Posts
I recently moved, as many of you know and I am not working right now. I have had a few jobs over the years, and have been self employed for the last eight. Working for myself has had it's share of benefits, but I have missed being in the public eye so to speak. I don't regret any of my decisions, I just miss the people. People watching was a great past time for me and my friends. I eventually taught my hubby the fine art. So I figure I must blog about what I love most, so hair I am to give you the inside scoop. Ok, it's inside my head, who cares about semantics right now?
For those of you who don't have a clue what I am talking about...people watching is when you are sitting or walking or standing in a crowed place looking at and evaluating the passers by. I can't help myself, it has become somewhat of a sick obsession. I like to see what different people are wearing, eating, talking about, acting like. It is so fascinating to me to see all of us out there in our diversity, trying to be alike, or stand out from the crowd.
Still, every now and then, I find myself wanting to go up to someone who might be having a bad hair life and say "Here's my card, call me when you are ready for some real help!" No, I have never done that, but thought about it at least a hundred thousand times! The truth about people is that most of us seek attention in some form or another, whether it is negative or positive. Some of us will deny forever that we even seek any kind of attention at all, but that is just not so. There is attention, or perhaps intention, to everything we people do. I'll give you an example.
I used to consider myself shy, and did not publicly wish for attention. I thought I lived in my own little world, and only gave the key to certain people. And those were the only people I wanted attention from. Now whether they came into my world or not would be something else entirely to discuss on a different blog! Now, seeing myself as shy, as I did, I find it rather amusing that I would seek out the most outrageous hair styles and makeup I could do and wear that with out trepidation. For heaven's sake, I would wear gold, hot pink and blue striped eye shadow! Why, for the attention. Yep.
I really did think I liked that punk-rock sort of more new wave style I tried to make my own back in the late eighties. But even now I find myself doing weird things with my hair, clothes and shoes. Why? You guessed it, attention. Whether or not someone else likes it or not is really not the point, it is the fact that someone else noticed. Yes, I'll get to the point.
Hair is the attention getter for most of us. People notice it right away, good or bad. Now whether they will tell you the truth to your face is whole other story. Most people will either say something nice, or completely avoid the topic altogether. No one wants to hurt your feelings right? And let's face it, some of us are stuck in a by gone era which either began or ended right around high school. Some of you out there have had the very same hairstyle for decades! Now, this is not to say that is all bad, if the style is flattering or has become a trademark (thank you Mr. Trump for giving the rest of us something to consider). I suppose if your hideous do, actually gets you recognized and makes you a fortune, who am I to say you should change it? Gene Simmons, keep your do, it works for you!
But the fact of matter is, if you want what you want, and don't wish for change that is fine. I am just saying it may be getting you attention, but you should ask yourself if it is the attention you really want. The next time you sit in your hairdresser's chair and ask what they think...be open for an honest answer. Don't be offended if the style you currently have is perceived as unflattering by your stylist. And don't rush to take their advise either. (I'll refer you back to my last post for more on that.) Take pictures of the styles you find the most attractive. Ask about those. Ask if you're hair will do what you see in the pictures. If not, ask for more details about why and what they would suggest instead. There needs to be, sometimes a LOT, of dialog with your stylist about change. Make sure, before any shear or cutting implement touches one strand on your head, that you are comfortable with the procedure and are certain of the outcome. If your stylist refuses to dialog with you, get up and leave! Quickly.
Confession: I love attention. I love knowing that people are looking at my work and admiring it on themselves or someone else. It gives me great satisfaction to know I can make people fall in love themselves...ok at least with one part of themselves. I would never make a client change, nor would I do something without permission. I personally would never do any intentionally to mess up someones hair. Cosmetology is the study of hair. That is what hairdresser's do, study.
It is scientific, and much like the medical profession, it is a practice. Hairdressers who are any good at what they do, never stop practicing or learning new things. This is a craft that you have to use or loose.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
Psychology Of Hairdressing
I have been thinking about what would be good information for people to know about why I do what I do. Since I began going to college for my degree, people have asked me why I feel the need to change my career.
Well the short answer is, I don't. I feel the need to expand my mind and earn a degree in something I have already been practicing for a long time now. One of the first lessons Miss Kris gave us in theory class back at Beau La Reine, was how to communicate with clients. Most of what hairdressers do is psychology. Let me explain.
