Brazen Academy

Brazen Academy is the training arm of a men’s salon in Leith, Edinburgh, and runs a 12-week course built as evening classes so students can keep working while they train. It comprises 66 hours of instruction across 16 sessions, with a maximum of six students per cohort.

The fee is £4,970, payable in two, three or four instalments or through finance, with a deposit securing a place. It includes a professional kit valued at over £500 and a six-day intensive with an international guest educator, and the academy offers complimentary further training after graduation under what it calls a confidence guarantee. Content covers clipper and scissor skills, beard grooming and business essentials. Be clear on the credential before comparing it with the college courses in this section: Brazen awards its own certificate, with no SCQF level and no external awarding body such as SQA, City and Guilds or VTCT. For some people the small cohort and evening format are worth more than a regulated qualification; that is a real trade-off, but you should make it knowingly.