Yesterday was a fabulous day off. Really. Katie is going to her first semi-formal dance this coming weekend, so we were out and about, pulling together an outfit. So, we actually had a fun weekend. Found a dress & shoes on Saturday, however, the dress needs a "shrug", so we were off looking for one. Didn't purchase one, as we didn't have the dress with us (It's still at the shop...Gram is going to help pay for it, I put the deposit down on it. Not a ton of money, but more than I can shell out in one sitting...thank God for Gram!!)
And then, I had a Facebook message when I got home. And Facebook was being temperamental, so it took me more than an hour before I could access the message. My best friend, who works at Walmart, had messaged me to let me know that the salon didn't open on time. And that it was considerably later when it did finally open. So, I called the salon to find out what happened.
Rita answered the phone, and when I asked what the heck was going on, she passed the phone to Stephie as she was the one who opened and not Rita. The excuse I got was "I was running late". And when I tried to get into it with her a bit, she cut me off with "I've got a client in my chair". So, I said "Fine. We'll talk about this later". Then, after hanging up, I got in the car and drove over to the store.
When I got there, I made sure to clock in, so I would get paid for being there. I managed to find my best friend, who filled me in on what she knew. A customer, expressly for the salon (as he didn't have a cart of goods to purchase from Walmart) was waiting in front of the salon, for it to open. When the call came over the walkie-talkies (which all the supervisors at Walmart wear...looks like a blue-tooth thingy in their ears) for anyone to know what's going on at the salon, it attracted her attention, so she first tried calling me, but I didn't answer the phone (as I was out for the day), so she facebooked me with what was going on. About 15 minutes after that, she FB'd me again, letting me know the salon was now open.
When I spoke to Stephie on the phone, she let me know she'd clocked in at 9:56 and opened the salon immediately. This is where I started getting hot under the collar. We're supposed to be there 15 minutes before our shift starts. This isn't a Beth rule, it's a company policy. And, this is a conversation we've had before, fairly recently. When I got to the salon, Stephie did, indeed, have a client, so I waited patiently, for her to be done. It's actually mildly entertaining to watch people delay the inevitable. When she went to place her dirty towels in the laundry was when I asked her to step into the back room.
I shut the door, turned around and asked her exactly what happened this morning. I got the running late excuse, I got the "what time is the time I'm supposed to follow, the time clock or " real time"" excuse. She talked over the top of me, to which I started to raise my voice a bit, to be heard over her. To which she got even more upset and told me not to raise my voice. I informed her that 9:45 is 9:45. The time clock is the clock you go by, period. Cell phone time (which is considered "real time"), alarm clock at home, the clock on the wall, don't matter. It's the time clock that is the clock to go by. Did I mention this is a conversation we've had before?? I was angry enough that I also mentioned her not taking lunches when she's scheduled a long enough day to take one. And we went round and round about that one, too. I interrupted her (because I got tired of talking over the top of her and not being heard) to inform her that when you work 6 hours or more, you MUST take a half hour lunch break. This is not only corporate policy, but NH state law. And I wouldn't let her talk any further. She got angrier and ended the conversation. I did let her know Tammy was going to find out about this.
After I got home, I placed that very phone call. And spoke into the voicemail for 10 minutes before it cut me off. So, I'm hoping, between the message I left on Saturday morning about "Would you please call me on Monday around 8:45 so we can talk about the issues we're having...all attendance issues". I'm also going to bring up the fact that I'm not going to do the manager job any longer without receiving the managers pay (which increases my commission to 50% instead of 40, but, I believe, doesn't increase my hourly rate). If she doesn't want to pay me, that's fine. Then I'm not doing the manager's job any longer. Get someone else to do it or get an area supervisor in here to do the damn job. (I'll leave out the damn, though) It should be an interesting week.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Old School.....
I was just reading a question on David Velasco's website, about filling the hair and using permanent color afterward. Some of the answers were mighty interesting. And most of them were from old school hairdressers who just won't change what they're doing. All are convinced that by using a lower volume developer or by even using distilled water, it's less damaging than by using 20 volume and permanent color.
