A lot of people think I “just do hair.” I do so much more than hair. When a client sits in my chair, I become an attentive listener. I hear all about their lives and their personal struggles. I have the opportunity to know people at a deeper level. My clients tell me about the highs in their relationships or their plans to get divorced. I celebrate new pregnancies and grieve pregnancy losses.
I journey alongside my clients through the highs and lows of the human experience, all in one day.
The industry is tough. As a stylist, I spend about ten hours a day on my feet. The time constraint can be stressful, seeing client after client with appointments stacked. A lot of times, this means skipping lunch.
I have been fortunate to have the most wonderful, thoughtful, caring clientele. When I first started, someone told me that I would attract people like myself. This has become my organic filter for finding my clients. I also prefer taking referrals.
In all of my fifteen years, I have only fired one client. She saw the world through a negative filter and brought doom and gloom to my chair. No matter how much I gave, she was unhappy with my service and with life. I don’t need that kind of energy in my day.
My advice to new stylists is to know there is a big learning curve after school, and to learn to set boundaries. Don’t give out your phone number because some clients will text at 1 AM. Also, understand that you will feel pressure to compare yourself on social media. Social media has become part of a stylist’s job. Along with doing hair and running a small business, you are expected to be a social media manager, photographer, and videographer. Social media also portrays this facade that no one is struggling in this business. The reality is, we all have our challenges.
I remind new stylists that if you aren’t IG famous, it doesn’t mean you aren’t successful or talented. It doesn’t mean you are failing because your path will be yours. Success is not always measured monetarily. And yes, it is frustrating for clients to be more likely to take the advice for hair products from an influencer than their own personal stylist!
I love what I do. I love doing hair. I love being with my clients. My success is when clients leave my chair and recognize the beauty in themselves. The beauty of who they are.
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Thank you for this interview, Tessa. And for encouraging us all to find the beauty in ourselves.
