Professionalism in the Salon

So, I have been having this conversation. It is one that has had all over your Instagrams, your talks, and it's just about professionalism. And in my profession, and I'm sure this happens across the board, when you have some people who are licensed, And those who may not be, and they're different sides. The story when you're looking at it from a client's perspective, who would say, like for me being a hair stylist, all hair stylist.

When they make that, that group or that assumption, it sounds really interesting that they group everybody who even touches here. In this category, but the, the debate is on the professional side that if you are not licensed, you are not a cosmetologist. And so I find that when we have these conversations about, things that could have gone wrong, In an establishment in the business and who they considered professional. It amazes me when somebody be like, I was going to this hairstylist.

And when they hit the story as to the bigger picture, of foolishness, be it you were at someone's house. You had people in and out. They were smoking, eating chicken over your head. She isn't really licensed, but she does a really good job. Oh, I've seen her pictures on Id. Oh, he does it, but he does it at home. He's, he or she is in a suite, but yeah, they don't really, you have to come with your hair shampooed.

I had a conversation with one of my friends who like, and this was her client, this is one of her clients' experiences, like the stylist literal told her she had to bring her own towel. And when they go, like you hairstylists like you customers who told you to choose the most unprofessional person to group into our profession said the people with the licenses who actually care. And so we get into these conversations and that debate is, for now, it is ongoing.

Right, because we have a lot of amazing artists. Artists who style wigs. Oh my gosh. They are phenomenal. Some may be licensed, some may not be, but the work is absolutely beautiful. You have some braiders, man, they out here creating designs like nobody's business. But you have those who are not licensed, but they create amazing artistry. And so from a professional standpoint, right, it's like, hmm. You know, they doing it at home.

You can't compare what I do in the salon, like really caring for the hair, talking to you about it, knowing and understanding the chemical reactions, taking classes, investing in myself my profession. And there are a lot of hair stylists out here that do, and don't get me wrong. There may be some professionals with a license doing things that they are not very versed in. They just need extra education.

It probably sometimes wasn't that, they weren't taught that because we get a, long list of things under our license, but those who like to do amazing styles who don't know much about the chemistry, Sanitation, cleanliness, the business side of things, talk a group of them into the same category as a professional salon, a cosmetologist. They aren't just hair stylists. These, these hair care professionals have gone to school, got license, they maintain their license, and that's a big thing.

Some people, I have to tell people, like when I'm talking to people coming into the salon and new people, like, no, I'm a master at what I do, and they looking like, well, What makes you that? Like I've taken several classes. I've been in this for years. I don't necessarily just take classes, but I also teach, I am all about the advancement and I'm about hair care. I am about the hair itself, not what's trending. You wanna keep it? I got you. Right.

And there's a lot of amazing professionals that will. Keep hair on your head. They are not gonna give a customer something that does not suit them, that they should not have, that they may not be able to keep. There are a lot of hair stylists out there like that. So when you have the other side of this, when you have a customer who says, yeah, it's really hard for me to find a hairstylist, my question always is to them. are you looking?

And sometimes like it amazes me at what they deemed as to be like a good hair stylist for them. Now, when I say to each its own, to each its own, but when you are looking for hair care, do not look at just the style that the stylist performs. Right. So I have come across people who literally will go to a salon or a specific person because of what they've seen them do. So they are going for a style. They're not talking about past the present or the future.

They want a specific look, and they're going specifically for that. But when you are thinking about. What do I wanna do with my hair long term? Right now my hair is in distress. You need to have a constant person who is a professional, not your cousin who did kind of go to to school. She might know a little something, but she don't really do it. She's not really invested in it. Nah, sis can't help you.

Shit. My cousin and went to a braider who makes her color her own hair and colors her own hair blow, dries it out and comes in and she sells her hair growth oil. how do you know that's gonna help her? Well, you don't even know what her problems lie you're just covering it up. And I asked my cousin, why would you buy a hair growth oil from somebody who doesn't even help you care for your hair? She just covers it up.

she hasn't trimmed it, none of that, which makes no sense, but they'll be like These, these hairstylists. No, it's not these hairstylists. Maybe it's your judgment of the person that you chose. Now, if you went for the hairstyle and you got the hairstyle, okay, great. But when we look for care, you want that level of professionalism. That's not where you invested your money. You went for the style for the person, and that's, that is their strong suit. That is their specialty.

