Thursday, October 09, 2008
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I’m wondering whether you’re seeing a boost in appointments just for styling. I’m not talking about a special occasion when the client needs a dressy style. I’m referring to women who want their hair to look really good today, or
they’ve worked all day and want to look fresh for a dinner date, or maybe their arms are just too tired to hold up a blow dryer for their super-thick hair. This is a great way for you to make money if your
hair styling skills are up to it.
There’s a salon in New York City that offers a full-service menu but specializes in the signature service of a shampoo and blow-dry. Appropriately named “Blow,” the salon charges $40-$60 for this service; another $20 gets the client extra texture attention with a flat iron, curling iron or rollers. Will women start going in droves to a blow-dry bar? I don’t know. But will be you ready if they do?
There was a time when every girl owned a crimping iron. Today’s clients do not want their hair to look crimped, but they do want fullness. One way to achieve that is to use a crimping iron first, and then to smooth out the crimped hair with a curling iron. Learn and practice
hair styling by using all of your tools, and maybe you can develop a new profit center for clients who want a quickie professional look. Or are you already seeing this as a trend?
Style in photo was achieved with, in order, a blow-dryer, crimping iron and curling iron. Credits: hair styling by Orlando Pita; assistance by Brian Buenaventura; hair color by Andre of Orlo; photography by Roberto Ligresti; make-up by David Maderich; photostyling by Viviana Rodriguez.
Monday, October 06, 2008
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Is there a bright side really, on a day on which the stock market is deciding between plunging 800 points or diving 300? Your clients fall into one of two categories: they don’t have enough money to have invested in either the stock market or real estate,
or they’re watching their investments shrink. Neither scenario is great for your business. But all is not lost. I’ll share with you any ideas I have to weather this tough economic climate, so let’s talk first about
highlighting.
If you do a full head of highlights, our color guru Beth Minardi says that you don’t need to lighten the base first. Just section the hair and strategically place the highlights. Then you’ll save time, which means you’ll earn more per hour. Another way to maximize your time is to practice and get really good so that the foiling goes quicker. Maybe you also can sneak in another client’s hair cut while the highlights are processing.
Women don’t stop wanting to feel pretty at a time like this; they just can’t justify spending their last dime to get that feeling. When you suggest “a few foils” that won’t add much to their ticket, it can be such a mood lifter for them and, for the client who’s starting to go gray, highlights can buy some time. Our
online hair classes cost only $15. Polishing your highlighting skills will reward you with client loyalty since, after all, you’re helping to “brighten” a dark time.
Photography by Roberto Ligresti.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
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I love surfing the Internet to see girls having fun with hair. Especially since I blog about
online hair education, I’m always interested to discover personal web pages regarding hair.
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The latest site I’ve enjoyed visiting is “
How to Be Pretty.” What a great name to capture the simplicity of the eternal female quest! The author, a young woman named Teresa with the screen name “bombshell beauty,” has a true passion for—you might say fixation on—hair, and uses her site as more or less an expression of her taste. Many people who will never have your talent or training to do hair nevertheless share the passion that you feel for trends and beauty.
In some posts, the “bombshell” plays with updo’s, most recently trying to attach a feathered hair accessory to her updo creation (see photo here). When you have a client like Teresa in your chair, you can really connect with her almost as a peer and give her specific tips for
styling hair. Clients who enjoy playing with their hair can become very loyal to you and, whenever they have extra cash, build a big ticket experimenting with all of the cut, color and style ideas the two of you team up to develop. I’ll continue to alert you to these
online hair sites as I come across them, because they can give you insight into how women think about hair and what your own clients may expect from a visit to your chair.
Monday, September 29, 2008
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When I asked perm educator Joe Santy, vp-education of Dennis Bernard, why stylists tend to shy away from doing
texture
services, he offered these misconceptions:
1. Few clients need texture.
Wrong! Joe estimates that 80 percent of women could benefit from either a volumizing (perm) service or a straightening service.
2. Perms aren’t foolproof.
They are if you do a test curl! Even if the perm is marketed as a non-test-curl wave, Joe recommends playing it safe and always relying on your own eyes to make sure you’re not over- or under-processing.
