COMPETITION

 

One of your stylists left and opened a salon down the street? Someone from out of town just opened in your area?  They have more retail to sell? Maybe a discount, a coupon, or a free service will give your salon a completive edge.  If you ask me it’s all a waste of energy being directed in the wrong place.

 It’s been proven time and time again that coupons, discounts and free services do NOT build a clientele, they are merely a quick fix.  Unlike most service professions we have the ability and privilege of building an intimate relationship with our clients.  Don’t think of each guest as one visit or $100, there is the potential of a life long relationship.  This relationship not only enhances your life financially, but also personally. I have many great friends that I met in my salon chair.

Instead of cutting your own income by giving a complimentary service, reward your clients for sending their friends and family.  A personal referral goes much further than a 20% off discount. 

Give each and every guest a personal, one of a kind experience. Keep your salon motivated and educated as to provide a beautiful shape and color that is customized for every client.  By mastering your precision cutting skills you will always be able to build unique shapes out of graduation and layering techniques while accenting bone structure or creating strong frame lines with your perimeter work.

Another way of creating exclusivity is to partner your business with a manufactured that only sells to salons.  It does not feel “special” to sit in front of a rack full of the same products sold at the local drug store, grocery store or retail warehouse.  Companies such as Screen USA only sell to top salons through controlled distribution.  This ensures that your “exclusive” brand will not end up next to the tampons or asparagus, not

to mention the retail center that just opened next door with two hair chairs in the back.

This is a service profession!  Put your energy into giving a great service and longevity will come!!!!

Hair Shows

Where’s the hair?  I see irons, I see, chemicals, I see feathers and tinsel but I don’t see the hair! 

Don’t get me wrong, at America’s Beauty Show there were a few cats laying down beautiful cuts and colors, but the convention center was full of berets, clips, feathers, knock off handbags, and bars.  I know it’s a “bad” economy and we are all looking to pinch a penny, but when did the McCormic center become a flea market? 

In between all the keratin, air brush tanning and topless dudes on stilts, the true lovers of the profession are still getting on stage and making the town beautiful one local model at a time.  The guys with the money (you know who I mean) “the heavies” as I call them are, not even putting consistent hair in their booth.  They seem preoccupied trying to compete with 3D movies and jumbo trons worthy of the Dallas Cowboy stadium.

Next time you are at a show protest! 

How? Don’t get caught up in the hype, support and stand with the cutters and colorist.  Look for the true hair inspirations that people like Eric Fisher, Nick Arrojo, FM Shoritno and I are bringing to the game.  We do hair, we are inspired by hair and we share hair. 

So what is going to happen to the “Hair Show”?  Well, as you know Screen USA does not follow their lead.

Back with a Bob

With Scarlet Johansson, Marisa Tomei and Jennifer Aniston (the world’s most boring hair icon) showing up on the red carpet and magazine covers— the bob is back.  Not to mention its time to show the world the difference between those of us who practice their craft and the shredders. 

Now everyone knows that I love my razor and live to attack hair, but there is an entire generation of stylist out there that doesn’t even know why and what they are doing.  With an era of sophistication and elegance dashing through the prep revival we can slow down, take smaller sections and create precision lines. 

What’s a bob?  Well to me it’s anything between the jaw and shoulder.  It can be an A-line, graduated, razored, curly or straight.  The bob that separates the men from the boys or the women from the girls is the classic— done with an architectural approach using small sections, dropping the weight, and paying close attention to accenting the customer’s natural features.  When you can achieve this… you can make money. 

You don’t get many chances in modern fashion to show em’ what you got.  So try out the classic bob for spring and summer. You can always come back to break those lines and loosen the looks up a bit for a change when the customer is done with her bob. 

Trust me, she will get compliments. People will be amazed and ask “who does your hair?” because you have mastered a bob that most cannot do it. 

Jason

Ingredients for the Educated Consumer

Sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, dimethicone, guarana…what is, things written on the side of a shampoo bottle? 

How important are the ingredients in your hair care?  VERY!!!

Unfortunately, large corporations such as Laureal, Proctor and Gamble, Este Lauder, Lever Brothers and professional lines such as Aveda, Bumble and Bumble, Wella, Tigi, Pureology etc… use their resources to market against ingredients that are NOT harmful for your hair. The same corporations neglect to use many ingredients that are beneficial due to cost. 

The European Union (EU) has adopted a list of 1,300 forbidden ingredients that are either harmful to your health, the environment or your hair.  So, choosing a hair care line manufactured under the EU standards, in an EU country, and sold in EU salons, is a good way to make sure you are getting a high grade product.  The United States has weaker ingredient laws, which is why many lines sold professionally in the US are sold in grocery/drug stores in Europe. Screen Hair Care is an Italian company and complies with the EU standards. Screen is a successful professional product line in Italy and is used by salons and stylist in 28 different countries. Their ingredients are reliable and actually good for your hair.

