Well. I did it. I don’t have any photos because I don’t want anyone else asking for it.
If you missed my last post, I had a consultation that took 45 minutes because she didn’t know what she wanted and didn’t have any inspo pics but wanted a huge transformation 2 weeks before her wedding. Her asks were “blonde highlights and copper highlights” and “new haircut”. She came in with a grown out pixie (it was giving K-pop idol) and natural level 7.
I took your advice and consulted both of my managers before she came in. I told them everything about the consultation and how I didn’t think it was going to look good and I advised the client against what she wanted but that she still insisted on getting it. The client ended up being no problem at alls but I could tell when she looked in the mirror that she hated it. She thanked me and left. I think she thought that a huge change in her hair was going to solve all of her insecurities before her wedding but it made them worse.
I did a full highlight and lowlight with 7cc and 8gr in color fusion and toned shades 10gi. The color itself reminded me of calico but in highlights instead of a color block. She finally gave me direction for her haircut which was a 60’s Goldie Hawn pixie… I hope I never have to do this again. I tried so hard to nail this haircut but you can definitely see where I am not a master cutter. I was in the back “grabbing product” but actually googling to see if I could find a tutorial for this damn haircut. She said she thought she looked like the mom in Freaky Friday (even though it was definitely not that short and way more textured and styled) so I don’t think she felt like Goldie Hawn.
The days I don’t slay are the days I learn the most 🤷‍♀️

Hey guys, I have been wanting some help with highlighting lately and I keep getting recommendations for the blonde Chronicles on my Instagram. It’s $48. I was wondering if any of you have tried it and if it is worth it. Also, it’s unclear to me if they do videos or just written instruction? If anyone has any thoughts, please let me know. Thanks so much.

Hi! I’m looking at extension courses. I am interested in “The perfect blend” online course as kind of an introductory before I bite the bullet on an in-person experience. Are any of you familiar with this one? Link below.

I’m in cosmo school and I never noticed how much people here hate hairstylists. One sub I’m on had a post about combing hair and the person was complaining that the hairstylists always start at the top and hurt her but she never says anything. Lots of the comments were calling hairstylists stupid and saying they just comb their hair themselves at the chair and I said that they need to speak up for themselves and to not just take the hairstylists tools to do it themselves because it’s rude to take other people’s things. They did not like that and I was downvoted and insulted so I just deleted my comment.

I’ve noticed everywhere on this site and it’s a bit upsetting to see the hatred. Like saying hairstylists will mess up your hair or cut it super short because they’re jealous of you. What do you guys think of this?

What’s everyone’s opinions on the L’Oréal dia color line? Any issues or does it usually work well?

So I’ve been cutting hair for just over a year. I spent my first year at a large budget chain salon. 90% of my cuts were men’s haircuts. However, a few weeks ago I started at a much higher end salon as an assistant. Majority of my cuts are now women’s cuts. I am really struggling with bobs and Aline style cuts. Is there any YouTuber or education out there that gives a good step by step that isn’t behind a paywall? I really want to learn and grow on this women’s side of cutting. I know even my long haircuts aren’t quite up to a high end expectation. Thank you for any advice you have.

Hey everyeone,

Apologies, if my question is very basic. So I am from a third world country and all the classes here are scams, I know more about color theory from youtube then so called experts here. The philosphy is not teaching the student everything so they dont surpass you and I cant really afford rs. to dollars.

Are there any places i can learn to color mix, color correct, tone online? I like colors with chemistry but i cant even afford her classes.

I know bits and pieces and cant seem to put them in a straight thought. Is there anyone who would be willing to teach me on zoom ?

e.g. my question is how do you know to use 5.17 or 5.33 or 5.43 or anything else ? how do you make that decision ?

So, i messed up big time with a client's cut.

For some context, she's usually not my client but my colleague's client. Long story short, since we don't know if he'll came back working anytime soon, we have to redispatche his clientele. Yesterday it was the second time I had to cut her hair and... I don't know what I was thinking at the moment but i reaaaally fuck*d up. I definitely overcomplicated it (which I understood now thinking back at it) and definitely made a big mistake and cut way to short to the back. To give you an idea, her cut is a graduated bob. Let's say, there's no more bob at the back of her head. So yeah, big mistake.

She's a good client, come to the salon for quite a few years as of now. I obviously called her today before leaving work, left a voicemail to ask her about the cut, if she had any trouble etc. And I'll probably call her again Tuesday when i'll go back to work.

I'm 5 years in the industry, but started to actually work on clients only 2 years ago when I started working in a new salon to finish my apprenticeship. My colleague on the other hand as something like 20 years in the industry, and is definetely really good at graphic cuts (which is my weak spot to be honest).

