0:00

Have you heard of professional hairstylist

0:02

etiquette ? What is that exactly ? It's

0:05

the professionalism of the hairstylist

0:07

and the salon employees set by your

0:09

salon's culture . So , basically

0:11

, there's some dos and don'ts within the four

0:13

walls of the salon , and today we're gonna

0:16

talk about a few of them . Well

0:18

, hey there , welcome to the Salon Ownership

0:20

Made Easy podcast . As a former

0:22

salon owner , I know how tough

0:24

it can be to deal with things like hiring new

0:27

team members , managing your KPIs

0:29

and fixing everything that seems to

0:31

break in the salon . It's enough to drive

0:33

anyone crazy . But don't worry

0:35

, I'm here to help you navigate the ups

0:37

and downs of the industry . Let's

0:39

face it , beauty school didn't prepare us

0:42

for the real world of salon ownership , but

0:44

with the right techniques , systems

0:46

and mindset , you can achieve amazing

0:48

success . With over 30 years

0:50

of experience and four successful

0:53

salons under my belt , including two

0:55

that hit over seven figures , I've learned

0:57

a thing or two about what works and what doesn't

0:59

. So buckle up and get ready

1:01

for some practical tips and real talk

1:04

. Let's do this . Have you

1:06

ever been sitting in another

1:08

business hair salon

1:10

, coffee shop , doctor's

1:13

office and you

1:16

are watching maybe

1:18

an employee who's off duty at

1:20

the moment ? Because you happen to know

1:22

or you notice that they just clocked

1:25

out or whatever and they're in street clothes

1:27

. But you know their employee . Maybe they

1:29

came in to say hi on their day off or

1:31

something and they start ranting

1:33

about another employee . Yeah , that's happened

1:35

to me . I was sitting there and this

1:37

girl I knew she worked there , you could tell , and

1:40

she was dropping the F bomb

1:42

and a few other you know ugly

1:45

words about the boss and

1:47

it was kind of awkward . I felt awkward

1:49

and I wanted to leave . So

1:52

I ask you did her actions , even

1:54

though she was off work , affect

1:56

the perception of the business ? In my

1:58

eyes ? You bet it did . Here's

2:01

my point . Everything that

2:03

happens within the salon , good

2:06

or bad , affects

2:08

the bottom line . You

2:10

see , professional hairstylists don't realize

2:12

how their actions and words affect

2:14

a client's perception of the

2:16

salon Anywhere you go

2:18

. If they know that you work

2:21

at that salon , anything whether

2:23

you're in Target , whether you were shopping

2:25

, whether you're in your street clothes , you're

2:27

at a bar partying that

2:30

affects how that customer

2:32

, that client feels about the

2:34

salon that you work at . So if

2:37

you're just starting your beauty career , if

2:40

you are in

2:42

your beauty career and

2:44

you're wondering why don't I have enough clients

2:46

, or if you're a salon owner and truly

2:49

trying to figure out how

2:51

to get new stylists in your salon

2:53

, think about your actions

2:55

outside of the

2:57

salon . I remember a long

2:59

time ago I used to be

3:01

a Marrakay rep and I remember

3:04

the director that's what they were called

3:06

who leads the community

3:08

of Marrakay consultants

3:11

that's what they were called . She would say

3:13

you need to look your part even

3:15

when you're not working , because you never

3:18

know when you

3:20

run into somebody who might need you . And

3:22

that's kind of stuck with me , meaning

3:25

if you aren't working that day

3:27

and you're going grocery shopping

3:29

or to the doctor's office or

3:31

whatever , at least have your hair and makeup

3:34

done . You could be wearing leggings or whatever

3:36

, but you never know when a conversation's

3:39

gonna come up and you could whip out your

3:41

business card and say , hey , I happen to do hair

3:43

Now it doesn't have to be completely

3:47

done and looking

3:49

100% , but don't go out

3:51

with your hair sticking

3:53

up all over the place and

3:55

looking like you just rolled out of bed

3:58

, because you never know . Your

4:00

next guest , your next client might be sitting

4:02

right next to you at a coffee shop and

4:05

you need to look your best . Anyway , that's on

4:07

a tangent . I'm sorry , but that

4:09

advice has always stayed

4:11

with me . Now , am I

4:13

always looking my best ? No , but I

4:15

try to at least look presentable . Let's

4:18

get back to some of the things that happen

4:20

in a salon , the do's and

4:22

the don'ts , if we will . Okay , so

