S’embellir en apprenant à se mettre au service de l’embellissement des autres

Based on a survey carried out in CAP hairstyling classes in both a training centre for apprentices and a vocational school, in this article we examine body work and transformations in appearance during training in a trade aimed at beautifying others, which mainly attracts and recruits young women of working-class origin. We first analyse the contents of this body socialisation and methods for exercising it in schools and enterprises. We then show that youth sociabilities provide a sounding board for body socialisation. Finally we look at how these young people appropriate the aesthetic standards they are confronted with and provide an account of the conditions of effectiveness of this socializing programme.