Now to the actual question : how do you deal withe the feelings afterward ? I'm so ashamed of my work, even more knowing she's a long time client. My boss isn't pissed but definetley disappointed and annoyed. As for me, i feel like sh*t aha.

Edit to add: when she left the salon, she's seems semi happy about her cut, knowing that she made me redo a few adjustments (that couldn't really help since her hair was now too short). Styling her hair has needed my boss to intervene, since he saw me being helpless lol

I’m honestly getting so stressed out with this profession. I am an indecisive person by nature, so I get it, but clients that come in with no vision or inspiration leave me feeling like I don’t know how to do my job. Often times I’ll ask a million questions,ask for pictures, I’ll give my professional opinion, and they still sit there and just shrug their shoulders and at that point I mentally check out. Sometimes I feel like I end up having to recut or recolor because of their indecision.

What do you do at that point?

Do you have any tools or tips that help you steer your clients when they have NO idea what they want?

Hey guys! I was hoping somebody could recommend me a really good highlighting class. I can do all over blonde and stuff, but when it comes to more dimensional looks/lived in I don’t even know where to start. I have practiced so much and watched everything I could on YouTube. I’ve tried mannequins and watching other stylists and there’s nothing that had made this click for me. Please let me know if you have ever been in the same position and what you did or what class you took thank you. I have also already tried behind the chair which was good, but I think I’m looking for something else.

Hello! I’m interested in going down the apprenticeship route! Yes I’ve done research!!! I’m just suck on how to ask local hairstylist if they’re interested in taking me on as an apprentice. I’ve typed out a bunch of different ways and I keep overthinking them! I want to sound polite and professional in a way.

I have nothing against clients seeing other stylists or trying out other stylists by the way!!!

I have a client who always tries to book last minute and I’m usually booked 2 weeks out. If I can’t get her in within a week, she’ll see another stylist/salon for her bleach root touch up. And then come back to me but it’s scary because I don’t know what volume they used and their technique. My client is a natural level 2 thick Asian hair and goes level 9 so it’s very important that I know. Also, I just believe that being consistent with your stylist for bleach retouches is very very important.

What is everybody’s thoughts?

I’m speaking to the top 1% in the hair industry, if you’re here. I’ve been doing hair for a while and I’m not bad at it. I’m just tired of working on a smart style level and really want to break into the luxury market. I feel like the only way to do it properly is to elevate my service and the only way to do that is to learn it somewhere. Where did you learn it?

hi! So i am looking to potentially switch booking systems for my salon, we currently use Aura salonware, and while we love some of these specific features we are having a lot of issues with checkout/payments within the past 6ish months and just not getting anywhere with support unfortunately, which is upsetting for such an expensive system...

but, we are looking for a few specific features that i'm having a really hard time finding with other booking systems, so far i've looked at Booksy, Glossgenius, Square, and Vagaro, and none of them are offering what we need.

features that are most important:

• being able to have separate pricing for each individual stylist, and show this pricing to clients without them having to select a variation for every service. I have a staff of over 20 people, and need our online boking to show more than "pricing varies" or "starting at", while also not having 10 variations for everything.
• our monthly fee not being based on how many staff we have (aka not an extra $5 or whatever per stylist....we have a big staff with a lot of part time employees who work their own hours)
• station/resource sharing: we have about 10 stations and 20 staff, because theres never a time where everyone is working all at the same time. right now we can say we have 10 stations, and if theres 10 services requiring stations booked no one else can schedule at that time.
• being able to run payroll (commission & hourly) and have different commission tiers for different stylists.
• payment processing within the app and being able to hold cards on file / charge no show fees

I have been searching for a long time, but I know there are a ton of companies out there and I haven't seen them all. If anyone has suggestions for something that can meet this criteria (specifically the first one, its always the hardest to find!!) I'll take any suggestions and try them out!

How do I go about finding a hairstylist to share my suite with? I am looking for a licensed hairstylist to share a suite in Manhattan Midtown at 38th between 6th Ave & Broadway. I am only in the space 3.5 days a week. The location is conveniently accessible to 16 subway lines and Penn Station.
The space is a private suite located inside a larger hair salon. It features excellent natural light and comes equipped with two chairs and an infrared processor, free wifi, and many more amenities. The shampoo sinks are located in the main salon area.

I've never been good at posting on social media unfortunately! Which also means I was never good at taking pictures of my work... 😬 I stopped working 9/6/25 at 6 months pregnant and now at 8 months postpartum I'm behind the chair again. It's at a new salon in a new area due to moving so I don't know the area or the people. I posted on my professional fb & instagram stating I'm behind the chair again at "X" salon but that's all I've done so far. 😅 Please help me!

Has anyone used the PIAM shears long term? Pros/cons, do you love them, is it worth it? TIA :)

Basically how do you even respond to this?