4:25

basically , you know that there's a

4:27

ton of different personalities that work together

4:29

in a salon . Everyone

4:31

has an effect on the feel of the

4:33

salon and of your client

4:35

perception of the salon . Okay

4:38

, we have all kinds of people in the

4:41

salon , right , you would think you've got

4:43

your person who has a big ego

4:45

. You got your really cool hairstylist . You

4:47

got your salon manager that wants everything going

4:49

click , click , click . Maybe you've got somebody

4:52

who's bipolar and you never know how

4:54

they're going to be when they walk in the salon . Maybe

4:57

you've got somebody who's really sweet and just

4:59

neutral about everything . And

5:01

maybe then you have somebody who's very

5:03

aggressive and very loud , and

5:06

you've got to know how to work with

5:08

every personality . So

5:10

let's get to our list . Okay , our

5:13

first thing is don't

5:15

shout or talk loud enough

5:18

for the entire salon to hear you . This

5:20

isn't a nightclub , it's a business . Do

5:24

talk at a normal level so

5:26

as not to interfere with other stylist

5:28

conversations with their clients . Have

5:31

you ever been in a salon and there's

5:33

somebody at the shampoo bowl and they're shouting

5:36

across the salon ? That's what I'm talking

5:38

about . Or if you have like eight

5:40

stations and you have a stylist

5:42

at a station across the room and they're yelling

5:44

to the front desk hey , can

5:47

you add a toner to my ? Whatever

5:49

. Don't do that . That is , that's just

5:51

not professional . I think you

5:53

know what I'm talking about . We've all been

5:55

there , we've all heard that and

5:57

it's very awkward and

5:59

it just it makes me cringe

6:02

. So don't do that . Okay , don't

6:04

wear bangle bracelets

6:06

that make noise in a client's ear . It

6:08

will drive them crazy and they

6:10

won't come back to you . So

6:12

if you want to wear jewelry , wear

6:15

tasteful jewelry to match your outfit

6:17

. Bracelets are fine , just not

6:19

the noisy ones , and you know what I'm

6:22

talking about there too , right , when you're shampooing

6:24

and they go , you

6:26

know your bracelets are all dangling and

6:28

yeah , it happens , it

6:30

happens . So just be mindful

6:32

of that when you're getting ready . Save your bracelets

6:35

or bangle bracelets for going out to

6:37

dinner or having date night

6:39

, whatever . Keep the client in

6:41

mind at all times . Okay

6:44

, here's a big one . Don't gossip

6:46

about coworkers . Drama

6:49

runs rampant in a salon

6:51

, especially in that break room . Don't be the one

6:53

that starts the storms or adds to them . It

6:56

makes for a very uncomfortable

6:58

work environment and that is just

7:00

really unpleasant for you and it's

7:02

stressful to your clients , because they can hear

7:04

it , they know it . So

7:07

make it a habit to walk away from gossip

7:09

and don't participate . Believe

7:12

me , it can be done , just walk

7:14

away . If you heard somebody in the

7:16

break room and they're starting to talk about a co-worker

7:18

, just say hey , we don't do that , just

7:20

walk away . All right , here's

7:23

a big one . Don't ever

7:25

, ever , have

7:27

your cell phone on the salon floor . It

7:30

is one of the most Unprofessional

7:32

things to do in the salon

7:34

. If you can't keep off of it , keep

7:36

it in the back so you're not tempted to look at it

7:38

. I once saw a stylist talking

7:41

on her cell while cutting a

7:43

man's hair . What it

7:45

was unbelievable to me . How would you

7:47

feel if she was cutting your hair ? If

7:50

you have to check your messages , check

7:52

it during your break . I do know that

7:55

we allowed cell phones at

7:57

the stations Only

7:59

if they were pulling up Pinterest or getting

8:01

ideas for haircuts , using it for their consultation , because

8:04

our program actually had the consultation

8:07

forms that the stylist could get on

8:09

their cell phones but they were not

8:11

allowed to take phone calls

8:14

, check messages , anything like

8:16

that . It is just so unprofessional

8:19

and it really does make your client feel

8:21

very Neglected or , in

8:23

the least , very unimportant . All

8:27

right , here's a big one , and we had this actually

8:29

in our handbook Do not

8:31

discuss religion , politics

8:34

or sex . These are

8:36

the three industry no

8:38

, no's . Oh my

8:40

goodness , you could start

8:42

a war zone in

8:44

the salon . Just don't go there . You

8:46

don't know who's sitting in your chair . You don't know who's sitting

