TESDA Hairdressing NC II common mistakes
TESDA Hairdressing NC II · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
When asked to perform a client consultation as part of the practical assessment, the candidate launches straight into shampooing or cutting without asking about hair history, previous chemical treatments, allergies, or desired outcome, and without recording anything on a consultation card.
Candidates rehearse the physical hairdressing skills in training and treat the consultation as small talk. Many training salons do not enforce a written record, so the habit of documenting client history is never formed, and under assessment pressure the candidate skips the step to save time.
What to do instead
Practise a fixed consultation sequence until it is automatic: greet and seat the client, ask about last chemical service and its date, ask about allergies and scalp sensitivity, ask for the desired look and maintenance commitment, examine and note hair and scalp condition, then confirm the plan aloud and write it on a client record card. Time yourself; a full consultation should take only a few minutes. In practice sessions, refuse to proceed to any service until the card is filled in, so the record becomes a trigger rather than an afterthought.
The candidate performs a strand test or patch test only when the assessor is watching, or skips it entirely and mixes the developer and colour directly, guessing at proportions rather than measuring.
Strand and patch tests feel like delays in a timed assessment, and candidates who have only worked on mannequins have never seen an adverse reaction. Proportion guessing comes from watching experienced stylists pour 'by eye' without understanding that the mixing ratio controls the lift and the damage to the hair.
What to do instead
Build the tests into the service routine as non-negotiable steps: patch test at least 24 to 48 hours before any oxidative colour or bleach, strand test on a hidden section before full application. For mixing, always use a measuring tool and state the ratio out loud as you measure (for example one part colour to one part developer for standard deposit, one to two for lift). Drill mixing with a scale or graduated bottle until the correct ratio is produced without thinking.
Sectioning and parting are uneven or too large, and the candidate takes horizontal slices that are thicker than the hair can be combed cleanly, so the cut or colour result is unbalanced and the assessor can see missed hair.
Candidates copy the shape of a sectioning pattern from a diagram but never learn why the pattern exists. Large sections speed up a timed practical, and on thick hair a thick slice still looks controlled at the surface, so the error is invisible to the candidate until the finish.
What to do instead
Practise sectioning on mannequins with a clear centre parting, then quarter sections, then subsections no wider than the comb or the blade being used. Use section clips and check each subsection with the comb before cutting or applying product. Photograph your sectioning from above and compare against a clean four-quadrant layout. In the assessment, take smaller sections than you think you need; neatness of sectioning is directly visible to the assessor and protects the final result.
The candidate holds and manipulates scissors, comb, and blow-dryer with poor posture and hand position, cutting with the tips pointing toward the client or gripping the shear with the whole hand, and works with the client's head at an awkward height.
Mannequin practice allows bad ergonomics because there is no complaint and no long session. Candidates also imitate the fast hand movements of experienced stylists without the underlying control, and they adjust the client rather than their own stance, so the client's head is tilted and the cutting line drifts.
What to do instead
Set the client height so your elbow is at roughly a right angle and your wrist is neutral, and adjust the chair rather than leaning. Drill the scissor-over-comb and finger-position holds slowly on a mannequin until the palm and thumb rings are controlled by the correct fingers. Have a trainer watch a full service and correct your stance and head position. In assessment, pause and reposition the client before starting each section rather than working around a bad angle.
During a shampoo and conditioning service the candidate uses water that is too hot, scrubs the scalp with fingernails, fails to rinse product fully, and leaves the client's neck and ears wet or product residue in the hair.
Shampooing is treated as the easy, low-status part of the service and is rushed. Candidates also confuse 'thorough cleaning' with vigorous friction, and they do not test water temperature on their own wrist first, which is what a salon would require.
What to do instead
Rehearse the full shampoo sequence: seat and cape the client, test temperature on your inner wrist, wet thoroughly, emulsify shampoo in the hands, massage with fingertips in small circles, rinse until the water runs clear, apply conditioner mid-length to ends, rinse again, towel-blot rather than rub, and check the nape and ears for residue. Treat the shampoo as an assessed service in its own right and have someone check the rinse water clarity.
