoon coaching students at WITT’s teaching salon on how to use the app, which gamifies the art of the do-up with interactive videos.

Using  www.stylechallenge.app hairdressers follow a step-by-step video guide on how to create a long hair style.

It works by first styling hair (either on a mannequin or a real person), snapping a photo then uploading it to unlock the next step. Cameron says this approach means there are no shortcuts and people learn how to achieve great results through attention to each step.

The app will eventually have three categories – Essentials, Red Carpet/Party and Bridal – with varying degrees of difficulty. Cameron plans to increase the number of styles available in the next few months.

Caption: Grace Warren was one of the first hairdressing students in New Zealand to trial the gaming app designed by Patrick Cameron.

The results create an online portfolio which a hairdresser or student can use to promote to clients, or for job-seeking. Cameron offers the option to assess the photographed results of challenges people have completed and they receive a certificate. The best ones may even get to feature on his social media platforms.

Long hair is Cameron’s speciality, and he’s renowned globally for his innovation and creativity, featuring in events around the world to dispel the myth that long hair is complicated.

A new strand in teaching

WITT hairdressing tutor Kellie Divane says the app will be a helpful addition to class teaching because students can learn Cameron’s styling techniques at their own pace. Some need more time to master a technique so can replay the video multiple times before moving onto the next step, while others can move through the sequence more quickly.

Keara Halliday, enrolled in the New Zealand Certificate in Hairdressing (Level 3) was “speechless” at being the first in New Zealand to complete a challenge from the app during Cameron’s introductory session and received her certificate this week.

Caption: WITT hairdressing student Keara Halliday is the first person in New Zealand to receive a certificate for completing a hair styling challenge through the app.

“It’s just incredible! This is my pathway. I’ve been passionate about hairdressing since I was 12 years old,” she said.

Cameron divides his time between his home in Taranaki – where he creates weekly online video tutorials - and travelling the globe to teach and promote long hair styling.

He is delighted to launch the app at WITT where he began his hairdressing career. The app is already available in Europe.

Read more about Patrick Cameron’s WITT connections here.