You can't say these hairstylists. Because on the professional side, we looking like, please do not group us in to this foolishness of people going in. And you gotta come in with your head shampooed. You gotta bring your own towels, color your own head. Look, I don't do any of that. Like what? That is absolutely absurd. But you wanna blame the whole profession test to your problem and your lack of planning and your lack of research.

One of the things that I have to tell customers or anybody who is looking for a salon, it is if you go into a salon looking for answers, looking for help, looking for hair care, and no one never asks you a question about where you been and where you trying to go. They don't care and you're not getting hair care. And that is the honest to God truth is someone, and it is even coming from my professionals with a license who have been doing it.

And it doesn't matter if you're new or you're old, if you are not asking a person where they, what have they been doing with their hair and what they want to do with their hair, they don't care. They are here to get their money, give you the style, do whatever they said they was going to do, get you up out the chair. But if you're looking for hair care, you need to find that type of stylist that is going to give you the care.

Now I make sure, because I don't braid no more and I don't plan on braiding any longer ever. I don't even want to, I don't wanna add it back onto the menu, and I'm not going to. But I will let my clients know like, Hey, I know a really good braider. I send them to people who are professional and they're different types, so there's different braiders for different people.

So I have kind of a rapport with my clients where I know what type of person they are, personality and what type of salon they would fit in. And I give 'em usually two to three suggestions of, Hey, maybe this person, this person, and this person could work for you. What's the style that you're going for? Because we actually plan out the looks. As a professional, that's what I offer, and you get what you pay for.

And it, it amazes me at how people will randomly just be like, deciding today this is what I'm going to do and I'm gonna go and do it. And when it goes far left or you come out baldhead you mad at the person that you went to that may not have been. That professional and you sat down and got that hairstyle, it was way too tight and you were okay with it. It was a crazy environment in their house, and you were okay.

It could have been a price point, it could have been convenience, it could have been time. It amazes me. It absolutely amazes me that some people are okay with, Hey, I gotta pay a deposit, and she an hour late. What you pay the deposit, the stylists is an hour late, no communication and you wanna deem them as professional. gave this analogy because I'm sure that it is that way in other professions of.

I used this example the other day when I was having a conversation in a salon and I was like, you have a designer and you have a stylist. Now, let's be clear. A designer can definitely be a stylist because they can see the vision of what they created and put it on your body. Right, so they can style you up. They may even know what goes best with it because they actually, developed the blueprint. They have the education and expertise to completely, construct the garment so that it can fit you.

Now a stylist. Is not a designer for the most part. They know what to buy. They can see the vision of color and style and what's trending based on the trends of the fashion shows and the actual designers to say that, Hey, I think this would look best on you and understand how to fit it to you. They may be able to do some alteration sometimes, but actually construct and design the outfit. A lot of them don't. They know how to buy it and put it on your body. But do we say a stylist is a designer?

No, but a designer can be a stylist that goes the same for my industry, right? You have people that can do some amazing work, right? They may be able to braid really well. They may be able to lay the wigs, but a braider and a wig ologist does not need to have a license. To do your hair. They could be self-taught and they do an amazing job, but the hair care is some of the technicals they lack.

So if something goes left, you cannot put them in the same category as a professional, And be like, oh, oh you hairstylist. I wish you could stop saying it like we're all wine. Be specific because it's crazy cuz it just gives the professionals a bad name when the customer has not done their due diligence or do the research.

If I needed a dress designed, would I just go to a stylist who can buy clothes or would I go to a designer, a seamstress, someone who can actually construct the outfit that I need, not just purchase it. Sometimes it just takes a little bit more research and consistency. Well, for you clients out there looking for a hair stylist, things to look for is if you're using Instagram, you're using their webpages.

Do you find when you look at them, When you look at their pages, does it seem like they have a specialty and a specialty being like it's a consistent look across the board? A lot of them, you can see where their, their favorites lie, where their strengths are. And it could be like, Hey, I see that she does a lot of short hair, so maybe hair down the back. She could do, but that isn't her thing. But you see what she loves. She does a lot of color. She does natural hair. She may do extensions.

