Community Resources Whakatāne and eight Toi Ohomai hairdressing students teamed up to bring free haircuts to Whakatāne recently.

Over 50 customers and CReW staff volunteered to test the students’ skills with a range of hairstyles.

CReW business manager Gerard McCormack said the number of people who turned out meant all the students were able to pass their assessments.

“They said it can be tricky to find models for haircuts to implement what they learnt; we rounded up over 50, which was excellent.

“They didn’t know what to expect – I think if they could give one haircut each, they would have been happy. To have multiple each, they were really chuffed.”

The CReW workshop was transformed into a salon and barbershop, with eight students taking turns at six workstations.

Free coffees were provided to anyone who volunteered their hair for a free cut.

“We were happy to help. It was a really good day with a really good atmosphere,” Mr McCormack said.

Toi Ohomai regional engagement facilitator Joanne Spod said although the event was spontaneous, it was “such a great day”.

“There was lots of positive feedback from the hair clients, the students and the staff at CReW,” she said.

“Some people who came hadn’t had a haircut in over five years, so there was a lot of hair coming off,” she said.

A local student who typically has to travel to Rotorua to study at the Mokoia campus was able to complete his assessments in his hometown.

“Some of the students can find it hard to arrange enough suitable clients to get through all their assessments during the semester, especially if they do not live in Whakatāne or have only recently moved to the district.

“At this event, there was a wider variety of clients than they typically get to work on in their usual training salon, from all ages and stages.”

Clipper cuts, graduated cuts, solid form cups and even a couple of beard trims were provided.

“They loved that it was quite fast paced, that they never knew what kind of client or cut they’d be asked to do next.

“It was a real buzz.”