Let’s address some hair misconceptions. Did you know that you can size the ingredients in your hair care to fit into different levels of your hair’s proteins?  I did not think so!  The Molecular Weight Scale (developed by Joico) can be used to size individual ingredients so small that we can control which layers of protein we are treating. Giving your stylist the ability to prescribe a custom regimine of haircare that specifically address your challenges

 

The American Cancer Society has stated that under NO circumstances do Sulfates contribute to cancer (the sulfate story was started by a gentleman who developed and SOLD three major product lines including Pureology).  There is also a huge rumor that sulfates can rub the color molicule, fading it.  It has been proven the alternatives to sulfates are just as abrasive if not more so.  Further more if I put the color molecule in the Cortex layers (where the cortical proteins and melanin live) of your hair and treat your hair with good conditioners, with a low PH, sealing the cuticle layer over the color molecule the shampoo never touches it. 

Are oils good for the hair?  Oils are helpful only when they are synthesized to be compatible with both your hair, and the water that carries the Oils.  Citrus oils can assist in lowering the Ph (hairs natural Ph is between 5.0 and 5.5) that water raises every time you take a shower.  The pure orange essential oil (Citrus Aurantium Dulcis oil) in Screen Therapy Shampoo not only gives a great aromatic experience, but also assists in closing the cuticle layer to lock in the color. 

If you want to find ingredients that are safe and create great shine and texture, look for: dimethicone (a silicone derived from macadamia nut), guar (a bean extract that gives shine and flexibility while controlling unruly hair), and myristol alcohol (a moisturizing alcohol derived from coconut milk).  These are just a few of the great ingredients used to give you the flawless hair you are looking for without putting stress on your follicle. 

In the US it’s easy to find a hair care company that doesn’t care about their ingredients, that’s why Screen is unique and I am grateful they are finally in the US.

-Jason

Protect yourself against Chlorine

So you swim, so do I, what is the big deal?  Oh yeah, your new hair color cost you $200+ and you have to “protect your investment”.

Let’s make this easy… the best-case scenario is to not let the chlorinated water touch your hair. All you need is a leave in conditioner and a swim cap.  By filling the porosity of you hair with normal tap water than applying Screen’s Smooth Leave-in Conditioner and sealing it with a swim cap you will create the ultimate Chlorine barrier.  

On second thought, if the swim cap does not appear to be aesthetically pleasing, you can block most of the chlorinated water by using tap water and a low Ph leave-in conditioner (Smooth Leave-in Conditioner has a Ph of 2.8).  Low Ph causes the hair shaft to contract upon itself leaving less space “inside” the hair shaft for dangerous chlorinated water to hang out. The tap water is very important because it takes the space that the damaging chlorine would normally go.

No matter how you shield your hair from the pool, always shampoo out the chlorine with a gentle chelating shampoo such as Dazzle Shampoo from Screen.  Getting the chlorine out before it can go to work on your hair is as important as blocking it. 

Pregnancy Hair: Keeping the Locks, Even After the Due Date

 So your fingernails are like steel caps and your hair is growing twice as fast.  You have ultrasound pictures in your purse, and you are now shopping in stores you never thought you would.  It’s a hair-raising time, but like your new pregnancy, your hair experience will be one of a kind.

Generally you will find your hair is thicker and growing faster, which is usually a good thing since new moms regularly resort to the ponytail during those first few months of sleepless nights.  However, pregnancy is not the solution to fine hair. All good things come to an end.

 Don’t worry, the hair will eventually revert to its pre-pregnancy state, however, some new moms will experience extreme hair loss just after giving birth and a few notice advanced thinning before the hair recoups.  I have a long time client that experienced extreme hair loss after her first child, and needless to say, she freaked out.  We worked on keeping her existing hair strong and her scalp hydrated and flexible.  Within six months she was back to rocking her traditional bob with no hesitation.  We predicted she would have the same hair loss experience after her second and third child. We decided the hair loss would be less noticeable, if we went with a short layered look during the pregnancies.  This client represents the most extreme pregnancy situation possible. 

Enjoy the growth and thickness while you have it.  Make sure to supplement all vitamins, especially those of the B varieties, which should be continued well after giving birth. Hydrate and strengthen your hair before the birth date with strengthening products such as the Repair line from Screen Hair Care, and balance the scalps Ph with shampoos such as Protective Shampoo from Screen’s Color Enlive line.

 If you do experience hair loss, talk to your stylist about a short/layered look for volume and quick styling: this look will make hair fuller and more fashionable than that stringy ponytail. 

- Jason Schwind