Can you use water with permanent color?? Sure. Won't be as effective, but yes, you can. Here's why: The chemical composition of water is H2O...2 molecules of hydrogen to one molecule of oxygen. The chemical composition of Hydrogen Peroxide is H2O2...2 molecules of hydrogen to 2 molecules of oxygen. So, what happens when you use water with permanent color is that it slows things down, making the color "safe" in the eyes of the stylist. But, here's why it's really not. The permanent hair color contains ammonia or an ammonia substitute. What ammonia does is swell the cuticle, allowing the developer (in this case, water) and the pigment inside the hair shaft, to work on breaking up the natural pigment in your hair and deposit the artificial pigment at the same time. Because water is missing that extra molecule of oxygen, it's not working as quickly as peroxide does. The ammonia is what causes all the damage and "dryness" in the hair when you use permanent color.
The ammonia swells the cuticle open. The cuticle remains open. Lets say you don't like the color you used, so you go out and buy another permanent hair color to change what you did. So, you mix the product up, and apply it all over your hair, looking for a change. Just for fun, lets say you waited a month to change your hair color, so you've got some new growth going on. Here's what happens: The new growth will be close to the color you want. It more than likely will be considerably brighter than what the picture on the box dictates you will get. The rest of your hair?? Well, it might be the color you're looking for, it might be darker. It will more than likely look "muddy" after a few shampoos. Why?? Because the dye load isn't permanent!! Just like when you polish your shoes, they look marvelous for a few days or even a week. Then, you have to polish them, again, because the polish has worn off.
Permanent hair color works much the same way. Should you be coloring your hair every week to make up for this?? Not with permanent hair color!! The other "fun" thing that happens when you keep applying permanent hair color on top of permanent hair color is that the cuticle not only remains open, it opens even wider, causing the edges of the hair shaft (cuticle) to resemble frayed jeans. Then, when you add water when shampooing, those frayed edges fuse together, temporarily, causing your hair to feel "dry" and for you to feel like you need a TON of conditioner (which won't work, by the way) to get a comb through your hair. At this point, the damage cannot be "fixed", no matter what product you put in your hair. The only cure for this kind of damage is a hair cut. And yet, hairdressers, particularly the old school ones, will continually blame the cheap product you use at home instead of realizing that THEY are causing the damage by dragging that permanent hair color through the hair every time or every other time they color their client's hair.
Have I done this before?? Sure. Then I educated myself, courtesy of David Velasco and Beth Minardi. And I don't do color this way any longer. And because I don't do my own color like that any longer, my hair is infinitely more cooperative than it ever used to be!!
Can you use water with permanent color?? Sure. Won't be as effective, but yes, you can. Here's why: The chemical composition of water is H2O...2 molecules of hydrogen to one molecule of oxygen. The chemical composition of Hydrogen Peroxide is H2O2...2 molecules of hydrogen to 2 molecules of oxygen. So, what happens when you use water with permanent color is that it slows things down, making the color "safe" in the eyes of the stylist. But, here's why it's really not. The permanent hair color contains ammonia or an ammonia substitute. What ammonia does is swell the cuticle, allowing the developer (in this case, water) and the pigment inside the hair shaft, to work on breaking up the natural pigment in your hair and deposit the artificial pigment at the same time. Because water is missing that extra molecule of oxygen, it's not working as quickly as peroxide does. The ammonia is what causes all the damage and "dryness" in the hair when you use permanent color.
The ammonia swells the cuticle open. The cuticle remains open. Lets say you don't like the color you used, so you go out and buy another permanent hair color to change what you did. So, you mix the product up, and apply it all over your hair, looking for a change. Just for fun, lets say you waited a month to change your hair color, so you've got some new growth going on. Here's what happens: The new growth will be close to the color you want. It more than likely will be considerably brighter than what the picture on the box dictates you will get. The rest of your hair?? Well, it might be the color you're looking for, it might be darker. It will more than likely look "muddy" after a few shampoos. Why?? Because the dye load isn't permanent!! Just like when you polish your shoes, they look marvelous for a few days or even a week. Then, you have to polish them, again, because the polish has worn off.
Permanent hair color works much the same way. Should you be coloring your hair every week to make up for this?? Not with permanent hair color!! The other "fun" thing that happens when you keep applying permanent hair color on top of permanent hair color is that the cuticle not only remains open, it opens even wider, causing the edges of the hair shaft (cuticle) to resemble frayed jeans. Then, when you add water when shampooing, those frayed edges fuse together, temporarily, causing your hair to feel "dry" and for you to feel like you need a TON of conditioner (which won't work, by the way) to get a comb through your hair. At this point, the damage cannot be "fixed", no matter what product you put in your hair. The only cure for this kind of damage is a hair cut. And yet, hairdressers, particularly the old school ones, will continually blame the cheap product you use at home instead of realizing that THEY are causing the damage by dragging that permanent hair color through the hair every time or every other time they color their client's hair.