When a client sits in my chair and tells me what they want with their hair, it always has something to do with how they think they look, how they want to look, how their partner thinks they look best, what their mom used to do to them, their last visit to the hairdresser was a nightmare...etc. The list goes on and on, and it very rarely has to do with the actual hair on the head of the client. It really is more about what is inside their head.
One of the funniest things I remember from my early training was a cartoon that Miss Kris brought in to illustrate the point of our future jobs. I looked over the world wide web to find it, but came up short. So I will have to explain it and that will have to do, unless one of you can find it for me! Anyway, the picture showed a stylist with a client in her chair and the list of licenses on the wall in front of them. There was of course cosmetologist, then family therapist, marriage counselor, financial advisor, wedding planner...the list continued. I can't remember them all, that was the late 80's for crying out loud.
So the point is, that the job of a hairdresser is not just to cut, color and style the hair. It is all about planting a seed of what we (the hairdresser) thinks is appropriate and getting the client on board with that idea. Really, no matter what it is....We invent sometimes crazy, whacked, totally insane ideas, and sell them to people everyday. Why? Just ask the tattoo artist why...ask the fashion designer why...
Because we can. People trust our judgement. They trust that we know more about hair than they do. And for the most part, that is true. But ask anyone who has had even one bad experience at the hairdresser's and they will be the first to tell you that is not always the case. It only takes one bad episode to ruin a great hairstylist. One client telling the world the horrors of your scissor happy ways, and your once brilliant career as hair god, is over!
How do I know?
Confession: Every great hairstylist has a bad day now and then when their work is less than perfect. We know it, you know it. Some of us will lie, some of us are really great cover up artists...and some of us never recover to go on. Most hairdressers I know do what they do because they love it, and are really good at their craft. Some are excellent. Some are just plain artists. Of course, there are those who should not be in the field at all and we know who you are! But for the most part hairdressers are talented people, who love to do hair and are looking for ways to express our vision. Your hair is our canvas. What you say about our work matters.
For me, it is not necessarily about the amount of money I make, it is more about the friends I make, and the relationships that follow me. Just ask any of my clients...
Well the short answer is, I don't. I feel the need to expand my mind and earn a degree in something I have already been practicing for a long time now. One of the first lessons Miss Kris gave us in theory class back at Beau La Reine, was how to communicate with clients. Most of what hairdressers do is psychology. Let me explain.
When a client sits in my chair and tells me what they want with their hair, it always has something to do with how they think they look, how they want to look, how their partner thinks they look best, what their mom used to do to them, their last visit to the hairdresser was a nightmare...etc. The list goes on and on, and it very rarely has to do with the actual hair on the head of the client. It really is more about what is inside their head.
One of the funniest things I remember from my early training was a cartoon that Miss Kris brought in to illustrate the point of our future jobs. I looked over the world wide web to find it, but came up short. So I will have to explain it and that will have to do, unless one of you can find it for me! Anyway, the picture showed a stylist with a client in her chair and the list of licenses on the wall in front of them. There was of course cosmetologist, then family therapist, marriage counselor, financial advisor, wedding planner...the list continued. I can't remember them all, that was the late 80's for crying out loud.
So the point is, that the job of a hairdresser is not just to cut, color and style the hair. It is all about planting a seed of what we (the hairdresser) thinks is appropriate and getting the client on board with that idea. Really, no matter what it is....We invent sometimes crazy, whacked, totally insane ideas, and sell them to people everyday. Why? Just ask the tattoo artist why...ask the fashion designer why...
Because we can. People trust our judgement. They trust that we know more about hair than they do. And for the most part, that is true. But ask anyone who has had even one bad experience at the hairdresser's and they will be the first to tell you that is not always the case. It only takes one bad episode to ruin a great hairstylist. One client telling the world the horrors of your scissor happy ways, and your once brilliant career as hair god, is over!
How do I know?
Confession: Every great hairstylist has a bad day now and then when their work is less than perfect. We know it, you know it. Some of us will lie, some of us are really great cover up artists...and some of us never recover to go on. Most hairdressers I know do what they do because they love it, and are really good at their craft. Some are excellent. Some are just plain artists. Of course, there are those who should not be in the field at all and we know who you are! But for the most part hairdressers are talented people, who love to do hair and are looking for ways to express our vision. Your hair is our canvas. What you say about our work matters.
