Hillsdale Beauty College recently added a second location at 440 Marshall Street in Coldwater, due to strong market demand and proven success at the original school in downtown Hillsdale.
Opened in 1928 as “Riggs Beauty Culture,” the beauty college’s long history has seen six owners, all of whom chose to operate out of one school location. Current owners, Andy and Zetave Young, who took over in 2013, decided it was time to expand when The Salon Academy, a Coldwater beauty school, closed last year.
Zetave Young said after The Salon Academy closed, the timing was perfect.
“We didn’t want anyone to step in before we got the chance,” Zetave Young said.
According to Andy Young, there’s a strong market for the beauty college.
“There’s a big-time need over here for a second school,” he said.
Junior instructor Kelsey Molinaro, who became involved with the beauty college after attending through the co-op program during her junior and senior years of high school, said they have students from all over. While there are a few from Hillsdale and Jonesville, they also attract students from farther south, including Hudson, Adrian, Jackson, and even Northern Ohio.
“We do pull from all over – some are local, but some are a little further than you’d expect,” Molinaro said.
Taking Hillsdale Beauty College’s success in downtown Hillsdale, Andy and Zetave Young plan to completely clone the curriculum in Coldwater. Programs include the cosmetology program and instructor training, with skills ranging from hair cutting to formal styling to facials and makeup application.
“We do colors and perms and we do manis, pedis, and nail enhancements, as well,” Molinaro said. “We do everything. And the services are offered at a discounted price, so it’s very good for the college student budget.”
Andy Young said that the Hillsdale location uses a co-op program with local high schools, and now that the beauty college has received contracts with the schools in Coldwater, the Youngs are hoping to achieve the same results.
Although the school hasn’t officially opened yet, its first class is projected to begin on Feb. 11th, depending on if the financial aid that the college offers is able to continue.
“Our students are starting on Monday,” Zetave Young said. “We’re just super excited to expand and see where it takes us.”
The size of the new location is substantially larger, said Andy Young. The current location has around 35 to 40 students in Hillsdale, and they hope to teach even more with the bigger space in Coldwater.
Zetave Young said that three instructors will serve both locations. She added that they’re currently licensed by the State of Michigan to teach 20 students per one instructor, so they will have to adjust numbers as enrollment numbers change in the future. After serving as the head instructor in Hillsdale, Zetave Young is going to take the same position in Coldwater, where she currently lives. The other two instructors are new to the college. Molinaro, will continue her role at the Hillsdale location. But she will be taking on more of a leadership role with Zetave Young in Coldwater.
“I’m not doing a whole lot more than before,” Molinaro said. “I’m handling a little more of the new students coming in. I’ll be running orientation. I’ll be handling if there are any disgruntled students or patrons that come in. Scheduling classes and getting people in the industry to come in and do demonstrations. And of course just making sure everything here is running smoothly and everyone’s playing by the rules.”
This is on top of Molinaro’s job of teaching students the skills and basics necessary to come out on the senior floor and work for the public.
The senior floor, Molinaro said, is basically a student salon. It’s where student who have between 350 and 11,500 hours can work. The salon is open to the public at a discounted rate.
“I take students on day one at zero hours of training until they’re at 350 hours,” Molinaro said. “It usually takes three and a half to four months.”
The program starts by teaching dry styling, then moves into wet styling, among other things.
“We learn perms, color applications, foiling techniques, hair cuts, facials, pedicure,” she said. “We teach them of every single skill that they need for this industry.”