Have I done this before?? Sure. Then I educated myself, courtesy of David Velasco and Beth Minardi. And I don't do color this way any longer. And because I don't do my own color like that any longer, my hair is infinitely more cooperative than it ever used to be!!
Saturday, September 10, 2011
The 4 C's............
Thank you, Redken NYC, for this topic!!
During your consultation, it's soooo important to go over these 4 subjects (and this applies to all services, really) concerning your color.
CONDITION: What condition is the hair in?? What does it feel like, both dry and wet?? What does it look like?? How is the porosity? Does the client have water issues?? Does the client take medications??
All of these are vital questions. If their hair is in poor condition, over processed, either by chemicals or by the sun, you'll need to do one of two things: Adjust the formula accordingly, or refuse to do the service. (which, if you have an ounce of integrity, you'll do if the hair is compromised).
Water issues: If they have well water, do they have a water conditioner/softener that equals out the mineral levels in the water?? If not, you may need to do an intense clarifying treatment (Malibu comes to mind) to cleanse the hair and make sure there's an at home treatment they can purchase to follow up with. Too many minerals in the hair can cause the hair to smoke (when introduced to hair chemicals), cause the color to be even darker than expected, or to not "take" at all.
Medications: All medication, all drugs, come out in the hair. Your hair is a part of your elimination system, like sweat and tears are. So, everything you put into your body (BP meds, blood thinners, illegal drugs, vitamins) all come out on your hair. Heavy doses of medications will coat the hair and prevent the chemicals from doing their job properly, resulting in an unhappy client who receives a free service (or two) to correct the mistake, costing both you and the salon, a bunch of money.
CHANGE: How much of a change are you looking for?? Subtle?? Dramatic?? You'd better be explaining what you have to do to take them from one color to another. Generally, it means using decolorizer (bleach) which changes the texture and porosity of the hair. It also means that to extract certain colors from the hair (black & red) will be very difficult and you man not get the results you're looking for.
COMMITMENT: To maintain the color, you must prescribe a routine for the client to come back in to get things touched up/adjusted. Some colors require serious maintenance. For example, lets say we take you to a fabulous pale blonde. To maintain that, you, the client, need to come in no more than 4 weeks from your last appointment to get your color dealt with so that it matches. Anything longer than that, and the stylist has to deal with the attractive gold band that keratinized hair creates. And , if the colorist doesn't deal with it (and charge accordingly, don't forget to tell the client this part well before the next appointment), the client will think you screwed something up and will expect you to fix it, free of charge.
COST: How much will it cost for this initial service?? How much will it cost to maintain it?? What if the color needs a toner?? How about adding highlights to break it up?? Is the finishing service (haircut, blow dry) included in the cost??
All of this requires a 5th "C"..COMMUNICATION!! If you, the hairdresser, do not have good communication skills, you will not be able to gain and keep your clients trust. They trust you, as the "professional", to not only know what you're doing, but to know what you're talking about. Which leads to:
HONESTY: You must, AT ALL TIMES, be honest with your client. Even if it means telling them: I may have to adjust the formula for next time if this isn't quite right this time. This also applies when you're selling at home care. If you don't know how something works, FIND OUT. DO NOT LIE TO YOUR CLIENT!!
I listen, daily, to hairdressers, who have no clue what they're saying, try to lie to their clients. We're in a powerful position because we have immediate trust placed in us. Lying to the client to cover your ineptitude just doesn't work. AND, it takes your credibility and flushes it right down the toilet.
READ: Do not rely on your coworkers to be able to answer all your questions. READ. Seek out more knowledge on your own. Then, when you don't understand something, ASK.
There is so much more to this job than the average person realizes. So, the next time you're thinking hairdressers are ditzy, or not very bright, or they only went to hairdressing school because they couldn't get into college, please think again. Our job is a lot more than just grabbing a head of hair and going for it.
During your consultation, it's soooo important to go over these 4 subjects (and this applies to all services, really) concerning your color.
