Version 1.1 · Last updated 12 August 2026 · Next review 12 February 2027
We do not currently use live models in any program. Every technique is taught and assessed on a mannequin head with human hair, from the first session to the capstone. You will never be asked to find a model, and you will never be asked to be one. This policy is published so the standard is already written down should that ever change. If it does, we will say so here first.
This page sets out how live models would work if we ever used them. It forms part of our Terms of Enrolment.
Please read this before you read anything else. These terms are written in good faith and in plain English, to the standard normally used by training providers in Canada. They are not legal advice, and they are pending review by a lawyer. If any part of this matters to your decision, phone (587) 873-9331 and we will confirm it in writing before you pay anything.
1. Mannequins first, people later
You learn every technique on a mannequin head with human hair before you go anywhere near a person. Live model work comes in the later part of a program, once an instructor is satisfied your tension and sectioning are safe.
An instructor decides when you are ready. Not you, and not the model. If you are not ready in the week the timetable says you should be, you stay on the mannequin and nothing is lost.
2. Where models come from
Three routes, in this order:
- Models we arrange. We keep a list of people who have asked to be models and know exactly what they are volunteering for.
- A model you bring. A friend, a relative, a neighbour. See section 8.
- Another student who has offered to model. See section 9.
We do our best to arrange a model for every scheduled model session, and we usually manage it. We cannot promise it. Section 7 says what happens when we cannot.
3. Who can be a model
- 18 and over. Anyone can volunteer, subject to the health questions below.
- 16 and 17. Only with written consent from a parent or legal guardian, and only with that parent or guardian present in the building for the whole session.
- Under 16. We do not use models under 16.
Models must be able to sit for the length of the appointment, understand the briefing in English or bring someone who can interpret, and be free of any active scalp infection or infestation. See section 4 of Health, safety and liability.
4. What every model is told before anything starts
Word for word, in person, by an instructor, before a single section is parted. There is no version of this where a model finds out halfway through.
- A student in training is doing this, not a professional. Under supervision, but still a student.
- It will take longer than a salon appointment. Often much longer, sometimes twice as long.
- The finish may not match professional work. An instructor will correct anything unsafe or badly wrong, but this is not a salon service and nobody should expect a salon result.
- Work may be taken out and redone as part of the teaching. That is normal.
- You can stop at any time, for any reason, with no explanation and no awkwardness. If you stop partway, an instructor will make your hair safe and presentable before you leave.
- You will not be charged, and you will not be paid.
- Nothing is photographed or filmed unless you separately say yes. See Photography, filming and consent.
- What is being installed, and what is in it. Fibre type, products, and whether removal will be straightforward.
5. What every model signs
A short model agreement, on paper, before the work starts. Not a click-through, and not a verbal yes. It records:
- that the briefing in section 4 was given and understood;
- known allergies, sensitivities, and any scalp or skin condition;
- whether a patch test has been done, and when;
- consent to the specific service being carried out that day, and nothing beyond it;
- a separate, optional, clearly ticked consent for photography, which can be refused with no effect on anything;
- an emergency contact;
- for a 16 or 17 year old, a parent or guardian signature.
Consent is for that session only. A model who comes back signs again. We keep the agreement securely and destroy it as set out in our Privacy Policy.
6. Patch testing, tension and the right to stop
Patch testing rules apply to models exactly as they apply to students, and there is no way around them. If a product or fibre is new to the model, or the model has any history of sensitive skin or a previous reaction, the patch test happens 48 hours in advance or the work does not happen. See section 3 of Health, safety and liability.
An instructor checks tension throughout. A model who says stop is listened to immediately, mid-braid, mid-section, mid-sentence. A student who does not stop when asked is removed from the session, and it is a conduct matter under Attendance and code of conduct.
7. If your model does not turn up
It happens. When it does, you work on a mannequin head for that session and we fold the live model practice into a later one where we can.
A model who does not attend does not entitle you to a refund, a credit, or an extra session, and it does not affect your attendance record. We will always try to find a substitute, and often can, because there is a store and a salon in the same building.
8. Bringing your own model
You are welcome to, and many students prefer it. Four conditions.
- Tell us at least 7 days before the session so we can plan the room and get the patch test done in time.
- They get the same briefing and sign the same agreement as anyone else. No exceptions for family.
- You are responsible for making sure they arrive on time and understand what they are agreeing to.
- Do not promise them a result. Do not tell your cousin she is getting free knotless braids. Tell her she is helping you learn, which is the truth.
We can refuse a model, and will, if the briefing has clearly not landed or if there is a health reason not to proceed.
9. Being a model yourself
Students often model for each other. It is genuinely useful: feeling tension from the other side teaches you more about tension than any demonstration will. But it has to be a real choice, so:
- It is entirely voluntary and always opt-in. Nobody is put in the chair because the room is short of a head.
- It is never a condition of completing a program, of passing an assessment, or of your certificate. Declining costs you nothing at all, and no instructor will think less of you.
- If you decline, you work on a mannequin. That is the alternative, and it is always available.
- You get the same briefing and sign the same agreement as any other model, including the separate photography consent.
- You can stop at any point, exactly like any other model.
- Think about what you are agreeing to. Your hair may be taken down and redone. Some installs take hours to reverse. Ask how long removal takes before you sit down, not after.
- If you have relaxed, coloured, fine, shedding or fragile hair, or a tender scalp, say so. There is no prize for pretending otherwise.
If you ever feel pressured to model, by an instructor or by another student, tell us. That is exactly the kind of thing our complaints process exists for.
10. Who is responsible for what
The Academy is responsible for briefing every model, taking the signed agreement, deciding when a student is ready to work on a person, supervising the work, checking tension, and stopping anything unsafe. An instructor is present in the room whenever a model is being worked on.
The student is responsible for following instruction, working at the pace they are told to, checking in with the model, and stopping the moment the model asks or an instructor says so.
The model is responsible for giving honest information about allergies and scalp conditions, doing the patch test, and speaking up when something hurts.
Models are not clients, and this is not a salon service. There is no service guarantee, and no free redo. What there is, is an instructor who will not let anyone leave with hair that is unsafe. If something goes wrong through our carelessness, section 11 of Health, safety and liability sets out where we stand, and nothing here excuses us from being careful.
11. Photographing models
Separate consent, every time, in writing, and refusing changes nothing about the session. A model can consent to the work and refuse the camera, and plenty do. Full detail, including how to withdraw consent later, is in Photography, filming and consent.
12. If a model is unhappy
Tell an instructor before you leave the building if at all possible, because most things can be put right on the spot. Otherwise phone (587) 873-9331 or email info@celegantbraidingacademy.com. Models can use our complaints process in exactly the same way a student can, and we will treat it exactly as seriously. See Complaints and dispute resolution.
See all Celegant Braiding Academy policies and terms
Would you like to be a model?
You will not be paid and you will not be charged. Phone us and we will explain exactly what is involved before you decide.