Hairdresser Training in Edinburgh

Build Your Skills and Confidence with McGills Hairdressing

Looking for professional hairdressing training in Edinburgh to help you build confidence, refresh your knowledge or take your existing skills further?

McGills offers practical cutting, precision styling and hair colour training for qualified hairdressers and stylists. Whether you are newly qualified, returning to hairdressing after a career break, working on a self-employed basis or ready to progress into more advanced work, our training can be tailored to your experience and goals.

Training takes place within our award-winning Edinburgh hair salon, where you will learn from an experienced, Toni & Guy-trained team in a supportive, working-salon environment.

Choose from focused short-term training or a longer programme designed to help you strengthen your technique, approach your work with greater confidence and feel fully salon-ready. On successful completion of your training, you will receive a McGills Diploma.

Professional Hairdressing Courses at McGills

Our salon-based training is designed for people who already have a hairdressing qualification but would benefit from further practical experience, professional guidance or advanced education.

Training options include:

Hair cutting and precision styling
Professional hair colouring
Short, focused training sessions
Longer-term development programmes
Training tailored to your experience and goals
Practical learning in an award-winning Edinburgh salon
A McGills Diploma on successful completion

You can choose to focus on cutting and styling, hair colour or discuss a programme covering both areas.

Hair Cutting and Precision Styling Courses in Edinburgh

Our professional hair cutting courses will help you strengthen your foundations, improve your precision and approach every client with greater confidence.

The training is suitable for qualified hairdressers at different stages of their careers. You may have recently completed college and want more hands-on experience, be returning to the industry after time away or work independently without the regular support and education provided by a salon team.

More experienced stylists can also use the training to refine their techniques, explore advanced cutting and develop a more creative, considered approach to their work.

Depending on your experience and objectives, your training may include:

Core cutting techniques and stronger technical foundations
Clean sectioning and accurate cutting angles
Precision cutting and balanced shapes
Short, medium and longer hairstyles
Working with layers, graduation, texture and movement
Adapting a haircut to different hair types and textures
Tailoring a cut to the client’s face shape and lifestyle
Blow-drying, finishing and precision styling
Consultation skills and managing client expectations
Advanced cutting techniques for experienced stylists
Improving consistency, speed and confidence behind the chair

The focus is not simply on following a haircut step by step. We will help you understand why each technique works, how to recognise when to use it and how to personalise the finished result for the individual client.

Professional Hair Colour Courses in Edinburgh

Develop your colour knowledge, practical ability and creative confidence with professional hair colour training at McGills. Our hair colour courses are designed for qualified stylists and colourists who want to refresh their knowledge, fill gaps in their experience or progress into more advanced colour work.

McGills is a Davines salon with a team of skilled, creative colourists. Hair health, careful product selection and bespoke results sit at the heart of our approach. Your training will help you make more assured decisions throughout the colour journey, from the initial consultation and colour choice to application, finishing and future maintenance.

Depending on your experience and goals, training may cover:

Colour theory and confident colour selection
Thorough colour consultations
Managing expectations and creating realistic colour plans
Choosing shades to complement the client’s skin tone and style
Accurate sectioning and colour application
Highlights, lowlights and dimensional colour
Balayage, blonding and lived-in colour techniques
Glossing, toning and colour refinement
Creating beautiful brunette and copper shades
Colour correction and problem-solving
Advanced colour techniques for experienced stylists
Protecting the condition of the hair
Creating maintenance and professional homecare plans

Rather than applying the same formula or technique to every client, you will learn how to assess the hair, consider its condition and history, and create a colour plan tailored to the person in your chair.

Who Is McGills Hairdressing Training For?

McGills training is for already qualified hairdressers and stylists who want to continue learning and become more confident in their work.

It may be right for you if you:

Have recently qualified and want more salon-based experience
Want to bridge the gap between college and working confidently with clients
Are returning to hairdressing after a career break
Work as a self-employed or freelance stylist
Feel less confident in a particular area of cutting or colour
Want to update your techniques and knowledge
Are ready to progress into more advanced hairdressing
Miss the support and education that come with working in a salon team
Want to feel more creative, capable and inspired behind the chair

You do not need to arrive feeling completely confident. Our role is to meet you at your current level, identify the areas in which you need support and help you develop skills you can use in a real salon environment.

Short and Long-Term Hairdressing Training

Every hairdresser has a different background, level of experience and reason for seeking further training. That is why McGills does not take a one-size-fits-all approach.