CONDITION: What condition is the hair in?? What does it feel like, both dry and wet?? What does it look like?? How is the porosity? Does the client have water issues?? Does the client take medications??
All of these are vital questions. If their hair is in poor condition, over processed, either by chemicals or by the sun, you'll need to do one of two things: Adjust the formula accordingly, or refuse to do the service. (which, if you have an ounce of integrity, you'll do if the hair is compromised).
Water issues: If they have well water, do they have a water conditioner/softener that equals out the mineral levels in the water?? If not, you may need to do an intense clarifying treatment (Malibu comes to mind) to cleanse the hair and make sure there's an at home treatment they can purchase to follow up with. Too many minerals in the hair can cause the hair to smoke (when introduced to hair chemicals), cause the color to be even darker than expected, or to not "take" at all.
Medications: All medication, all drugs, come out in the hair. Your hair is a part of your elimination system, like sweat and tears are. So, everything you put into your body (BP meds, blood thinners, illegal drugs, vitamins) all come out on your hair. Heavy doses of medications will coat the hair and prevent the chemicals from doing their job properly, resulting in an unhappy client who receives a free service (or two) to correct the mistake, costing both you and the salon, a bunch of money.
CHANGE: How much of a change are you looking for?? Subtle?? Dramatic?? You'd better be explaining what you have to do to take them from one color to another. Generally, it means using decolorizer (bleach) which changes the texture and porosity of the hair. It also means that to extract certain colors from the hair (black & red) will be very difficult and you man not get the results you're looking for.
COMMITMENT: To maintain the color, you must prescribe a routine for the client to come back in to get things touched up/adjusted. Some colors require serious maintenance. For example, lets say we take you to a fabulous pale blonde. To maintain that, you, the client, need to come in no more than 4 weeks from your last appointment to get your color dealt with so that it matches. Anything longer than that, and the stylist has to deal with the attractive gold band that keratinized hair creates. And , if the colorist doesn't deal with it (and charge accordingly, don't forget to tell the client this part well before the next appointment), the client will think you screwed something up and will expect you to fix it, free of charge.
COST: How much will it cost for this initial service?? How much will it cost to maintain it?? What if the color needs a toner?? How about adding highlights to break it up?? Is the finishing service (haircut, blow dry) included in the cost??
All of this requires a 5th "C"..COMMUNICATION!! If you, the hairdresser, do not have good communication skills, you will not be able to gain and keep your clients trust. They trust you, as the "professional", to not only know what you're doing, but to know what you're talking about. Which leads to:
HONESTY: You must, AT ALL TIMES, be honest with your client. Even if it means telling them: I may have to adjust the formula for next time if this isn't quite right this time. This also applies when you're selling at home care. If you don't know how something works, FIND OUT. DO NOT LIE TO YOUR CLIENT!!
I listen, daily, to hairdressers, who have no clue what they're saying, try to lie to their clients. We're in a powerful position because we have immediate trust placed in us. Lying to the client to cover your ineptitude just doesn't work. AND, it takes your credibility and flushes it right down the toilet.
READ: Do not rely on your coworkers to be able to answer all your questions. READ. Seek out more knowledge on your own. Then, when you don't understand something, ASK.
There is so much more to this job than the average person realizes. So, the next time you're thinking hairdressers are ditzy, or not very bright, or they only went to hairdressing school because they couldn't get into college, please think again. Our job is a lot more than just grabbing a head of hair and going for it.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Busy, Busy, Busy...
Not only have I hit commission twice in recent history, Stephie has actually gotten to commission, as well. Rita even got it. How did this happen?? Well, we got crazy busy, and Tina was on vacation for 4 days, so we were down a whole person. If we can manage to keep it going with 3 of us making commission and one of us not (doesn't matter who), it should keep things relatively under control. We'll see. It's not the plan I wish to stick with long term, but it may help things for a tiny bit. Lets hope things continue to trend in the right direction!!
