Qantas flight attendant training: Hair and makeup tips

THEY spend most of their working lives at airports and on planes, yet always manage to look so good. This is the real reason why.

IT’S the smell of hairspray that hits you first.

I haven’t walked onto a Hollywood movie set, I’m at the Qantas “glam” training for its newly recruited flight attendants.

This is where cabin crew go to look so good, to learn the tricks of the in-flight trade — where the length of your ponytail is as important as the shade of your lip colour.

“Buy a $5 clear makeup bag from Kmart,” says Kersha, a Qantas flight attendant training the new recruits.

“You can put your makeup in this when you pass through security so that you have product to touch up with in the air.” (More on the “touch up before touch down” mantra later).

Want to know how Qantas cabin crew never have a hair out of place, or the tricks to flawless makeup? We go behind the scenes to reveal their secrets.

WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A QANTAS FLIGHT ATTENDANT

SECRET CODES OF QANTAS FLIGHT ATTENDANTS

QANTAS CREW’S SECRET ‘TOM CRUISE’ CODE

New Qantas flight attendants being trained in the tricks to hair styling.

HAIR CARE

“Divorce the doughnut,” says Laurel, Qantas’ hair stylist.

“We want a loose, natural looking bun. The doughnut gives a manufactured look that the airline is not about.”

Qantas flight attendants have two choices of hairstyle while on the job — a bun or a ponytail. For hair above the shoulder, a bob is acceptable. Both buns and ponytails must sit low and the length of the ponytail must not exceed 30cm.

I’ve put myself forward as the guinea pig. I’ve gone from having fine, longish hair, with a hint of balayage to a head full of volumising product and a loose-low bun with a few flyaways that I’m told is now the “modern” look — “your hair shouldn’t look like concrete,” says Laurel.

Note: Make bobby pins your friend. About six to eight pins should secure your bun firmly in place for the duration of the flight.

Top hair tips: Only wash your hair every four days, use dry shampoo and a heat protectant and grooming cream to flatten any flyaways.

Hydration is an issue — “there’s about three per cent humidity in the aircraft, the optimal level for our hair is 30 per cent,” Laurel says. She says a styling cream provides more nourishment to the hair than hairspray.

My Qantas style bun — loose, low and with flyaways.

CARRY-ON

One of the key tricks to looking good is what you take in your carry-on, I’m told. And hydration, hydration, hydration.

Qantas flight attendants Kersha and Jenna say flight attendants should always have these key items in their bag:

• A clear cosmetics bag ($5 at Kmart) for makeup touches in-flight. It’s dubbed “touch up before touch down” by Qantas

• Always carry a spare pair of stockings

• Nail polish and/or hairspray are a fix for ladders in stockings

• Pack a touch-up kit with face mist, mints and a toothbrush

• Travel perfume under 100ml

• A bunk bag for when it’s crew rest time including a book and a hot water bottle (it gets seriously cold in crew quarters)

• An extra phone charger and an adaptor

• Flat cabin shoes (all flight attendants change out of their heels for service). Kersha swears by a $25 pair from Seers in the USA

• Water bottle tip: Put some lemon slices or apple juice in the water to help your body absorb it rather than passing straight through.

An example of a Kmart $5 cosmetic bag. Picture: kmart.com.au

MAKE UP

The Qantas standard for make-up is pretty simple — mascara and lip colour (sounds easy enough, right?) But it’s what goes into the preparation that really makes a difference.

The key is keeping your skin hydrated due to the dryness of the plane cabin air. Apart from drinking lots of water, Jenna recommends using a thin layer of a hydrating mask before a flight.

Other steps include exfoliating at least twice a week, using a hydrating serum and a primer before makeup application.

Most flight attendants add these extra steps to the Qantas standard:

• Apply foundation first, then a concealer — this is more cost effective as the foundation may cover up any blemishes first meaning concealer is not needed

• Eyeshadow: Apply a light colour all over the eyelid, followed by a brown coloured eyeshadow. Eyeliner is not allowed, but applying a darker eyeshadow along the lash line will give the illusion of thicker lashes

• Mascara: Use an eyelash curler first. Apply the mascara by wiggling the mascara brush for thicker lashes and use the pointed tip to get into the corner of your lashes. Only put mascara on your top lashes to avoid panda eyes

• Blush: This is the last step. Use blush in peach and apricot tones with a slight shimmer for that fresh, dewy look

Lips: A beige or rose brown lipstick of a transparent red lipgloss are allowed

• Products flight attendants swear by: Nude by Nature, Bare Minerals, Napoleon Perdis Blushing Bride

Jenna demonstrates how to apply make up on a new Qantas flight attendant.

Qantas hair and makeup standards are designed to complement the current flight attendant uniforms. Designed by Australian designer, Martin Grant, the look is to be modern and chic yet relaxed and comfortable for service.

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