3. You can’t color and perm the same head.
Joe says that not only can you do both chemical services, but you can do them the same day as long as you: properly condition the hair; make wise rod choices; and choose a perm formulated for “variable porosity” hair, which takes into account that color on the hair will create different porosities within the same head.
4. Clients won’t pay for both color and texture.
“Clients will pay for results,” Joe maintains. When you deliver a fabulous look, the expense is worth it to them. If your heart’s bleeding, you always can offer a “perm+color” special price.
5. Today’s products do the job of changing texture.
Certainly products are more effective than ever. But they’ll still work better when the hair has the support of chemically enhanced texture, and even with the best products a perm or straightening service will cut down home maintenance time.
6. Perming is scary.
Joe promises that it gets easier with practice. “Everything you do the first time is scary,” he says. “The more you do it, the better you’ll become, and soon you’ll lose your fear.”
7. Perming isn’t profitable because it takes so long.
While straightening services have a high-profit reputation, perms do take a lot of time and attention. But so does color, and you have no problem charging for that. Just crunch the numbers, and set a price that earns you a good hourly profit. Working with an assistant will permit you to take other clients during the processing time.
Convinced? I’d love to have you start with our
online texture courses and then practice and get really good at texture. You’ll be in high demand, because so few stylists know how to do texture well.
Photo credits: Hair by Jesse Briggs; photography by Tom Carson; make-up by Katherine Quiel.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
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One of the
online hair cour
ses we offer is a
perming class. I’ll admit that I go back and forth about whether perming is relevant in today’s world—I have no desire to relive the frizzed-out ’80s, I assure you—but I always come back to: of course it is. When you think about what most frustrates your clients, doesn’t it usually involve texture? If they say, “I hate my mousy brown hair,” you can just work your magic and, abracadabra, now they love their new blonde, red, richer brunette or just highlighted hair. They don’t even say that anymore, because they understand that drab color is easily correctable.
Isn’t the more common complaint something along the lines of:
My hair is too limp / has no body / doesn’t keep a curl / has no life, is too thin? Or:
My hair has too much volume / takes forever to dry / is too course? Or:
I hate my curly / stick-straight hair?
What they’re all moaning about is texture. Recently I was talking to a salon professional who heartily agrees that perms—and straightening services—still matter. Joe Santy is the owner of Attitudes Hair Studio in Langhorne, PA, and vice-president of education for the Dennis Bernard line which, incidentally, does not sell any perm product. Joe also regularly works behind the chair and considers himself something of a texture expert. We discussed stylists’ reluctance to do
texture services, and Joe gave me seven myths about perming, which I’ll pass along to you next time.
Photo credits: Hair by Trevor Sorbie; photography by Trevor Leighton; make-up by Makky; photostyling by Geriada Kefford.
Monday, September 22, 2008
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As I was musing in my last post, you never know when your
hair styling skills may turn up all over television and the Internet. Suddenly everyone’s interested in the backstory behind vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s updo. Palin’s hairdresser,
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Jessica Steele, told the New York Times that Palin is “very involved with her look and how she’s perceived.”
When her newly famous client ran for governor, Steele’s challenge was to craft a look that communicated a tricky message: yes, this woman is attractive, and she’s also very intelligent so you should take her seriously and listen to what she has to say. At the time, she wore her long hair down. Steele told the Times, “Sarah wanted to look more professional...and not come across as high maintenance and fussy.” As Palin sat in Steele’s chair, the hairdresser and client played with full and sideswept fringe, curlier coifs, straighter looks and hair ornaments, according to the article. They considered highlights ranging from blonde to warm red to copper. They settled on the current reddish ponytail updo, with the bangs changing depending on the year.
One advantage of the style is to give Palin a little more height. But does it make Americans take her more seriously? Steele told the Times that people reacted totally differently to Palin with her hair up compared with when it was down. How would you
cut and style Palin’s hair? Make it short, curl it, keep it in a pony? I’m interested in your thoughts.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
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In case you didn’t catch it, here’s a link to an article published in this past Sunday’s New York Times, “
The Buzz About Palin Started Here,” which traces the relationship vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has with her hometown hair stylist. Here
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on the blog as we’ve talked about
updo styling I don’t think we ever anticipated that one day you could find your skills coming into play on the national stage, but you might!
