Switching to my Third Sisterlocks Consultant

 It's official!  My second Sisterlocks consultant and I agreed that it was best that we part ways.  As you know, I do not like "chair hopping" but I have a number of reasons for my switching to a third Sisterlocks consultant.

1) As I stated in my past article, the second consultant was about twice as fast with retightenings versus the first consultant.  However, she was sooo quick that she was missing the fine details like my hairline.  Remember how I performed "lock correction" on one side.  Well, she accidently doubled up the lock at my sideburns area on the last retightening session.  I had to "de-loc" yet again.  I was ready to scream!   I worked the two small locs away from each other and went by the next week for her to tightening the two Sisterlocks separately.  You can see in the picture below that I  now have two Sisterlocks instead of one big one.

I am happy that she fixed it for me without extra charge, but I know that I had some cross hairs between the two locks so I assumed that she was going to have to further "de-loc" but  she formed the two locs by popping the cross hairs is my assumption.  It looks nice, and I would probably have lost just as much hair by de-locking anyway. What worried me though is that she had no reservation about doing whatever it took to make those two Sisterlocks look nice. I do not want my hair ripped out, and I do want my consultant to pay attention to fine details like my hairline.  Enough said. On to my second reason for moving on . . .

2) Another regular hairstylist  started working in her salon that I knew from a past situation.  It was rather awkward both retightening sessions since the salon is an "open floor" plan.  In my initial consultation with her a few months ago, she was the only stylist in the salon.  So I had been feeling a little tension in the air  and that is not a good feeling when you are going to pay for a hair service.

3) During my last retightening visit, the other hairstylist had a client with a little child who would not sit still.  The child was not being serviced.  The mother was there for service.  The child was a constant distraction to make sure that he did not knock a shelf over and hurt himself. Also, during that visit, she stopped my tighening service to take pictures of the finished styles of two different clients that the other stylist finished.  Twice she stopped to take pictures.  I ended up paying her $80 for probably an hour and a half of service.  Her retightening service is $75 mininum.  I gave her $5 tip as a courtesy.

4) So after realizing that she doubled up my lock at my hairline after all the tension in the air, the interruptions for her to take pictures and the child running around the salon- she felt like I was wrong for bringing this to her attention.  She asked me "how is that helping my business relationship with her?"  I was appalled.  The last time that I checked, I was a client expressing dissatisfaction and a apology should have been in order. But no, I guess, she was doing me a favor by even servicing me.  I kindly told her:  "If this is not a good fit, then I will be more than happy to move on."

She said that she would be fine with that . . .  so yes, I have already booked my next retightening session with another consultant from my Charlotte Sisterlocks training class.  We both learned from the same Sisterlocks Master Instructor so I think that she is going to work out great!  I am not concerned about speed.  I am looking for quality.  She seems like she wants the best for her clients.  By attending the refresher training, it makes me feel that she is definitely committed to upholding the standards of Sisterlocks.

Hairstyling and the Adult Moving Target

 So how do you know if your new client wants "conservative curls" (Halle Berry above) or "spicy spikes" (Halle Berry below)???

Should the hairstylist just ask or just guess?  Or is it the client's responsibility to mention the look to achieve for that salon visit?

I think Halle Berry looks great in both of these looks, but  there will always be a client to come in that wants spicy, and the stylist delivers conservative.  Or the client wants conservative and the stylist delivers spicy.

Some clients are okay with styling spritz and gel and others just want dry holding (aerosol) spray.  Some hair texture only need some molding paste and fingering.  Others need hot curls and special "piecing" of the hair.

 Above, Taraji P. Henson rocks a "disconnected" bob.   Longer pieces are hanging in the front and a shorter regular connected bob is cut into the remainder of the style.  Below, Michelle Obama has a classic bob haircut which is a traditional "connected" approach to haircutting.

So if you are a client who likes a disconnected flair to your hair, then you have to partner with your stylist to achieve and maintain that direction for your hair.  Otherwise, most haircuts are based off everything staying layered and/or connected such as the Michelle Obama bob pictured here.

In order for every client to achieve their individual hair goals, I think that clients and hairstylists both have to start viewing each hair appointment like a doctor's appointment versus the "drive-thru" lane.

In the doctor's office, you make time for it, and you pay a "nice sum" for your personalized visit.  With the drive-thru, you "order it your way" and get through as fast as you can as an affordable cost.

Hairstylists who charge higher prices should know to deliver personalized service especially when there are plenty of cheaper salon deals being advertised.

Also, I hate the "bait and switch" when it comes to hair.  Why tell a client a low price over the phone with the intention of upselling a conditioning treatment, trim, and retail product?  So what happens when the client only wants to pay the lower price quoted?  Do you further damage the client's hair because the "standard" conditioner is inadequate for their hair type?

Hairstylists should set their prices based on their retirement needs along with their industry experience and let faith do the rest.

It is post 2008, and a lot of passionate hairstylists are trying to plan for retirement knowing that their revenues may never return to what it was before the economy nose dived in 2008.  If women stop investing in the progressive stylist who is constantly trying to stay educated, then we may all wake up one day to find only the big chain hair salons such as Hair Cuttery, Regis, and SuperCuts are all that is left.  Please try to support small businesses.  Communication is key.  True professionalism is defined when things go wrong; not when things go right.

Also, if you have a special side part or styling preference, it never hurts to remind the hairstylist.  That will be one less thing that he or she has to brainstorm to remember.

Pre-pay for a Hair Service? Hold or Fold?

You are probably wondering what does pre-pay have to do with hair? But hold that thought. This "prepay" image is from www.forward5.com. Okay, now that the photo credits are out of the way. I had a hair consultation with a client today that just totally blew my mind. Being self-employed for over eight years, I have learned when "to hold" and when "to fold." Today, I had to hold my ground. So here's what went down . . .

A hair consultation was scheduled by a Latino mom for her teenage daughter with Type 3 curl pattern. The consultation was free. The mom came into the salon four deep. It was her, her daughter, her Black girlfriend, and another young Black male. They came into the salon with fast food trash which they just dumped in the closest salon trash can without asking permission. You probably can tell that this consultation was getting off to a bad start? I tried to remain upbeat. I can deal with the trash and a few extra people at a free hair consultation. Really, I can. Continuing on . . . so I start the consultation. I see very fine, dense, curly hair with some "straight" ends from too much heat. (i.e. Heat damage) Overall, the hair was soft and seemed to be manageable, not easy to tangle. The mom was eager to know how I would straighten it. I introduced her to the stove and marcels. She was unfamiliar with this technique so she immediately asked her Black girlfriend about the tools. The Black girlfriend was more familiar with the ceramic flat iron which I immediately reminded them of the daughter's already straight, heat damaged ends that can be caused by flat irons. Of course, the tone of this consultation is shifting further downhill because the Black girlfriend was wearing a baseball cap with short layered, frizzy hair, and I just "shut her down." My personal thoughts were that she should be next in line for a hair consultation, but I stayed focus and professional. As I proceeded to answer the rest of the mom's hair questions about her daughter's hair, the Black girlfriend voluntarily leaves out of the salon with the other young man. We then finally complete the consultation about 10 more minutes later. The mom then lets me know that she is possibly interested in a Sunday appointment. I am thinking "You have got to be kidding." All of this energy that I have exerted and she needs a Sunday appointment???? I politely told her that I am not open on Sundays. She states that she has had a hard time finding someone open on Sunday to service her daughter. She asked if I would find it worth it to come in on a Sunday for the service. I told her not to be "cheesy" but if she wanted to pre-pay for the service then I will commit to a Sunday appointment. The ball was put back into her hands. "Pre-pay or no way."