The candidate does not follow the salon's health, safety and hygiene requirements during the practical: tools are not sanitised between clients, hair clippings are left on the floor, and sharps or chemical containers are left uncapped and unlabelled.
Hygiene is learned as a list to recite for a written test rather than a physical routine. In a busy training salon, cleaning happens at the end of the day, so candidates never build the habit of cleaning between clients, and under assessment pressure the clean-up is the first thing dropped.
What to do instead
Adopt a between-client routine and practise it every time: dispose of hair, sweep the station, sanitise shears, comb and clamps, cap and label chemical containers, and wash hands. Keep a small checklist at the station and tick it after each practice client so the sequence becomes muscle memory. In the practical, perform the clean-up visibly and completely before the assessor signs off, because it is an assessed criterion, not housekeeping.
The candidate cannot explain or demonstrate the correct first response to a chemical burn, colour in the eye, or a client reaction such as itching or swelling, and does not know where the salon's first-aid kit, eyewash and material safety data sheets are kept.
Emergency procedures are studied as text and rarely rehearsed, and many candidates have never located the actual first-aid equipment in their training salon. They also assume 'it will not happen to me', so the response is not automatic.
What to do instead
Learn and rehearse the specific responses: for product in the eye, rinse with clean water for at least 15 minutes and seek medical advice; for a skin reaction, remove the product, rinse, and do not reapply; for a burn, cool with running water and do not apply ointment. Physically locate the first-aid kit, eyewash station, fire extinguisher and safety data sheets in your training salon and note their positions. Practise stating the response aloud in a mock scenario so you can answer the assessor's oral questions without hesitation.
When the candidate encounters an unfamiliar client request, a complaint, or a conflict with a colleague during the practical or role-play, they either argue, go silent, or promise something they cannot deliver instead of clarifying and escalating appropriately.
Candidates prepare for technical tasks but not for interpersonal scenarios, and many have no script for handling a complaint. The pressure of being observed makes them either defensive or overly compliant, and they have not learned what authority they have to resolve an issue.
What to do instead
Learn a short service-recovery script: listen without interrupting, acknowledge the client's concern, apologise for the experience without assigning blame, state what you can do, and confirm the agreed action. Know in advance which issues you can resolve yourself and which must go to the salon supervisor. Role-play three scenarios with a partner (late client, unhappy colour result, colleague taking your tools) until the script is fluent, and practise escalating clearly rather than promising a refund or a free service you cannot authorise.
The candidate handles client records, appointment details, or payment information carelessly, discussing one client's chemical history or personal details in front of another client, or leaving the client record card and booking sheet visible at the station.
In a training salon the records are informal and shared openly, so confidentiality is never modelled. Candidates also treat client information as salon property rather than personal data, and they do not think about who can hear a conversation across an open salon floor.
What to do instead
Treat the client record card as confidential: keep it face down or closed when not writing, store it in the designated place, and never discuss one client's details where another client can hear. Ask only for information you need for the service. In role-play, practise deflecting a nosy question politely ('I'm not able to discuss another client's service'). Check your salon's policy on storing and disposing of client records and be able to state it if asked.
The candidate performs a blow-dry or thermal styling service without checking the tool temperature against the hair type, holds the dryer too close to the scalp, and leaves sections damp at the root, resulting in heat damage or a style that collapses.
Candidates focus on the visible finish and rush the drying, and they assume a hot setting works faster on every hair type. Mannequin hair tolerates heat that real, chemically treated hair does not, so the candidate never learns the feedback signals of overheated or over-stretched hair.
What to do instead
Learn to match heat and tension to hair type: lower heat and more tension for fine or chemically treated hair, higher heat only with continuous movement on coarse hair. Keep the dryer at a distance that feels warm, not hot, on your own hand, dry the root and scalp area first, and check each section with your hand before moving on. Practise a full blow-dry on a mannequin and then on a real model, and have a trainer check for damp roots and heat damage. Finish with a cool shot to set the style.