March 2016
Beauty Professional Fred Jones
Scorched-Earth Regulations Jeopardize Industry— Last month California print, radio and TV news reports were abuzz about the closure of one of the nation’s largest beauty school chains, Marinello.
Stories led with shell-shocked students suddenly and without warning shuttered out of their campuses. And most of the students that I saw on TV seemed to be kids of color. The apparent demographic makeup of the beleaguered students got me thinking. First, why were these young people enrolled in beauty college in the first place? And if these schools were so bad, why didn’t these kids have anything negative to say about their school to the cameras -- beyond understandably being confused and disappointed in the sudden closure? read more>
Better Business Neil Ducoff
Employee-Based Salons Are Not Going Away —
Published references that employee-based salons are being “decimated by booth rental and suites,” and that their days are numbered, are flat out wrong.
Is there a decline in the number of salons? Yes -- a few percentage points -- but nothing worthy of the term decimated. This kind of fear-based rhetoric is certainly enough to send needless chills down a salon owner’s spine and have them questioning the viability of their once predominant business model. Booth rental has been around for decades and has most definitely penetrated almost every market. The emergence of salon suites and suite franchises solidifies the booth rental model’s place in the salon industry. read more>
Beyond Your Chair Jayne Morehouse
Teach Your Guests to Be Great Clients —
In recent columns, we have discussed the importance of creating a memorable experience for every client every time he or she sits in your chair. That competitive difference will lead to a full book, thanks to more referrals and more frequent visits by existing clients, charging the prices you deserve and building your bottom line through growing service and retail sales.
While creating a personal, memorable experience for each client is the responsibility of you and your salon team, you also need the client’s participation. Yes, your client needs to be involved in her service in order to fully embrace and appreciate the benefits of the wonderful experience you’re providing. Here are five steps to help you guide the process. read more>
Blue Highways Jerry Tyler
Multi-Textural, Not Multi-Cultural
— Texture in the beauty industry has meant how to achieve manageability and styling versatility for curly, wavy, kinky, coily or frizzy hair. We used to gauge our perspective on texture based along racial / geographical distinctions.
In today’s beauty market our industry continues to wrestle with the subject of texture. In many areas we find exclusion based on a lack of understanding that “hair is hair.” Exclusion exists in an industry even though it is the most open, tolerant and accepting profession. The only way to bridge this textural divide is to look beyond its boundaries. Texture has many colors, many faces, many voices and most of all, many stories that are all different and unique. They deserve respect and understanding based on their unique qualities. read more>
Confessions of a Coiffurist DJ Victory
Is Hairstyling An Art?
What is art? — By definition it is the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.
That’s a pretty broad spectrum of sorts. Recently a photo of a hair painting technique of mine that resembles stained glass was featured on Hair Addiction Magazine’s Facebook page and there were a lot of comments with mixed reviews. Something that I created was being completely ripped apart while at the same time completely adored.
The comments went from, “That’s tacky,” “This is amazing,” “That’s awful,” “This is so high fashion, “That’s hideous,” to “That is a piece of art.” read more>
Esthetic Endeavors Judith Culp
Client’s Ancestry Essential Before Treatments — In today’s world the multicultural client is becoming more the norm than the exception. So why would this be of concern to us as estheticians? Consider this scenario:
A client who appears to be a Fitzpatrick 3 with a nice summer tan comes into the clinic for an AHA or BHA treatment. We do the treatment following all of the manufacturer’s suggested guidelines and it seems to go well. The client gets a little pink, but nothing out of the norm.
We do some extractions, a nice mask and check the client out when the service is complete. A few days later, the client comes back into the clinic complaining about skin discoloration. We note some brown areas – post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. read more>
Mane Objective Marco Pelusi
Say Yes to the Tress!
— Everyone needs a hair cut, color or style at some point. When they do, you want them to come to you. But what do you do when a person with “foreign” hair — a hair type or texture you rarely work on — walks into your salon?
I’ll tell you! Offer them something to drink and a seat in your chair. Here’s why: Cultivating a multicultural client roster can make a crucial difference to your business. These are some of the most dependable clients out there, and to serve them, you need to be an expert on every hair type and texture available to you.
From coarse and extremely curly to fine and pin straight, clients with extreme hair textures often require frequent visits. Some come every week, in which case they can become like family. Their special hair needs can also lead to more salon treatments and product sales, which can lead to bigger tickets. read more>
Mission: Business Beautiful Ali Davidson
Secret Society of the Curly Haired Club —
I have a confession: I’m scared of my mother. Well, I used to be. I was downright terrified. It’s sick, twisted, demented even. She’s the epitome of Little Miss Sunshine. I can’t remember her ever laying a hand on me and I’m pretty sure she’s never even yelled at me without throwing in an, “I love you.”
The ol’ gal is about 5’4” and maybe 120 lbs. soaking wet. I know for a fact that she’s never met a person that she couldn’t find at least one reason to like them. I have a sneaking suspicion she’s even just pretending when she claims she doesn’t like any of my ex-boyfriends. read more>
Nail Extension Elizabeth Morris
Shake Up with School Closure Affects Us — All
By now you’ve probably heard about the closing of one of the biggest beauty school chains: Marinello School of Beauty. Named after the founder of modern cosmetology, Giovanni Marinello, the Marinello brand actually started as a cosmetics company. Ruth Maurer started it all in 1903 with a short list of homemade beauty products she concocted in her very own kitchen.
As the wife of a physician her exposure to the medical field seemed to spur up interest in creating products that would aid women with their common beauty ailments. In just a few short years the popularity of her products grew and grew until she started to open “schools” where educated product users could teach others about the benefits of the Marinello product line and how to use and sell it. Since 1905 the Marinello chain had become one of the biggest lines of beauty schools until it met its recent demise. read more>
Raising the Education Bar Milady
Own Your Texture Skills — Let’s talk about something many hairdressers fear, but definitely should not...texture.
It’s a very general term used to describe many different types of hair. The vast nuances of texture can be incredibly overwhelming, but with a little education, it doesn’t have to be. Here are a few pointers to help set us up for success behind the chair when working with different textures unlike what we’re used to. read more>
Looking for past articles? Visit the archives page.
Looking for past articles? Visit the archives page.