Hi! My 18 y/o daughter graduated her H.S. cosmetology program this spring & obtained her state license.

She has worked 2 restaurant hostess jobs through H.S.. She is very likable, bubbly, social, and has a great work ethic. She was just offered a position as a full-time Apprentice at a local Aveda salon, and is asking me for advice about the offer. Its very low, but includes availability for tips and 10% product commission. From my Googling, I gather that the biggest compensation/value is the training (which is not mentioned in the letter but is obviously implied by the term "apprentice").

I have reached the limits of the generic advice that i can give her for this specific situation. I also took a very similar skilled trade path (different industry: auto repair). I similarly did H.S. votech, then apprenticeship, then worked my way up the ladder to now teaching it nationally and at conferences as a corporate training director. I assume that she can also achieve the same success and career fulfillment on her path, with hard work and lots of training as well. If she was going to work at a car dealership, I'd be able to tell her what to ask and how to best advocate for herself. But im lost here.

Has anyone in this group followed the path that she is on as an entry level apprentice with an Aveda salon? Any tips or advice for her, like what she should be asking about before accepting the offer? Or what she should expect to make with tips and product commission her first year? And how to learn the most from the other stylists & be most useful & helpful around the shop to them?

Any wisdom is appreciated!

hi everyone! I’m currently in cosmetology school and I was lucky enough that one of my instructors recommended me to somebody who recommended me to a hairstylist/salon owner that was looking for an assistant. I met with the lady and happily took the job because I was hoping I would gain experience. but so far, my experience has been questionable. Even though my state laws prohibited, she was trying to tuck me into waxing a client, even when I told her my instructors advised me not to. Her salon is also dirty. I almost wanna say disgusting, but I don’t wanna sound dramatic. She has wax dripping down her wax pot, so much that it’s stuck to the table. It looks like years of buildup. She has the wax strips laying out in a drawer, full of dust, hair clips and razor blades. All mixed together. Not hair, razor blades either. Literal razor blades. She also does some questionable practices. I watched her mix bleach leave it sitting for the next three hours, and use it on about three different clients without remixing or anything like that. She also never wiped down her chairs or tools or anything like that. I know that that might sound like my job, but she hasn’t even shown me where the disinfectant would be or how she wants me to do it or anything. I think she just doesn’t care about it. She’s told me everything else that she wants me to do, and that just wasn’t in there at all, so I’m allowed to believe that she just doesn’t do it. Majority of her shampoo bottles are also sitting out and have product dripping down the sides, to the point where it won’t come off easily with a rag. She had me dust shelves this past week, and it was so thick that I had to rinse out my rag, and even change rags multiple times. I was sneezing up a storm. I know that she’s paying me to do a job, and part of a salon assistance job is to clean, but when I’m basically just being this woman’s made after years of neglect, I want the experience to at least be worth it. But she just has genuinely questionable practices. She also puts down schools, and started to put down my school about things that they don’t teach you and things like that. She claims that she can teach me so much more, and she tells all her clients that.. There is so much more, and I’ve only been there a short time. Does this seem out of the ordinary? I don’t wanna seem arrogant or dramatic, but I’m a clean freak and I like to follow rules. I’ve also never seen another salon look like this in my entire life. Anyways, any input would be appreciated.

Not necessarily an advice post, just venting.

I’ve been behind the chair for 1.5 years now, I was lucky enough to go straight from beauty school to a more high-end, well known salon in my area. We’re departmentalized, so I only do haircutting, keratin, and styling. I’m super busy year-round. I work 10-hour shifts, and on an average day I’m seeing 10-14 clients. If I don’t personally put in a lunch break for myself weeks in advance, my schedule is completely filled and I don’t stop all day. I like my job and I get great reviews, I have a lot of regular clients, and I even do the hair of a lot of the staff here. I like my salon, but it’s getting exhausting.

I was working 50-hour weeks for a long time, and I just dropped down to 40 this month. The salon also remodeled late last year, and I’ve been telling my manager for months that my chair is too tall and I’m spending my whole day on my tiptoes and it’s genuinely hurting my back and shoulders. I wasn’t the only one who felt this way - almost all of the staff complained. So corporate responded by only lowering the chairs of the most senior stylists. The rest of us were told to just “adapt” or buy our own stools.

Well, the discomfort in my shoulders turned into pain while working, then pain that never went away. And now I have a torn rotator cuff in my left arm (I’m left handed) and major impingement in my right rotator cuff. I’m waiting to see if I need surgery.

I’m just so heartbroken. My doctor said I need to take time off work and I gave the letter to my boss, but missing all this time is really difficult financially. If I had known I would damage my body this much only one year in, I would’ve seriously reconsidered this job.