After complimenting each other on all our respective dye jobs and how we had achieved them (brown & blue, hot pink, warm brown and my own black and white), we got into a discussion about the actual salon experience. Hot Pink declared she hated going to salons. She said it was always awkward, so she preferred just doing her hair herself. Brown & Blue was quick to agree. She goes to one particular salon because it's cheap, but overall doesn't necessarily enjoy the experience. "Having someone touch my head is a really intimate thing... I hate having someone random touching me. It's weird."
Brown & Blue also brought up the point that it is equally weird when you are sitting in a salon and have nothing to say. Because, of course, you're "supposed to" chat (and gossip) with your stylist, right? But we've all been in this situation: you're sitting in a stylist's chair, nothing to say, the stylist working quietly away on a part of your person, and this pregnant silence hovering in the air between you. Awkward!!
This led me to think about the kind of people who make good, approachable stylists. Being a "good stylist" is a lot about skill and technique... but it's every bit as much (if not more) about personality.
As an admittedly recovering hair slut, my salon experiences (as a client) have run the gamut. When going to a friend, the banter and "gossip" is nonstop -- it's a time to catch up on your own lives and discuss absolutely everyone we know in common. But what about when it's a new stylist you're going to? A complete stranger?
My instructor at the Hogwarts Academy for Hair Wizardry has told my class that, as stylists, we are all actors. Something about this bothers me. I do agree that once you are behind the chair, you have to be "on." Bad day? Too freakin' bad! Your clients are your #1 priority now; making them look AND feel good. They don't give a crap about your problems, but they sure as hell expect you to care about theirs. But, my problem with referring to us as "actors" is that it implies that we *don't* in fact care about their issues. We're just pretending, so we can make a better tip... I don't know, but something about that makes the whole thing seem a little cheap. Yes, we're part of the service industry, but I'd hope our relationship with our clients isn't purely based on lip service and a bottle of bleach. If I have to see you (and listen to you!) every 4-6 weeks, I'd want it to be a genuinely enjoyable experience every time.
This train of thought reinforces my belief that finding the right salon (read: clients) is the most essential part of being successful in this business. If money is your top motivator, then by all means, work at a fine corporate salon where you can do top-notch work and simply humor your clients for a couple of hours. But if you're looking to develop a clientele who feel an actual connection to you, then it's important to approach those clients like you would your friends. Work for a salon that speaks to your aesthetic and your lifestyle. The kinds of clients you're likely to encounter there will probably feel more at ease around you if they believe that there is some sort of common ground right off the bat. (Hopefully that'll take care of the pregnant silence!) You're also more likely to understand the vision your clients are looking to achieve if you have similar tastes. And, if all else fails, perhaps you can make some new friends?
Of course, it's easy to wax poetic about all this when you've only got a little over a month of hair school under your belt and the task of finding employment at a compatible salon that will also somehow pay your bills is lurking in the seemingly distant future of six whole months from now... But I take pride in thinking that I feed off of other people's energy routinely and to great effect, and I really enjoy meeting new people and finding out the things that make them unique. No matter where I end up, even if entirely different from what my naive ideals have conjured, I expect that those traits will serve me well.
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