The classical Greek noun that best translates to the English-language words "beauty" or "beautiful" was κάλλος, kallos, and the adjective was καλός, kalos. However, kalos may and is also translated as ″good″ or ″of fine quality″ and thus has a broader meaning than mere physical or material beauty. Similarly, kallos was used differently from the English word beauty in that it first and foremost applied to humans and bears an erotic connotation.[2]
The Koine Greek word for beautiful was ὡραῖος, hōraios,[3] an adjective etymologically coming from the word ὥρα, hōra, meaning "hour". In Koine Greek, beauty was thus associated with "being of one's hour".[4] Thus, a ripe fruit (of its time) was considered beautiful, whereas a young woman trying to appear older or an older woman trying to appear younger would not be considered beautiful. In Attic Greek, hōraios had many meanings, including "youthful" and "ripe old age".[4]
The earliest Western theory of beauty can be found in the works of early Greek philosophers from the pre-Socratic period, such as Pythagoras. The Pythagorean school saw a strong connection between mathematics and beauty. In particular, they noted that objects proportioned according to the golden ratio seemed more attractive.[5] Ancient Greek architecture is based on this view of symmetry and proportion.
Reflect on your experience and relate your thoughts and observations. Was this experience valuable? Why? Why not?
Through day to day activities in training, I got to have pretty many observations. Not always everything was about hair, manicure or other beauty therapies. There are cases I had to deal with people suffering from various disorders like acne, whiteheads, pimples whereby I had to administer various cosmetics for them. For example I observed that many clients had acne and would come to me for consultancy. I got to advise one lady who had an affliction of rosacea to use a special cream by the name Rosacea Homemade cream as well as a special herbal remedy that I had learnt of from my facilitator. The lady purchased the product but did not follow the right dosage and therefore the affliction never subsided. Therefore my thought on this is that if administered any product by a licensed cosmetologist then it’s advisable to continue its use unless the side effect are severe and this is where a medical practitioner is consulted. Another quite important observation that I made was that if you were to succeed in this course, you are never to miss classes. The coursework is very relevant and each topic covered will prove handy in either practical sessions or in the workplace. While at Indiana, most of my fellow students assumed sessions and missed training. This proved to be very disappointing since you could see the disparities between them and the rest of the students in practical classes like Cosmetology Clinic I, Cosmetology Clinic II, Cosmetology Clinic III and Cosmetology Clinic IV. Training is very relevant in the work field ahead.
I chose to pursue cosmetology due to the passion I had for it. It deals with many fields of work namely:
‘ Home care/personal services- deals with home beauty care
‘ Makeup artists and aestheticians- are situated in the film industries and movies to build up costumes and attend to actors
‘ Hair and nail care- here manicures which is the preparation of fingernails i.e. sharpening, filing, etc. hair is also dealt with whereby hair is cut and shaped according to the client’s wish.
‘ Cosmetology specialists also take care of the dead bodies in morgues before last respects are paid. This is to make the corpses look good before burial. This line of cosmetology is very tough and isn’t for the faint hearted. My view of this line of work is that only those who are brave enough and are well aware of what they are doing will succeed.
‘ Then there’s the hair salon (and barbershop) where this is my favorite whereby most customers in my shop come for complete makeovers where hair is cut and styled to their desire.
One of the major advantages of this course is that many who join it are very joyous and enthusiastic in their work like myself but at first it wasn’t that easy since I had difficulty in dealing first hand with customers, handling their hair, hands, feet but now after I attended the course in detail, had many practical sessions, I gained my experience and now since then, I can handle my clients with ease and gain trust with customers just by performing a good job on them. I am glad to say that I have many clients who cannot go to any other Hair salon or beauty centre. I have learned to consult with my employees (3 full time stylists and 1 Barber) they serve a great deal in improving the shop’s reputation since they are well qualified and have the appropriate people skills to offer 100% output. Also as the founder of Versatility Creative Hair Care Designs, I have gained the appropriate management skills to run my shop better and these management skills are not only to be used in this business but also in other investments/businesses that I have. This experience is very valuable in all aspects of my day to day activities because all the skills gained will be applied everywhere. It is therefore very relevant.