WARNING: Do NOT come into a hair salon and think that you'll be able to pull the wool over a hair dresser's eyes.
Yesterday, Tina had a client come in, wanting a perm. Once the client took her hat off, and started apologizing for the condition of her hair ("Oh, I didn't brush my hair today"), I started paying a bit of attention. I had a former hair dresser in my chair who audibly gasped when that hat came off, so I turned around. Unbelievably over processed hair. Not just "not brushed". OVER PROCESSED.
I called Tina over to me, privately, and told her that a strand test is a MUST. There is no way that we're going to provide a perm to anyone whose hair will not take it. Nope. Nada. No freakin' way. So, Tina took a sample strand from the back of her head, set it to soak in developer, and then gave the client a clarifying treatment to get out all the product in her hair. (the client has baby fine hair to start with, old, bad perm on the ends, and some old hair color to boot)
Tina took the strand out of the solution after 10 minutes, rinsed it. We then separated the strand into two sections; One for me to pull on, one to pull on in front of the client. What a surprise! The hair shredded in my fingers. No perm for you, honey.
Tina took the other strand out to the client, to do the same thing. The client was PISSED we didn't provide the service. She got a great haircut, a conditioning treatment, everything. Her comment: "Well, I won't be coming here again." Her husband, who works for Walmart, came into the salon to see how things were progressing. The wife put forth a snotty attitude when telling the husband why we were refusing the service. His comment? "Well, just go back to the other place and get it done". I can't wait to hear him bad mouth us. It will be fun explaining to him that you can't fool a hairdresser.
We don't normally refuse services to clients. It takes extenuating circumstances to do so. Head lice is number one. Open wounds on their scalp is another. Over processed hair is the third. Don't lie to me about what you've done to your hair. I'll find out, and manage to prove you a liar. It's certainly not something I enjoy doing, but it's something that has to be done. My license, my professional integrity, and my professional reputation is on the line. Not to mention the salon's reputation, which is always on the line. If we had gone ahead and permed her hair, we ran the very serious risk of her hair coming off in some one's hands, if not a point of service, then later on, while combing, washing, or brushing the hair. And then, whose fault is it?? The client who insisted on the perm?? Nope. The hairdresser who should have known better.
She'll go to another salon, she'll get the perm. She'll find a hairdresser with limited integrity (because there are a lot of them out there, trust me) who will look at her as dollar signs and not as a real person, and perm her hair. And when it disintegrates (not IF, WHEN), she'll understand why we wouldn't do the perm. Or, she'll just keep thinking we're a bunch of idiots. Doesn't matter to me. We did the right thing.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Other people's blogs
I read other blogs, particularly hairdressing ones. I don't claim to be the reigning authority on things, but, over the years, I've done my research so I can answer people's questions effectively and accurately.
Here are portions of the blog I read and just HAD to comment about.
"How to save on hair cuts, hair color and hair products"
1. "You only need to lather once" Really?? Here's how shampoo works: Shampoo has oil loving molecules and dirt loving molecules, meaning these molecules attract what is in your hair that needs to come out. The first soaping loosens up these items, the second soaping removes them completely from your hair, leaving your hair CLEAN. When you only soap it up once (particularly in the interest of "saving money"), you are not getting rid of what is making your hair "dirty". Consequently, your complaint is that such and such a shampoo is making my hair greasy.
2. "Skip the fancy schmancy shampoos & conditioners--you can get a good product at the grocery store" The cheaper the shampoo, the harsher it is on your hair. The cheaper the shampoo, the more you need to use to have "clean" hair. The cheaper the shampoo, the more often you find yourself purchasing MORE because you don't have enough to last you a while (even in the big bottles).
Professional product is more concentrated, so you use less. You almost NEVER need more than a quarter sized dollop of product, EVER, in your hair--the exception to the rule is usually a deep conditioning treatment. I DO agree with "buying the jumbo bottles"--you spend, in general, about 15-20 cents per ounce of product per bottle. A "serving" of product (to wash or condition your hair) is generally .02 ounces. Which means two shampooings plus a conditioning might cost you about 30 cents.
3. "Consider growing out your hair cut". Ummmmm.....you still need to get a hair cut, other wise it's a shaggy mess. All you're really doing is pushing out the cost of a hair cut a few more weeks. Really not a savings....
4. "If you get all over color, skip the salon and do it yourself". Do you know how to formulate for grey coverage?? How about for combating unwanted warmth in your hair?? Do you understand how permanent color actually works?? What's your formula for a gorgeous chocolate brown?? How about Cherry red?? Do you know why your hair feels "dry" after you color your hair??
I'm here to tell you most people don't even know what their natural color IS, let alone which box of color to choose, or that they need multiple boxes of color to correct/achieve what they're looking for.
5. "If you have oily hair, skip dry shampoo and apply baby powder to soak up excess oils". READ THE INGREDIENTS IN DRY SHAMPOOS. It's BAKING SODA!! Which, by the way, is cheaper than baby powder.
I think I'm done ranting for now....stay tuned!
Here are portions of the blog I read and just HAD to comment about.
"How to save on hair cuts, hair color and hair products"
1. "You only need to lather once" Really?? Here's how shampoo works: Shampoo has oil loving molecules and dirt loving molecules, meaning these molecules attract what is in your hair that needs to come out. The first soaping loosens up these items, the second soaping removes them completely from your hair, leaving your hair CLEAN. When you only soap it up once (particularly in the interest of "saving money"), you are not getting rid of what is making your hair "dirty". Consequently, your complaint is that such and such a shampoo is making my hair greasy.
2. "Skip the fancy schmancy shampoos & conditioners--you can get a good product at the grocery store" The cheaper the shampoo, the harsher it is on your hair. The cheaper the shampoo, the more you need to use to have "clean" hair. The cheaper the shampoo, the more often you find yourself purchasing MORE because you don't have enough to last you a while (even in the big bottles).
Professional product is more concentrated, so you use less. You almost NEVER need more than a quarter sized dollop of product, EVER, in your hair--the exception to the rule is usually a deep conditioning treatment. I DO agree with "buying the jumbo bottles"--you spend, in general, about 15-20 cents per ounce of product per bottle. A "serving" of product (to wash or condition your hair) is generally .02 ounces. Which means two shampooings plus a conditioning might cost you about 30 cents.
3. "Consider growing out your hair cut". Ummmmm.....you still need to get a hair cut, other wise it's a shaggy mess. All you're really doing is pushing out the cost of a hair cut a few more weeks. Really not a savings....
4. "If you get all over color, skip the salon and do it yourself". Do you know how to formulate for grey coverage?? How about for combating unwanted warmth in your hair?? Do you understand how permanent color actually works?? What's your formula for a gorgeous chocolate brown?? How about Cherry red?? Do you know why your hair feels "dry" after you color your hair??
I'm here to tell you most people don't even know what their natural color IS, let alone which box of color to choose, or that they need multiple boxes of color to correct/achieve what they're looking for.
5. "If you have oily hair, skip dry shampoo and apply baby powder to soak up excess oils". READ THE INGREDIENTS IN DRY SHAMPOOS. It's BAKING SODA!! Which, by the way, is cheaper than baby powder.
I think I'm done ranting for now....stay tuned!
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