Mostly, what I'm looking for is to keep Tammy off my back. Yesterday, I managed, in between clients, to get the ordering done, the schedules done, and faxed to her. Of course, the faxing didn't get done until 4:45pm, but, hey...they were on her desk by 5pm on Monday. (I'm betting she had yesterday off)
Last Thursday, I wound up pulling a 12 hour day. It was "Everybody loves Beth" day....I had a bunch of haircuts, then 3 back to back colors. All of them in the warm ranges. Two of them were on the more cinnamon side of things, and one was a bit brighter. That one, however, was also a p in the a. This client has some oddness going on. First of all, she has coarse hair. Not super coarse, but definitely coarse. Which automatically makes me formulate a little differently, to make sure the color does it's job. However, this is the second time I've done her color, and this is the second time her base color has lifted higher than expected, even though I've used 20 volume, which, in theory, isn't supposed to lift her regrowth as high as it does.
20 Volume, when mixed with the actual color, is supposed to lift no more than 2 levels lighter than the natural hair color. On coarse hair, you're supposed to expect it to lift less than that. Not on this client. Her regrowth is HOT...and not in a good way. On top of this, my client is someone who deals with a lot of anxiety. So, when I mess up her hair, her anxiety levels increase, which increase MY anxiety levels!!! Sigh....and she came back in yesterday for me to fix her hair. Which still pulled HOT, even though I only used demi on her regrowth to try to fix part of the issue. Luckily, it will all fade in time. However, I need to make the adjustments to her formula.
Also, she has "the" haircut...a stacked bob. Not the easiest haircut in the world to accomplish. And, especially, not on her hair. She didn't want it so severely stacked in the back this time, but wanted the angle in the front to still be sharp. So, I tried to accomplish this. Nope. Not so much. So, I fixed that, too....slowly, and carefully. She was a much happier person when she left yesterday. Which, in turn, made me happier, too.
My last client on Thursday was someone I've been trying to get into my chair for a very long time. And, thank GOD, I was able to deliver what she asked. I did a minor goof in that I tried to use her current hair color as highlights, and that didn't work so well. But, she was okay with whatever I did, really, which was nice. By the time I was done, she had a fabulous cinnamon red color. Now, if I could just figure out how to get her bushy hair under control!!
Some of that will happen when she switches to smoothing products and embraces her curl instead of trying to smooth it out all the time. Baby steps....baby steps...
Mostly, what I'm looking for is to keep Tammy off my back. Yesterday, I managed, in between clients, to get the ordering done, the schedules done, and faxed to her. Of course, the faxing didn't get done until 4:45pm, but, hey...they were on her desk by 5pm on Monday. (I'm betting she had yesterday off)
Last Thursday, I wound up pulling a 12 hour day. It was "Everybody loves Beth" day....I had a bunch of haircuts, then 3 back to back colors. All of them in the warm ranges. Two of them were on the more cinnamon side of things, and one was a bit brighter. That one, however, was also a p in the a. This client has some oddness going on. First of all, she has coarse hair. Not super coarse, but definitely coarse. Which automatically makes me formulate a little differently, to make sure the color does it's job. However, this is the second time I've done her color, and this is the second time her base color has lifted higher than expected, even though I've used 20 volume, which, in theory, isn't supposed to lift her regrowth as high as it does.
20 Volume, when mixed with the actual color, is supposed to lift no more than 2 levels lighter than the natural hair color. On coarse hair, you're supposed to expect it to lift less than that. Not on this client. Her regrowth is HOT...and not in a good way. On top of this, my client is someone who deals with a lot of anxiety. So, when I mess up her hair, her anxiety levels increase, which increase MY anxiety levels!!! Sigh....and she came back in yesterday for me to fix her hair. Which still pulled HOT, even though I only used demi on her regrowth to try to fix part of the issue. Luckily, it will all fade in time. However, I need to make the adjustments to her formula.
Also, she has "the" haircut...a stacked bob. Not the easiest haircut in the world to accomplish. And, especially, not on her hair. She didn't want it so severely stacked in the back this time, but wanted the angle in the front to still be sharp. So, I tried to accomplish this. Nope. Not so much. So, I fixed that, too....slowly, and carefully. She was a much happier person when she left yesterday. Which, in turn, made me happier, too.
My last client on Thursday was someone I've been trying to get into my chair for a very long time. And, thank GOD, I was able to deliver what she asked. I did a minor goof in that I tried to use her current hair color as highlights, and that didn't work so well. But, she was okay with whatever I did, really, which was nice. By the time I was done, she had a fabulous cinnamon red color. Now, if I could just figure out how to get her bushy hair under control!!
Some of that will happen when she switches to smoothing products and embraces her curl instead of trying to smooth it out all the time. Baby steps....baby steps...
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