One of the very first questions that a new hire or new student in the salon business asks is “what do I need to do to be successful in the salon business.  All of my advice had to do with the acronym LUCKY.  I always tell them that you have to be LUCKY.  Here’s what I mean:

Leave your real life and drama at home.  All of the people that I’ve known over the years that were truly successful in the salon industry were so because they were able to leave their stuff at home. You leave your baggage at the door. Every salon has policies  or procedures in place that explain to you their standards for “professional behavior “ including handling personal calls and your personal business.   You could use some examples of people that you might’ve seen in other businesses that you might consider “professional“. People like doctors, lawyers, CPA’s, bankers, and others.  Most of these people who are serious about what they do and how they make money usually aren’t interrupted by personal phone calls and don’t usually engage in personal conversations with their clients or patients.  You rarely will know any of their personal business.  I think there’s a good reason for that.   For you to know their personal business would be somewhat of a liability for them. What I mean by that is that based on what you know about them, their activities their family, where they live, their politics, hobbies, etc. you tend to “judge” them.  Your judgments about them could  make the difference between you being a continued patient or client or deciding that you don’t like or disagree with the person you’ve come to know.  In the salon business we should really think about that long and hard. This could be one of the most important factors standing between you and being successful in the salon industry. You want people to continue to come to you for services. You want them to buy additional services. You want them to buy products. You want them to refer their family and friends. You want them to follow your advice  and take your instruction so that they’re hair, nails, or skin, will look like a professional did it and others will want to seek you out.  By taking you seriously and following your advice, they’ll be able to maintain the look that you’ve given them in the salon.  This may not happen if they judge you based on the personal information you share about your lifestyle, habits, and they judge you based on that information.

Understand how you make money in the hair salon business. People buy from people they like.  People immediately decide within seconds of meeting you whether or not they like you.  Unfortunately about 90% of their decision is based upon the visual impression ; HOW YOU LOOK!!! Yes, your appearance is paramount if you are to be successful long term. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s look at how you make your money.  You generate money through customer count and ticket average.  Whether you are the owner, manager or stylist, that’s how it works.  If  all you do is the service for which the customer came to see you, then you will need to do more and more customers to get more and more money. If, however, you inform and recommend and your customers buy additional services ( higher ticket average ) and they refer new business to you,  you may not need to work quite as hard.  This doesn’t happen if you spend your time talking about yourself. It happens as a result of you talking about the guest, their haircare needs, and their desires.

Communication is a two way street.   You have to understand how the process works; there’s a sender and receiver. Each of those has a responsibility in order that the lines of communication are clear and you avoid misunderstandings. When communicating you have to be open to others preconceived views, opinions and commonly held beliefs.  Some of the best advice I ever received was “don’t tell them what you can’t  do, tell them what you can do”.  It also means give them the good news first, for example “I  can condition & cut your hair today, but unfortunately it is not in the best shape for a perm today”.  Always work on improving your vocabulary and your grammar.
Knowledge is power! KNOW YOUR STUFF! It’s no one else’s buy your responsibility to be an “everlearner” .

Yield to the demands of the industry, the customers needs, fellow workers. The industry will yield or deliver to you in proportion to you dedication, commitment and longevity. People can’t find you if you’re not there when they return to see you.  STAY PUT! It takes time to develop a following and to fit in with your surroundings.  Don’t look for excuses or fool yourself by thinking that you’ll change the way business is done.  Embrace it, Confucius, the Chinese philosopher  said “work hard and the money will follow”.

Moisture & Hair?

It has  occurred to me that not everyone, (especially people with naturally curly hair), realizes the effect of moisture on the hair. Extreme temperatures and moisture in the air affect the hair because those things affect the bonds in the hair called “hydrogen bonds” that can cause “temporary changes to the texture (feel) of the hair, and the behavior of the hair; making it straight or curly.  So for example if you’ve blown dry and straightened your hair and then expose your hair to moisture or “humidity”, you can expect your hair to revert to its former state.  The same is true for curling your hair, moisture will undo the curl.  Hot and cold temperatures also affect the outside or “cuticle” layer of the hair.  The  cuticle of the hair shaft acts  like a window. Those windows have hinges that allow them to open and close depending upon the temperature. When it’s very cold, the cuticles (windows)  will close and the hair will appear  shiny and smoother. At the other end of the spectrum, in the very extreme heat the cuticle will open, making the hair look frizzy or dull.   When the hair is exposed to constant heat, whether it’s from the temperature, or especially from heat devices like curling iron and flat iron‘s, those windows can sometimes be broken off the hair shaft and leave the hair with no ability to maintain any moisture level. It also renders the  hair in a state of constant dryness with very dull and frizzy look.  The cuticle layer cannot be re-generated!  Once it’s gone, it’s gone!

This  all sounds so negative. However, there is a remedy for this situation.   The remedy is MOISTURE! . If you  still have a cuticle layer in tact, and you able to moisturize the hair, then daily and/or weekly treatments can result in improved condition.  There are ranges  of what is called “ porosity” . Porosity is the hairs ability to absorb moisture.  This “ability” has to do with how much of the cuticle layer is still intact.  The porosity ranges from desirable to undesirable. Desirable of course is when you have most of the cuticle layer in tact and moisturizing and sealing the cuticle helps to improve the behavior and the look and feel of the hair. Undesirable, being where there is no cuticle left intact and it is difficult and sometimes impossible to keep moisture in the hair. Now that this is explained, let me further explain  an old wives tale, “I can’t condition my hair because conditioners make my hair too limp“. This couldn’t be further from the truth! The reason for someone’s hair to go flat after conditioning is simply that they’ve use the wrong conditioner! If you use a conditioner that lays on the outside of the hair, and you have fine  hair,  most likely you will get limp hair.  However, with proper moisturizing i.e. one that allows the moisture to penetrate and for the cuticle to close afterward, you will get renewed body, improved condition and lots and lots of shine. We don’t always get an opportunity to explain this to people because they’re so convinced that they can’t have conditioning. The truth about it is that it is the lack of moisture that causes here to go limp, or able to retain curl or style and has a constant look of frizz and dullness.   Most salon quality conditioners  have a balance of moisture and protein. As I said earlier, the moisture improves the hair’s flexibility and shine, and the protein helps to strengthen and reconstruct the hair. For hair that has some level of undesirable porosity, it’s also important to follow the deep conditioning or moisturizing with a leave in conditioner.  Leave in conditioners have a different pH and are formulated to help seal the cuticle , which in turn locks in the moisture.  There are other products like “serums“ that also aid with locking in moisture and sealing the cuticle. These serum‘s can be used as moisturizing conditioners and sealers.  Many if the salon level serums are fortified and infused with  botanical ingredients like silk protein and lipids.   I find these products to be terribly misused.  People are given wrong instruction and therefore don’t have the success that they’re looking for. Serums can be used on damp hair as well as dry here. When they were used on damp hair the hair is able to absorb them as it dries and it helps to moisturize and restructure the hair shaft. The trick is to use little amounts at a time;  on some heads of hair,  four or five dime size amount’s while the hair is damp gives the best results.  Serums should also be followed with the leave in conditioner. They can be used on dry hair to “polish” and “seal” the cuticle layer.