A shorter course may be suitable if you want focused help with a specific technique, such as precision cutting, short hair, balayage or toning. Longer-term training provides more time to strengthen your foundations, practise different techniques and develop across several areas of cutting, styling or colour.

When you enquire, tell us where you currently feel confident, which aspects of hairdressing you find more challenging and what you would like to achieve. We can then discuss a training option suited to your professional development.

Why Train with McGills Hairdressing?

McGills Hairdressing has been part of Edinburgh’s hairdressing community since 2013. The salon was founded by Garry and Heather, who brought a wealth of experience from training and working with Toni & Guy in London.

Today, McGills is known as one of Edinburgh’s leading independent hair salons, with an experienced team offering cutting, styling, colour and specialist hair services. Our work combines strong technical foundations with creativity, careful consultation and an understanding of how to make each result work for the individual client.

In 2025, McGills was crowned Best Hair Salon in Scotland at the Scottish Hair & Beauty Awards. Members of our team were also named as finalists at the 2026 awards in recognition of their colour and styling expertise.

As a Davines salon, we care deeply about hair health, responsible beauty and making considered choices for our clients. We also believe that learning should never stop. Our team undertakes regular training to continue developing its skills, exploring new techniques and maintaining the high professional standards for which McGills is known.

When you train with McGills, you will learn within a working, award-winning Edinburgh salon from professionals who understand the technical, creative and personal demands of life behind the chair.

Practical Training for Real Salon Life

Great hairdressing involves more than learning a collection of techniques. It requires the confidence to conduct a thorough consultation, make the right professional decisions and adapt your skills to different clients, hair types and situations.

Our training connects technical education with the realities of working in a salon. We want you to leave with knowledge that you can apply in your everyday work—not techniques that only make sense in a classroom.

The aim is to help you feel:

More confident in your professional decisions
Stronger in your cutting, styling or colour technique
Better prepared for consultations and client appointments
More consistent in the results you deliver
Inspired and excited about your hairdressing career
Ready to continue developing your own creative identity

Who can attend McGills hairdressing training?

Our training is designed for already qualified hairdressers and stylists. It is suitable for newly qualified professionals, self-employed hairdressers, returning stylists and experienced team members who want to develop more advanced skills.

Do you offer beginner hairdressing courses?

McGills training is not a replacement for an initial college or professional hairdressing qualification. Our courses are for people who are already qualified and want to improve, refresh or advance their practical skills.

If you are unsure whether your existing experience is suitable, complete the relevant enquiry form and tell us a little about your background.

Can newly qualified hairdressers attend?

Yes. Our training can help newly qualified hairdressers gain additional practical experience and feel more prepared for working with clients in a salon environment.

Is the training suitable after a career break?

Yes. The courses are ideal for qualified hairdressers returning after time away from the industry. Training can help you refresh your techniques, update your knowledge and rebuild your confidence before returning to regular client work.

Do you offer advanced hairdressing courses?

Yes. Our training can be tailored to experienced hairdressers who want to refine their existing skills or develop more advanced cutting, precision styling or colour techniques.

Can self-employed hairdressers attend?

Yes. We welcome self-employed and freelance hairdressers who want access to professional education, practical guidance and the support of an experienced salon team.

Can I study both cutting and hair colour?

You can enquire about cutting and precision styling, professional hair colour training or a combination of the two. Tell us which areas you would like to develop when completing the form.

Do you offer short hairdressing courses?

Both short and longer-term training options are available. Shorter training can concentrate on a particular skill or technique, while a longer programme allows for broader development and additional practice.

Will I receive a qualification?

On successful completion, you will receive a McGills Diploma as a certificate of course completion. Our training is designed as professional development for qualified hairdressers and does not replace an initial hairdressing qualification.

How do I apply for hairdressing training at McGills?

Choose either the cutting and styling or hair colour enquiry form on this page. Tell us about your qualifications, experience and training goals, and a member of the McGills team will contact you to discuss the next step.

Take the Next Step in Your Hairdressing Career

The right training can change how you feel behind the chair. It can help you trust your decisions, improve the consistency of your work and rediscover the creativity that first drew you to hairdressing.

Whether you want to perfect your precision cutting, become more confident with colour or prepare to return to salon life, McGills Hairdressing is here to help you move forward.

Complete the relevant enquiry form above and start the conversation with our Edinburgh team.