Salons & Beauty Schools Go Green
Hair Salons, beauty schools, cosmetology schools, hair schools, and even barber schools are joining the environmental move to reduce emissions and lower carbon footprints. Here are ways a beauty school can modify an existing facility or include green construction ideas in a new building.
There are many ways of going green in the beauty industy. Influential businesses like Paul Mitchell are retro-fitting existing beauty schools or constructing new beauty schools, cosmetology schools, and hair schools in a manner to lessen their carbon footprints.
Energy Efficiency in Beauty School
According to Carbon Footprint, “Low energy light bulbs use less than 20% of the energy of a conventional light bulb, and can last up to 15 times longer.” Switching regular light bulbs to compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) or LED light bulbs is a smart move for beauty schools. The switch helps conserve energy, and disposing of these types of bulbs is safer. Installing LED light exterior signs to replace older technology neon lights also saves electricity, as do timers and motion sensors.
Laundries
Laundries are a natural area for greening hair schools. This is achieved by replacing aging equipment with high efficiency washers and energy-saving dryers. By combining these low emission appliances with the purchase of all natural cleaning products and soaps, hair schools reduce energy requirements. Replacing synthetic towels and linens with items made from organic or natural fibers is another positive way of going green in beauty school. The finishing touch is using cloth capes instead of vinyl – better for customers and the environment. (more…)
5 Ways to Increase Client Spending
Prebook the next appointment before clients leave the salon. Train and reward your team for the percentage of clients they re-book.
Confirm client appointments the week before. Contact them by phone, email or SMS.
Provide value for money; do a good job at the right price. Listen carefully to your clients’ needs and adapt your services accordingly.
Privilege your regular clients with “VIP” cards; offer a complimentary service after 5 visits.
Treat clients with add-on services that are low-cost to you, i.e. complimentary head massage or treatments.
The Art of Freehand Cutting
Freehand hair cutting and coloring techniques are designed to customize and cater to the uniqueness of every client, even to the extent of their individual hair strands.
We are pushing these freehand techniques and working with the hair’s natural texture, whether curly or straight. So the end result is that air grows out better and is easier to maintain.
The best thing we can do for our clients is to not only listen but hear their desires. They will guide us to what’s fashionable. INDIVIDUALITY.
As hairdressers, we always want to change, but the unique canvas we are given — with its imperfections — can be the most beautiful thing about them.
Freehand cutting
Freehand cutting is a different way of looking at the approach to cutting hair. It is less rigid than the way hairdressers are initially taught when they first learn the art of cutting. We are usually taught to keep the hair wet, and that by cutting straight lines, we create the foundations. This is very important because it gives us a good understanding on how to build a solid shape.
Then we learn to combine the different forms of layering and graduation cutting to enable us to create other shapes. This form of cutting is generally done in a fairly technical manner, and is easy to put into a blueprint, which makes it reasonably easy to teach others.
With freehand cutting, the hair is often dry, which allows you to see the hair for what it is. Sometimes you use scissors without a comb, leaving one hand free to move the hair around. This may be where the term “freehand” comes from. Observing the natural textures of the hair is what it’s all about to get the most out of it.
Like most things we do, the more you practice this approach, the more you begin to really understand it. To the untrained eye, it can appear that the cutter is randomly cutting without any real logic or sense, moving around the head in an unconventional away. This is because you are looking at the haircut as a whole as opposed to looking at it in small sections, moving the hair around to reveal areas that appear to weak or to strong. You are looking at the balance of your shape as a whole in relation to the face and body, as opposed to pulling pieces of hair from either side of the head to see if they are the same length.
When you first start to use this form of cutting, it can feel very unusual and leave you feeling uncertain as to where to cut and what to look for. It is important to have a strong idea in your head of what you want to achieve.
It can take time to “train your eye to see,” and have a good vision as to where you want to end up. The journey can often change while you’re cutting, so having a good vision as to how to keep things on track is essential. Be honest with yourself and move the hair around to truly see that the cut is working from all angles. The bottom line is that once you have fine-tuned this technique of cutting, the client needs do very little to her hair to achieve a great shape because it has been sculpted with the scissors and not the dryer.
Everyone’s hair grows differently, with different growth patterns, textures and thicknesses. Allowing the hair to dry while cutting allows you to see this better and work with what you think of as the imperfections
Sometimes you may wash and dry the hair before you start the cut, and sometimes you may start the cut before you wash. There are no set rules, if your client shows up with her hair pulled back, it is difficult to see what is working with the previous haircut and what is not. Educate your client to come in with their hair free so that they will get more out of your consultation. It will be much clearer what needs to be done.
I have had clients with curly hair who I’ve asked to wash their hair a few days prior to coming in because that’s when their texture works best, leaving me more time to cut there hair in the appointment time given. Again, educate your client how to get the most out of you.
At the end of the day, they are paying for the appointment time and not a wash, cut and blow dry, so the way you use that time to get the best result is up to you.
I personally believe that the so-called imperfections in hair are what give haircuts character. It’s just a matter of knowing how to make the haircut work in a way that it has good character. Relying on the blow dryer or flat iron to make the haircut behave a certain way can be an easy trap to fall into. While good styling techniques are an art, relying on those skill to make an average haircut look like a great one can shift the emphasis away from the cut.