8:49

in the chair next to you . It could be

8:51

a senator's wife and you're sitting here

8:53

talking politics . Or it could be somebody who's

8:55

had terrible relationships

8:58

or Good , had

9:00

something terrible happen to her and you're sitting

9:02

here talking about your you know sexual

9:04

rendezvous . I don't know . You

9:06

don't know what's going on . So keep

9:09

it clean . Ask a client about their work

9:11

or their hobby . This keeps the focus

9:13

on them and it is appropriate conversation

9:16

and you could take it from there . All right

9:18

, here's one that this is happening

9:20

in the salon and it's a hard

9:22

one to . I don't know

9:24

. You'll get it when I when I tell you don't

9:27

stink it's

9:31

one of the most common complaints

9:33

from clients a Stylus

9:35

smelling like smoke . It's very

9:38

unpleasant for a non-smoker and they will

9:40

not return to you . I won't . I don't

9:42

smoke cigarettes , I don't want

9:44

to be around cigarette smoke and it is if

9:47

you don't smoke cigarettes and

9:49

you're around that it is just like Blaring

9:51

in your face . So not only

9:53

are the cigarettes costing you money , they

9:56

can cost you clients , which is money

9:58

, understand . So just

10:00

quit . Sounds

10:03

simple , right , but seriously , keep the

10:05

breeze or mouthwash in the break

10:07

room and make sure to wash your hands

10:09

too . Don't believe that a spritz

10:11

of perfume will mask that smell . What

10:13

you can do is wear an old smock

10:16

and disposable gloves to smoke

10:18

. This will keep the smell off your clothes

10:20

. All right , here's one . Don't

10:24

poach clients from other stylists

10:26

. Now , in our salon we used

10:28

to share clients and

10:30

we loved that whole idea . Hey

10:33

, if I'm not available , you can go to anybody

10:35

in here , as long as you're walking in our two doors

10:37

. We're glad to have you . We loved

10:39

it that way . However , not

10:41

every salon is designed

10:44

that way , so you need to build your own clientele

10:46

and if you need help with that , I've

10:48

got a couple of my podcasts . I'll link them

10:50

in the show notes below . That will help

10:53

you build your clientele and

10:55

if you need advice on that , reach out to me

10:57

. I can help you with that . All

10:59

right . Another don't . All

11:01

right , I just paused it to clear my throat a little bit , okay

11:04

. Another one Don't be a lazy professional

11:07

hairstylist . The salon's cleanliness

11:09

is the responsibility of every

11:12

person who works in those four walls

11:14

. The condition of your equipment and your

11:16

station is your responsibility . A

11:18

lazy hairstylist affects the entire

11:21

team . Someone always has

11:23

to pick up the slack from the lazy ones , and

11:25

don't let that be you . It damages

11:28

your reputation to be seen as the lazy

11:30

one and brings down the value of the

11:32

salon . Yes , every salon has

11:34

a lazy professional and it is really

11:37

hard to manage because they don't see themselves

11:39

that way Throw in their bowls

11:41

in the sink and thinking they're gonna get back to

11:43

them and they never do . You know

11:45

who I'm talking about . Everybody has one on their

11:48

team . So what do you do ? Do

11:50

your part and then some , keep

11:52

your station clean and sanitized . We used to

11:54

always say your station needs

11:56

to look fresh . Every single

11:59

client . It needs to look like they are the

12:01

very first client of the day . So

12:04

what does that mean ? It means after every time

12:06

you're done with your client

12:08

. You straighten it all up , you put

12:10

your chair face in the front

12:12

, you clean up all your combs , you put them

12:14

in your sanitizer . Whatever you need to do , make

12:16

it look fresh and clean and

12:18

always , always , always , do

12:21

it at the end of the day and

12:23

sanitize before you're being told . I

12:25

mean , my goodness , with the flu and COVID and all

12:27

that stuff . We all know what to do . Just

12:30

make life easier on the manager and

12:32

guess what ? You'll increase your value to the

12:34

salon . All right , I just

12:36

mentioned this . Don't leave your color

12:38

bowls for others to clean and

12:41

don't leave hair in the sink and don't

12:43

leave a mess in the break room . Basically

12:45

, clean up any mess you

12:47

make . That's an easy one . Don't

12:50

place any tools or accessories in

12:52

your mouth , like bobby pins , foils

12:54

, clips ooh , especially