Jessica J. Steele, owner of the Beehive Beauty Shop in little Wasilla, Alaska, didn’t expect that attention but, lo and behold, the somewhat unusual ponytail-inspired style that she fashioned for her client “Sarah P.” has the Internet on Palin hair watch, with observers pointing thumbs both up and down.
What fascinates me is how important her hairdresser has been to Palin’s career, as well as how Palin’s friendship with Steele mirrors the kinship so many clients feel for the person they trust to do their hair. Palin attended Steele’s bridal shower; Steele’s entire staff was invited to the baby shower for Palin’s youngest child. When Steele confided feeling overwhelmed by her many responsibilities, Palin comforted her. Palin first came in for color correction six years ago when she was still the city’s mayor and, after becoming governor, stayed loyal to the Beehive rather than switching to an Anchorage salon. And as her political career soared, Palin turned to Steele to design an appropriate style. More on that now famous
updo styling next time!
Monday, September 15, 2008
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I’m always suggesting that you continue your education with easy,
online hair classes. It’s so important to keep your technical skills sharp and up-to-date. But as you well know, “people” skills are critical, too. Recently the husband of a hair stylist told me, “My wife’s goal at each visit is for her client to sit down in her chair and feel as if she had never left. It’s all about the
relationship.”
I really like that concept. As clients go about their lives, never knowing what will happen day to day, your chair becomes a second home offering them stability, predictability and comfort. They know you’ll be there to listen and make them look and feel great no matter what else is going on.
Whether you have a photographic memory or must write everything down, make sure you know where you left off with the client so that you can pick up the conversation immediately. “How did the wedding go?” “How’s the new job?” It can be as simple as, “Did you ever find shoes for your green dress?” It makes clients feel so welcome. Also know where things stand with your ever-evolving plan for their
hair cut and
color. There’s always some tweaking to talk about: “We’re adding lowlights for fall, remember?” “We’re letting your bangs grow out just a bit, right?” “You must be just about out of your shampoo.” Clients count on your knowledge about them and their hair, and they love feeling like they never left!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
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On today’s date it’s hard for me to discuss our
online hair classes without considering the big picture of
salon education. What hairdressers learn is not limited to formal training taught at academies, trade shows, in-salon classes and online.
Significant lessons take place, too, during everyday salon life. That’s what happened on September 11, 2001, when we all learned how resilient and generous salon people are and the critical role salon services play in times of chaos and sadness.
At MODERN SALON, we heard from a lot of salons that were directly affected by the terrorist attacks. Their stories, mostly coming out of New York City, amazed me with the courage and dedication of professionals who got their businesses back up and running within just weeks. We also heard from so many salon people who worked day and night to help victims both in and outside of the industry.
But I think the most instructive lesson was that clients sought out salons for comfort. While the country’s somber mood silenced the comedic monologues of talk show hosts, and spending money on something like chunky red highlights seemed frivolous, people nonetheless gravitated toward the salon even if it was just to sit in the chair and have a scalp massage. The salon returned to them a sense of normality. As you pursue your continuing
hair education, always keep in mind the irreplaceable service you provide in good times—and even more so in troubled times.
Photo: I snapped this two years ago, when I visited Ground Zero in NYC.
Monday, September 08, 2008
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At any given time there’s usually a perfect-coif look among the popular style selections and, in any case, you probably have those clients who request
hair styling that keeps every hair in place no matter what’s in fashion. Still, I’ve
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noticed over the years that the controlled mess never completely goes out of style. Bed head is not dead.
We could sit around analyzing why that is, why some women have a need to seem as if they’re not trying very hard. Perhaps it provides a handy aloofness, marks a lady as just a bit of a rebel or simply prevents her look from being duplicated by every other female in the room. But the "why" isn’t important; what matters is being able to identify which of your clients want their hair to be a touch untidy and then creating styles that suit their personal brand of rambunctiousness.
Studying
cutting techniques will give you a lot of insight into designing disconnected, scattered sorts of looks that may thrill these clients. Further, much of the happy outcome will depend on the
finishing methods you can teach them to do on their own, and for some clients a formless modified updo may be the answer. Experiment with molding pastes, gels and other styling aids; play with flat irons, curling irons and air-drying gimmicks. Use your creativity to show that potentially high-ticket client that you understand her affection for organized disaster.
Photography by Babak; hair by KMS Artistic Team