Before I start drowning you with words about a new experience I was recently part of, I actually need to make a confession. I used to think the modeling industry was overrated and that models didn’t possess any skills. But after a tiring one day journey, I’m here to tell you that being a model is not easy. Not one bit!
I must say, models, are strong for being able to put up with this amount of effort, especially ones that do this on a daily basis. When I was needed as a hair model for one of our client’s (TRESemmé) new digital campaign, I thought “I can’t believe this! Yes, of course. What a nice way to break my day’s routine with a fun shoot!” How oblivious was I to think it was going to be fun and only fun?
View this post on Instagram
Inflamed with excitement, I punctually arrived at the Chez Richard Salon, which served as the shoot’s location. I waited, waited and waited some more. I cannot tell you how much time it took to pick the perfect spot for the one and only hair wizard, Richard, to do his scene. After finally picking a defect-less place, I became aware that a one-take shoot was not the end of it, it was just the beginning. Guys, I’m talking about three freaking hours spent on three to four freaking lines so it would come out perfectly.
Once the first part of the shoot was over, I naively became excited again that it was finally my turn. But no. By now I shouldn’t bother to tell you that it took us more time to set up the location where I was going to wash my hair with TRESemme’s products and even more time to set up another location for the hair-styling process.
When my turn finally came, I galloped like a horse in a race to the hair washing sink, finally ceasing my moment – forgetting, once again, that a one-take shoot is never the end of it. My hair was literally washed with shampoo and conditioner over four times. I think if my hair were to speak, it would have definitely cried “I beg you to make it stop, I will make up for all the bad hair days I have given you, I promise.” But, I was as helpless as my hair was. Slowly but surely the hair-washing routine came to an end and I was ready for it to be styled.
A hairdresser was assigned to straighten my all-over-the-place hair which took about 45 minutes. After he was done, my eyes caught my reflection in the mirror and, in all honesty, both my hair and myself never felt more beautiful.
After the eight-hour shoot that was eventually to be converted into a five-minute video, I learned a few things. Modeling is hard, very hard. The hours are long, and it’s surprisingly not as fun as you think it is; on the contrary, it’s quite boring. It also seems kind of lonely — you might see the same people over and over again, but at the end of the day, you’re a hired person who is there for yourself and only yourself.
It’s a hard job, and so much more goes into it than just standing there and looking pretty.
Yes, there’s a rush when you see the final result and you look Instagram perfect — but that doesn’t last very long, and you have hours and hours of preparation beforehand. It’s a hard job, and so much more goes into it than just standing there and looking pretty. But I was also reminded of how important it is to be feeling your look. Not to get all cheesy but it felt amazing to look amazing. I’m no Kendall Jenner but being part of this experience reminded me that confidence is like a highlighter: A little goes a long way.
And at the end of the day, shouldn’t that be what modeling is all about — looking and feeling better than you ever did before?