12:57

these days with germs being a top priority

12:59

. You know , we've all seen it or

13:02

we've done it . We've used

13:04

the bobby pin in our teeth to open it . Ooh

13:06

, don't do that . Work

13:09

organized . Okay , use your apron

13:11

if you need to . Aprons have little pockets

13:14

. You can clip your clips on there , or

13:16

your wristband , or get one of those magnetic

13:18

wristbands . I think I have a link

13:20

on my GIFsforStyluscom . Go

13:23

over there , check it out . Okay , don't

13:25

assume clients know how to speak

13:27

our language . They probably don't know what a 4R

13:30

means . That makes sense , right ? They

13:32

might not even know what slicing

13:34

versus weaving or anything like that . They don't

13:37

know our language , and how

13:39

many times have they sat down in your chair and Bolliage

13:41

? They can't even pronounce it . It

13:44

happens . So just communicate

13:46

in terms that the client understands

13:49

. Try to put yourself

13:51

in their shoes . Talk so

13:53

they can understand what you're saying . Don't

13:55

talk in our terms . We have our own

13:57

secret little stylus language . All

14:00

right , here's another one . Don't talk about

14:02

your personal life . For one thing

14:04

, it's not cool for clients to know your personal details

14:06

and , second , they

14:08

don't wanna hear your problems . Going

14:11

to the salon is a break for

14:14

them . Please don't bring drama

14:16

to them . Keep the focus

14:18

on them . This is their

14:20

time and they are actually paying for

14:23

it , so make it really

14:25

special for them . Here's another one

14:27

. Don't keep clients waiting . You

14:30

running behind shouldn't be their problem

14:32

. How long do you think they will wait

14:34

before deciding never to go to you again ? So

14:38

try to keep a tight schedule and

14:40

be mindful of time management . Your

14:43

client's time is valuable

14:45

. They will respect you if you

14:47

respect them . Don't

14:50

take your clients for granted . Thank

14:53

them for their business . When you're done

14:55

, just say thank you so much for coming in

14:57

. Everyone likes to be appreciated

14:59

. Don't call in sick . When you aren't

15:02

Not showing up for clients will derail

15:04

your beauty career , and

15:07

when you're not in the salon , someone else

15:09

will have to be . You deciding

15:11

to take the day off could make a coworker

15:13

have to come in on his or her day off . That

15:16

is no way to be a good team member . Just

15:19

treat your position as a professional

15:21

hairstylist as valuable . Just

15:24

be responsible . We are all adults

15:26

here . Duh , here's

15:28

one . Don't

15:31

run from clients you don't wanna

15:33

do . Oh , my goodness and

15:35

I know especially brand

15:37

new stylists who get very anxious

15:40

, do this a lot . They see

15:42

a walk-in . Come in the salon , a

15:44

men's haircut maybe , or a pixie

15:47

cut or an A-line bob

15:49

, or you know those hairstyles that

15:51

you're like oh , I don't know how to

15:53

do that , I'm not very good at doing that . Don't

15:55

run from it . It only means that your coworkers

15:58

will have to pick up your slack . So

16:00

what do you do ? Take the client

16:02

and learn from it . Ask

16:04

for help if you need help . We

16:06

all do from time to time . Heck

16:09

, that's one of the best things you could do is

16:11

help your team members . Here's

16:13

one . It happens . Don't let the girls

16:15

out too much . You know what I mean

16:17

. You might have , you know

16:19

, nice tatas , but too

16:21

much it takes from your professional

16:24

image it does . I used to

16:26

always say no boobs , no

16:28

belly , no armpits . I

16:30

just I learned that a long time ago

16:33

. It's just not respectful . So

16:35

dress with respect for yourself and your clients

16:37

, because your boobs are in their face

16:39

. I mean , think about where you're standing

16:41

. You're doing a bang trim . You gotta be right in front

16:44

of their nose , right ? Do you really think

16:46

that women wanna see down your blouse ? She

16:48

may be thinking hooker instead of professional

16:50

. Every client counts

16:52

. Better to take the high road than the

16:55

chance alienating anyone

16:57

. Don't swear on

16:59

the salon floor , where any

17:01

clients can hear you . Don't swear

17:03

. You may think you're cool with

17:06

it because they smile , but they'll

17:08

complain when you're not around . So

17:10

hold yourself to a higher standard and clean

17:12

