Period Styling Foundations

THE PERIOD STYLIST ACADEMY MINI-COURSE

Learn to Position, Price and Present Yourself as a Period-Hair Specialist

Build the business foundations behind a distinctive specialist career, with practical guidance from film-industry hair and make-up artist Gemma Waugh.

This course gives you lifetime access to clear, focused training designed to help you turn your technical skills into stronger positioning, a more intentional portfolio and a business that reflects the value of your expertise.

as trusted by

"I have worked with Gemma for many years on film sets all over the world. I can vouch from first-hand experience that she is a fabulous hairdresser. I would highly recommend this course to anyone wanting to upskill and increase their earning potential."

Meinir Jones Lewis | BAFTA Award-winning Hair & Make-up Designer

"Gemma's understanding and obvious expertise in handling hair, along with her sense of colour balance and style, all combined to create the exact look I required."

Jenny Shercore | BAFTA Award-winning Hair & Make-up Designer

Your Skills Should Be Easier to Recognise and Value

You can be incredibly talented and still struggle to attract the right opportunities.

You may have specialist skills within your portfolio, but if your pricing, images and messaging do not clearly communicate that expertise, potential clients and collaborators may not understand what makes your work different.

The Period Styling Foundations course will help you create a clearer professional position around your work, so you can stop blending into a crowded market and start becoming known for the specialist skills you have worked hard to develop.

Inside Period Styling Foundations

Gemma will help you strengthen the business foundations behind your specialist styling work.

You’ll learn how to price with greater confidence, build a portfolio that communicates a clear direction and position yourself so the right clients and professional contacts understand why your expertise matters.

Pricing Your Specialist Work

Learn how to approach pricing when your services require specialist technique, preparation, experience and attention to detail.

Building a Stronger Portfolio

Understand how to choose and present images that support your specialism rather than allowing your strongest work to become lost within a general portfolio.

Positioning Your Expertise

Learn how to explain what makes your work different and communicate your specialist value more clearly. This is what sets you apart in your specialism.

Generating Relevant Referrals

Discover how stronger positioning can help photographers, planners, venues and other industry professionals understand exactly when to recommend you.

Self-paced learning · Lifetime access · Immediate access after purchase

All for just £197 one time payment.

Learn from Nearly Three Decades in the Film Industry

Gemma Waugh has worked as a professional hairdresser and make-up artist for nearly three decades, predominantly within film.

Her credits include productions such as:

James Bond: The World Is Not Enough

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

X-Men: First Class

And much more...

Gemma has also taught future industry professionals at respected London hair and make-up academies.

Throughout her career, she has seen how specialist knowledge, professional standards and a clear reputation can shape the opportunities available to a stylist.

Inside this course, Gemma brings that experience into practical business training designed to help you present your skills with greater clarity and confidence.

Is This Course for You?

This course is suitable for hairstylists and hair and make-up artists who:

Have developed strong technical skills but struggle to communicate their value
Want to become known for period, vintage or specialist styling
Feel unsure whether their current pricing reflects the expertise involved
Have a portfolio that feels broad, inconsistent or unclear
Want to attract more relevant bridal, film, television, theatre or editorial opportunities
Want to become easier for clients and industry professionals to remember and recommend
Are not ready for the complete Period Stylist Academy but want to strengthen the business behind their work

You do not need to work exclusively in period hair to benefit from this course.

The training is designed to help you build a clearer specialist position within the work you already offer.

What people who have worked with Gemma say

Gemma shaped my skills and taught me a lot about period styling over the years and has the most amazing way of understanding what her protégés need and how to teach them in the best way for them. Would recommend!"

- Rosie Oction

Hair & Makeup Artist

"Gemma brings her fantastic film experience to both hair and makeup — and that is why I chose her. I wanted a period twist to my hair and makeup to suit the grandeur of the day and the venue, and Gemma did an amazing job."

- Antonia Wright

Bride

"Gemma has years of experience and it is really obvious when you work with her. At the trial she convinced me to try a hairstyle that looked slightly sixties, because my dress was a shift dress. It should not have worked — but it absolutely did. I am so glad I found her."

-Katherine Evans

Bride

"I was looking for someone who could give me a 1920s hairdo, but was worried it might look a bit over the top. I was so wrong. I looked like a black and white movie star."

-Tamara Moore

Bride

- Antonia Wright

Bride

"If you are wondering which stylist to book, then Gemma is definitely your woman. Having someone with a background in wigs and hairpieces was a massive plus."

- Stephanie Isbell

Bridesmaid

Klarna and Clearpay is available at checkout.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the course live?

No. The Specialist Stylist’s Toolkit is a prerecorded online course that you can complete at your own pace.

How long will I have access?

You’ll receive lifetime access to the training.

Does this course teach hairstyling techniques?

No. This course focuses on the business side of becoming a specialist, including your pricing, portfolio, positioning and referrals.

Is personal feedback included?

No. This is currently a self-paced course without personal feedback.

Do I need to specialise exclusively in period hair?

No. You can continue offering wider bridal, session or creative services.

The course will help you create a clearer specialist position within your existing business.

Is this suitable for newer stylists?

Yes, although it will be most useful if you already have some practical work or portfolio images to review.

The course can help you make more intentional decisions as you develop your business.

Will this help me decide what to charge?

The course will help you understand the factors that should inform your pricing and how specialist expertise can affect the value of your work.

It does not prescribe one price for every stylist, because your experience, services, location and business costs will all need to be considered.

Will this course guarantee more bookings?

No course can guarantee bookings.

The Specialist Stylist’s Toolkit will help you strengthen how you present, price and communicate your work so the right people can more easily recognise your expertise.

Is this included inside The Period Stylist Academy?

Gemma also offers the complete Period Stylist Academy for stylists who want comprehensive technical and business training across several eras.

If you later choose to upgrade, your £197 investment can be credited towards your place inside the full Academy.

Gemma also offers the complete Period Stylist Academy if you would like more comprehensive training across several eras and styles: https://theperiodstylistacademy.com/sign-up

Get the Period Styling Foundations Course

A single investment. Lifetime access to the full programme to learn at your own pace.

Self-paced learning · Lifetime access · Immediate access after purchase

All for just £197 one time payment.

THE PERIOD STYLIST ACADEMY - LONDON

Gemma Waugh is the founder of the Period Stylist Academy and a specialist in period and vintage bridal hairstyling. She grew up in her mother’s wig company in London, which created wigs for some of the biggest film productions of the 1980s and 90s - including Star Wars, the James Bond films and Superman. She later worked in the film industry herself before transitioning into bridal work, bringing with her the technical standards and professional precision of a film set. Through the Period Stylist Academy, she teaches hairstylists how to develop a recognised specialist niche in period bridal styling, move away from competing on price, and build a career defined by genuine expertise.