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William J. Arbour

Mr. William J. Arbour has been a licensed Cosmetologist since 1982 and an instructor since 1984. He has owned chair rental salons and two cosmetology schools. Mr. Arbour is very passionate about educating students and helping them learn the necessary postgraduate skills to achieve success in the cosmetology industry.

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Wilford J. Arbour

Mr. Wilford J. Arbour passed away in July, 2016; the Brighton Institute of Cosmetology team will miss him greatly. Mr. Arbour was in the beauty business for 55 years. Born in Toronto, Canada, he became a U.S. citizen when he was 19 and joined the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. After the war, he started as a milkman for a big dairy company in the Detroit area. He owned his own dairy route, but the harsh Michigan winters left him desiring a new career. With a family to support, Mr. Arbour began searching for a new career he could begin quickly. One day he stopped at a soda fountain on his milk route, and asked the woman behind the counter, "What line of business could I get into that wouldn't take five years to learn?"

She replied, "Why not beauty school?"

And that’s exactly what he did.

In 1959, Mr. Arbour spoke to the owner of a Detroit beauty school he passed on his milk route. He discovered he could enroll in the program for $275, including his kit. His first customer had so much Aqua Net on her hair that it had hardened, and he had to break it up before he could shampoo her hair. Despite having such a daunting first customer experience, he decided to stick with it and in 1962 he opened his first salon in Detroit.

Three years later, he bought a beauty college in Detroit and opened another salon. By 1973, his business had expanded to include three schools and a salon, located in Plymouth, Canton, and Taylor.

Mr. Arbour came to Brighton when the New Midwest Beauty College went up for sale. Later, he bought the Brighton Institute of Cosmetology. Under Mr. Arbour's ownership, the Brighton Institute of Cosmetology merged with the New Midwest Beauty College in January 1998.