You can see what they love. And if you are a person who likes to have multiple looks, that could be someone in your arsenal, because sometimes it takes a tribe to be beautiful. It really does. You should have somebody or you should have a braider. You can have your person that does your weaves if your regular hair stylist does not do it.

But first and foremost, you need to have somebody that you see consistently who knows your hair, who is maintaining it, doing your conditioning treatments, doing your tra and caring for your natural hair, not just covering it up. They know what's been going on and you see them regularly, even in between your protective styling or your cover up styling, whatever you wanna call it, right? So you are looking at what's their specialty, see what's going on.

second of all, when you book an appointment, And some require consultations. Please, please, please take advantage of the consultation. That is your chance to get to know your doctor, your hair doctor. What is it that they can do for me? What do they suggest? Are you in a space that you need help and you need to ask the questions that you can to get to where you wanna be or the look that you would like to have or the color that you want?

Appreciate those who give you a consultation and be patient. Sometimes it just takes patience, but be grateful that somebody ask you what you want and they're just not like, this is what I offer. This is what you going to get, what you going to do. So it's more about your goals. Where are you going? Checking out what's their specialty. Having a conversation consultation is important. It, it is imperative for your hair care. You gotta have it.

And lastly is to have a team, have your team have your star in five. But you still have to have your name, you have to have that stylist who is there that you see that actually cares for your hair. And that may be all in one person. He or she may be your colorist, your ologist, your hair cutter, your, if you are still getting relaxers, your natural hair stylists, because there are some stylists who out here are so multi-talented.

They have so many skills and it's amazing and some may choose not to do it and just choose to specialize in certain areas because that may be where they are right now. But there are some professionals who actually know about hair care. Your dos, you don't, your whys and your why nots, you gotta have one on your team. Because sitting at home and doing what we have been doing, all these years of thinking that we know about our hair, this is what we do, and your hair's stagnant, it's dry.

It's not growing because you haven't even consulted a professional to really know where your problem is. Don't keep grouping professionals and the licensed professionals within non-licensed professionals. When y'all complain, be real specific about who you chose to go to because you made that appointment, you made that deposit, you searched on Instagram, you liked it because it had the likes. Figure out who works for you.

But if they don't even ask you what you want, where you coming from and where you going, they don't care. And you get what you get. And I know this across the board, barbers do it. Nail techs, professional nail techs really care about the health of the nails, makeup artists who are not just there to cover up blemishes but can tell you about some that are estheticians, and it can actually tell you about skincare and not just the makeup to cover it up.

And you have some people who have been in these industries for a long time doing what they do, but it doesn't always mean that they're knowledgeable. That's facts. Doesn't mean that they're knowledgeable. Some people don't invest in learning something new, but you guys gotta do a little bit more research with those who you consider professional and those who are not. So stop grouping us all together. I gave y'all my whole professional spiel out here and my Patrice randomness.

Stop grouping us all together. Please get it together y'all, because in this day and age really is so much information and so much research that you can do to figure out who could best help you, and then when you're burned by the one who you chose who was literally in the kitchen with boyfriend, baby daddy. Coming in and out doing all kinds of craziness and foolishness, and you wanna group them together with the rest of the professionals, and that's the person you chose to go to.

That's the person you chose to book with, and you chose to keep that appointment. It ain't always on them. You made the choice. But this conversation's just about that professional versus nonprofessional license versus the unlicensed. There are some amazing artists out here, but be clear about what you are looking. Vote before you go grouping us all together. And I think that's a song, right for today. I love y'all. Today is the day that you guys knowledge is power.

Learn something new, do something different. If you found that you had not been to a hair stylist who was professional C one, have a conversation, have a consultation. Listen to the suggestions. Really learn about your hair. The more you know, the more the hell will grow. And that's today's, tea. Get your girl pee. Until next time, I know you guys got options and you could have been anywhere, but you chose to be here with me and I thank you. I thank you. I thank you. I thank you.

Until next time and all of that, the trees be randomness. See you soon.