For me, it is not necessarily about the amount of money I make, it is more about the friends I make, and the relationships that follow me. Just ask any of my clients...
Thursday, June 12, 2008
How I Got Started
What my profile doesn't say is that I have been a licensed cosmetologist (or hairdresser) for the last 18 years. I began beauty school in the fall of '88. What a year that was! For those interested in a bit of nostalgia, I will relate the story of how my career got started.
My best friend, was being forced to attend Beau La Reine College of Beauty Culture. It was really cutting into our hanging out time! She taught me the importance of mousse, and gel...and we really went the rounds about not using Aqua Net for every style. It was a staple in my house. Mall hair could not be effectively created without spraying mega doses of the stiffest hairspray ever invented! At 16, it was all about being in style, and boy was I! Can you say claw bangs? I needed desperately to be taught the ins and outs, and what better way than to go with my best friend to beauty school? I did have some talent...I wasn't going in completely devoid of knowledge. I was doing hair early in life. Age five, I was using a curling iron by myself. When I was 8, I got three of those Giant Barbie heads you could style and put their make up on, for Christmas that year. None of them made it to the next Christmas. By 10, I was cutting my own hair, and using my little sister as a guinea pig for my scissor happy moments!
But my favorite reason...the one that really brings it all home? Toni Home Perms! Oh yeah...my mom thought that I needed curly hair, and would subject me to that awful torture at least once a year! They never turned out, always stunk to high heaven for weeks, and the frizz! Why did anyone think that looked good? This is the real reason I went to beauty school. I felt a need to rid the world of Toni. At least my world.
Anyway, I talked my mom into letting me go to beauty school. It was a logical choice. My plan was to make money for college. I went to my school counselor and got all the information I need to get a "work release". I began going part time Monday - Saturday. Half the day I went to high school, the other half I went to beauty school. I attended all day on Saturdays, for a grand total of 2000 hours of practical and theory work. Great times! 2 years of my life spent working on little kids and elderly women. Those were our patrons, because let's face it, the price was right and our instructor could fix anything!
So many things were learned in that short time...the best lesson of all: don't sniff isopropyl alcohol. Ask Misty, it really burns when it gets squeezed up your nose. I think she is still really mad at me for that! The other valuable lesson: never wear your wiglet while driving with other students wearing their freshly dyed and styled wiglets. This can lead to the running of red lights and other passers by wondering what the hell made a nest on your head! But hey; when you are bucking for extra credit, you will apparently do anything to not have to give one more old woman her weekly shampoo and set!
I graduated ( thankfully ) beauty school, and high school at the same time in 1991. I went to work in...you might guess...a mall. It was the perfect place for an 18 year old girl to work and play. I would work, cruise for hot guys, shop, eat, hang out...my life was complete! Shortly after I began my career as a stylist, the manager I was working for decided she was moving on. She came to me and informed me that I was the best candidate to take her place. She worked it out with upper management, and voi'la! I was the manager of a salon, in the mall! Oh the power...the rapture...the sheer swelled head! I was only 6 months out of school.
I was on top of the world. I was the boss. Me, in control. My staff hated me! I was young, full of myself and did what I wanted to. Let's just say, I had a lot to learn. And learn I did! I had more than my fair share of learning experiences, with staff and clients alike.
One of the first that comes to mind is the first time I had to fire someone. I didn't have to fire her, I wanted to. This girl did not get along with anyone. She was very unfriendly, and she hardly ever smiled. Many people complained about her work, coming back for re-dos on haircuts and perms. I just did not have enough gumption to tell her myself that she needed to find another job. I also did not have enough maturity to sit her down and explain to her what she was doing wrong and give her a chance to fix it.
My supervisor happened to be the salon the day this girl was fired. I was upset at the thought of having to face her, and began to cry. Yeah I know...lame! My boss asked me what was going on. So I told her. The next thing I knew, she was out talking to my employee, telling her that she was no longer needed. I had a sigh of relief, then came the guilt. She lost her job because of me. How could I live with myself? In a few days a new stylist came in to take her place and I began to feel like it was the best thing for everyone. The lesson here? I learned that I was not going to let someone else make those decisions for me again.