Let’s face it, how often does a client comment they can never get their hair to do what the hairdresser does?
Buy your hair styling shears today from Shiro Shears
Hairdressers are especially suited to working for themselves!
Have You Considered Self-Employment?
by Shiro Shears on Monday, February 15, 2010
Working for yourself. What an amazing dream. But it doesn’t have to remain a dream: millions of people run their own businesses, people just like you. This may surprise you but hairdressers are especially suited to working for themselves.
Your typical hairdresser is confident and outgoing—essential qualities for building up a client base or going to ask your bank manager for a loan, and hairdressers are great at multi-tasking; a bonus when you have to be receptionist, accountant, promoter and sales person all rolled into one!
Hairdressers have fantastic time-management skills (that’s what it’s called when you get through a day with a double column and nobody turns up on time), are hardworking, determined, and creative. All these qualities are the bedrock of entrepreneurs and all you need is the knowledge of how to put them into practice.
So why work for yourself? Isn’t it easier just to go to work and come home without any worry or responsibility? To have the security of regular wages, holiday pay and sick pay?
OF COURSE IT IS! But just because it’s easier, doesn’t mean it’s better. What about freedom to choose the hours you work and the type of clients you see? What about the potential to have no limits on your earnings and to keep all the profits for yourself?
And what about the satisfaction of knowing that YOU did it? You built your business up from nothing and look at you now! (more…)
Tips and Tricks: Taking Care of your Hair Styling Shears
How to Maintain your Shears – Tips and Tricks:
- Clean them every day with dish soap/hand soap and warm water. This will clean any chemicals, hair, and dust stuck to the steel.
- Check Tension Daily: Make sure your tension is not too loose or too tight. If they are too loose, they will not cut; but if they are too tight, they will become dull much faster.
- Storage: Always keep your shears in a scissors case. We have seen far too many stylist with shears piled up in a drawer where they get easily damaged.
- Never use disinfectant spray on your shears, and don’t ever put them in Barbicide. These harsh chemicals will destroy the steel and cause it to rust.
Properly maintained hair styling shears will last you for years. Hair cutting shears are a hair stylist’s most important tool. As a stylist, you pay way too much for your shears to just let them become a victim to improper care.
Written by Shiro Shears
The 411 on Hair Cutting
In the design process, you must have a vision of what you want to create before you ever put the scissors in the hair. Anyone can make hair shorter. A true designer and artist will start with a strong and complete vision.
BULLET-POINT YOUR VISION
Think through each aspect of your vision. Where do you want to create weight? Where do you want to remove weight? How do you want the length of the hair to flow, from front to back or from back to front? How will the fringe frame the face in terms of length and movement? You simply won’t end up with something fabulous unless you’ve clearly visualized every path that will lead you there.
TALK THE TALK
Your vision is developed from the conversation between you and the client. No matter how well you believe you understand what the client wants, you can avoid a lot of complaints by double-checking. As the final step in the consultation, repeat back to the client what the two of you have decided to do. For example, confirm length to be removed by using your comb to show the client precisely what an inch means to you. You may discover that your concept of an inch does not match the client’s mental image.
Clients consistently ask for “a change,” so you must dig deeper to determine exactly what that means. You want to make sure that clients will be comfortable with the amount of change theysay they want. Try asking a question using an analogy. For example: “If we were making a change to your living room, would you be looking for a complete remodel that includes knocking down walls, bringing in all new furniture and possibly switching out the furniture style? Or, do you simply want to rearrange what you already have in a new way?” This type of questioning will give you insight into your client’s personal comfort and clue you into what she really means by “change.”
PARTINGS STRAIGHTEN YOUR THOUGHTS
Partings are a fantastic way to stay organized while you execute your haircut. It is easy to get lost in the hair and off track, but using strong partings will help you stay focused on where you are in the haircut. They also communicate to your client that you are professional and skilled. Clean partings are a sign of discipline.
SYSTEMIZE THE PROCESS
As part of your fundamental training as a hair designer, you should have learned a hair cutting system. If this was not provided at your cosmetology school or during a training period at your salon, take a class with a product line. Many haircare companies offer great systems.
A cutting system gives you an approach to use to execute your hair design. It teaches important details such as clean combing, partings, terminology, techniques and elevation. Learning a system will allow you to translate any hair cutting demonstration you observe into actions you can use to recreate what you’ve seen.
A HEADS UP ON POSTURE
As you proceed with the cut, stay aware of your body as well as your client’s body. Remember: You will always bring your work toward yourself, so make sure you are in the right position. Keep your work square to your body. If you are working a traveling guide while layering, make sure your body is moving with the direction of your sections.
It is just as important for your client’s body to be properly positioned. Develop these good habits:
- Instruct your client to keep her legs uncrossed when you are working on your baseline.
- Turn your client’s head when you are working on hair past the shoulders to avoid adding unintentional elevation on the sides.
- When you are creating a shorter baseline, such as a classic bob, you have to allow for the recessed curve at the nape of the neck, so tilt your client’s head slightly forward until you incorporate the side sections.
Author Joelle Ray owns Samuel Cole Salon and Salon Moxie in Raleigh, North Carolina. Ray personally trains her staff.
NOTE: Make sure you always use the highest-quality styling shears available. Great deals are available now, *<CLICK HERE>*