up your act and then you'll be seen as

17:14

a real professional . And oh

17:16

gosh , here's a big one . Don't

17:19

discuss tips on the salon

17:21

floor or with clients . Oh

17:23

my gosh , this is so unprofessional . Oh

17:26

my gosh , and it happens

17:28

. And you may think that nobody

17:30

can hear you . How many times

17:32

, oh gosh , I've heard people

17:34

go . She just hit me $5

17:37

and I spent three hours on her or whatever

17:39

, I don't know . I'm making that up . Just

17:41

please don't talk about tips and

17:44

don't keep tips visible at your

17:46

station . Put them in your pocket

17:48

, your apron , or some

17:50

salons keep envelopes at the front desk

17:52

. So just keep your tip conversation

17:55

, your bitching or bragging in the break room

17:57

out of earshot of clients . If you're

17:59

wanting to talk about it , like

18:01

especially with the holidays here and

18:03

people are leaving big tips , whoa

18:06

, don't go . You know , don't go

18:08

through this long and go . Woohoo , I just made 100

18:10

bucks . No , no , no , no , no , don't

18:13

do that . Here's another one . Don't

18:16

repair flesh wounds at your station

18:18

. Oh , my goodness , you

18:20

just cut yourself with scissors . Excuse

18:22

yourself and get to the break

18:24

room and clean it up . Your client

18:26

doesn't want to see or they don't need to see

18:29

all that blood and it makes

18:31

them feel like that you got cut because

18:33

you were cutting their hair and makes them feel a little guilty

18:35

too . Keep a cut kit in your

18:37

locker , or your salon should have

18:39

one , and they do

18:41

make some waterproof bandages . That's

18:43

really good for cuts on your fingers

18:45

and they have like extra strong

18:48

hold on them . They also have cut

18:50

glue that you can it's almost like crazy

18:52

glue or super glue , so you can put that on there

18:54

too to stop the bleeding . Just excuse

18:56

yourself to the client . Tell them you'll be right

18:58

back and that you nicked yourself and

19:00

need to clean it up . That's all . You do

19:03

want to smell like you've just sanitized

19:05

your hands so they

19:07

know that you're , you know you took care of

19:09

it and you want to dispose of anything

19:11

you're using on the client while in front of them . Get

19:13

a clean comb , a clean brush

19:16

, clean scissors . You want the client to see that their

19:18

health is a top priority

19:20

to you . Don't overwhelm

19:23

your clients with your perfume or cologne

19:25

. Oh , that

19:27

happens . When I was first started out

19:29

my career in San Diego , I

19:32

remember her saying that we weren't allowed to wear

19:34

perfume . Yeah , because people

19:36

have allergies and also smells can trigger

19:38

up memories , good or bad . And

19:41

what if your cologne reminded them of

19:43

an ex ? They probably won't come back to you just

19:45

because you smell like somebody they hate and

19:47

plus it's strong and you're in their face

19:49

. So just , I probably just wouldn't

19:52

wear it . When I worked in the

19:54

salon . I just never wore it and also use

19:56

deodorant . All

19:59

right , that wraps it up . That's a lot , I

20:01

know . But if you go back

20:03

and listen to this again the

20:05

do's and don'ts make a list . Heck , you

20:07

might even wanna include this in your handbook

20:09

, because these are good . These

20:12

are really good . Everything we do

20:14

makes an impression on a client . Whether

20:16

you're in the salon or outside

20:18

of the salon , you have to be a

20:20

salon professional . That's what you signed

20:23

up for , that's what you're in business to

20:25

do . That's your

20:27

money making career there . So , whether

20:30

you're behind your chair or

20:32

behind somebody in the Starbucks line , you

20:34

wanna look like a salon professional . So

20:37

I hope these helped , hope they either

20:39

made you laugh or conjured

20:41

up some kind of memory , or

20:43

maybe just let you think about

20:45

it a little bit that , wow , I didn't even

20:47

consider that . Thanks

20:50

for hanging out with us on today's podcast

20:52

. We hope you found it interesting and learned

20:54

something new . If you liked what you heard , hit

20:56

that subscribe button so you don't miss out on future

20:59

episodes . We're always open to your

21:01

feedback and suggestions for topics to

21:03

cover in the future , so don't be shy . Drop

21:05

us a line on social media or shoot us an email

21:07

. Thanks again for listening and we'll catch

21:10

you on the next one .