Confession: I was glad that I did not have to work with that girl anymore. I loved being the boss! I hoped that this was the last time I would be in a situation like that, boy was I wrong! The ups and downs of beauty school seemed like cake, compared to what I was going to face in my career at the mall! But best of all, while my friends were taking out loans to pay for college...I was making money to pay for my new car! It was an awesome feeling to be ahead of the game.
My best friend, was being forced to attend Beau La Reine College of Beauty Culture. It was really cutting into our hanging out time! She taught me the importance of mousse, and gel...and we really went the rounds about not using Aqua Net for every style. It was a staple in my house. Mall hair could not be effectively created without spraying mega doses of the stiffest hairspray ever invented! At 16, it was all about being in style, and boy was I! Can you say claw bangs? I needed desperately to be taught the ins and outs, and what better way than to go with my best friend to beauty school? I did have some talent...I wasn't going in completely devoid of knowledge. I was doing hair early in life. Age five, I was using a curling iron by myself. When I was 8, I got three of those Giant Barbie heads you could style and put their make up on, for Christmas that year. None of them made it to the next Christmas. By 10, I was cutting my own hair, and using my little sister as a guinea pig for my scissor happy moments!
But my favorite reason...the one that really brings it all home? Toni Home Perms! Oh yeah...my mom thought that I needed curly hair, and would subject me to that awful torture at least once a year! They never turned out, always stunk to high heaven for weeks, and the frizz! Why did anyone think that looked good? This is the real reason I went to beauty school. I felt a need to rid the world of Toni. At least my world.
Anyway, I talked my mom into letting me go to beauty school. It was a logical choice. My plan was to make money for college. I went to my school counselor and got all the information I need to get a "work release". I began going part time Monday - Saturday. Half the day I went to high school, the other half I went to beauty school. I attended all day on Saturdays, for a grand total of 2000 hours of practical and theory work. Great times! 2 years of my life spent working on little kids and elderly women. Those were our patrons, because let's face it, the price was right and our instructor could fix anything!
So many things were learned in that short time...the best lesson of all: don't sniff isopropyl alcohol. Ask Misty, it really burns when it gets squeezed up your nose. I think she is still really mad at me for that! The other valuable lesson: never wear your wiglet while driving with other students wearing their freshly dyed and styled wiglets. This can lead to the running of red lights and other passers by wondering what the hell made a nest on your head! But hey; when you are bucking for extra credit, you will apparently do anything to not have to give one more old woman her weekly shampoo and set!
I graduated ( thankfully ) beauty school, and high school at the same time in 1991. I went to work in...you might guess...a mall. It was the perfect place for an 18 year old girl to work and play. I would work, cruise for hot guys, shop, eat, hang out...my life was complete! Shortly after I began my career as a stylist, the manager I was working for decided she was moving on. She came to me and informed me that I was the best candidate to take her place. She worked it out with upper management, and voi'la! I was the manager of a salon, in the mall! Oh the power...the rapture...the sheer swelled head! I was only 6 months out of school.
I was on top of the world. I was the boss. Me, in control. My staff hated me! I was young, full of myself and did what I wanted to. Let's just say, I had a lot to learn. And learn I did! I had more than my fair share of learning experiences, with staff and clients alike.
One of the first that comes to mind is the first time I had to fire someone. I didn't have to fire her, I wanted to. This girl did not get along with anyone. She was very unfriendly, and she hardly ever smiled. Many people complained about her work, coming back for re-dos on haircuts and perms. I just did not have enough gumption to tell her myself that she needed to find another job. I also did not have enough maturity to sit her down and explain to her what she was doing wrong and give her a chance to fix it.
My supervisor happened to be the salon the day this girl was fired. I was upset at the thought of having to face her, and began to cry. Yeah I know...lame! My boss asked me what was going on. So I told her. The next thing I knew, she was out talking to my employee, telling her that she was no longer needed. I had a sigh of relief, then came the guilt. She lost her job because of me. How could I live with myself? In a few days a new stylist came in to take her place and I began to feel like it was the best thing for everyone. The lesson here? I learned that I was not going to let someone else make those decisions for me again.
Confession: I was glad that I did not have to work with that girl anymore. I loved being the boss! I hoped that this was the last time I would be in a situation like that, boy was I wrong! The ups and downs of beauty school seemed like cake, compared to what I was going to face in my career at the mall! But best of all, while my friends were taking out loans to pay for college...I was making money to pay for my new car! It was an awesome feeling to be ahead of the game.
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