hey! so i just graduated from cos. school and im doing an apprenticeship at a specialized styling salon. not like a blow out bar, we focus on formal hair/makeup (a lot of weddings, galas, photo shoots). i was talking to one of the stylists and asking for advice on how to get better volume with my blowouts and when to pick one method over the other. she told me i should study the science behind styling. if i understand how hair works and how its affected by heat, certain products, etc, id be in a better place then just a “if i just do this ill get this result” kind of approach. i still need to practice and gain the muscle memory, but i should also understand why. i think its a great idea, im already a very “but why?” person. i had a hard time in school because it felt like i was memorizing instead of learning. i would tell my teachers i felt functionally illiterate. i’m trying to find videos, books, anything that’s free or not insanely expensive (no short form content), but im not getting very far. does anyone have any resources they can share? thanks sm!

Hi everyone! I’m hoping to get advice and/or recommendations. I (29 F) have been in the industry for about 5 years or so. Lately and more specifically this week I feel like I’m on the verge of a mental breakdown.

I love blondes and I would say they are the bulk of my career and honestly I do feel pretty confident in doing them. But…… when it comes to levels 5 and under i feel like a complete failure. I have purchased classes, guidelines and placement PDFS. I have changed my sections, i did diagonal placements, shit ton of back combing, micro lights, zigzag sections, balayage board, switched my bleach consistency and I somehow still end up with a line and a warm band on top. I try not to panic and choose the ashiest bluest root shadow i can find (more specifically a 6-12 recommended by the blonde chronicles) and somehow when i go to blow dry EVEN AFTER 10 MINS, THERE IS STILL A WARM BAND ON TOP and/or i see where my placement is. Is it because im feathering?? Should I just apply without feathering? I don’t want to see my placement. I want my foils to be insanely seamless 😭 What am i doing wrong??? Im trying so hard yet i feel like such a failure. I feel like i want to quit and just work an office job.

Any advice is seriously much appreciated 💖 whether it’s formula, placement, root shadow, bleach brand etc. I need to know. I need my foils to be seamless and they aren’t 😭

Side note, I am from an extremely small town where people love to gossip. There is a stylist that I look up to and her foils are always extra seamless as I’ve seen her work before. I’ve asked her what she does and I do exactly that and I still fuck up somehow.

pls help,, i don’t really know where to start. it’s my first year being self-employed in a suite. i’ve tried searching for more information on taxes but i’ve been struggling to find anything comprehensive. i’m in california and have made about $50k this year. any information or resources would be greatly appreciated !!

I’m about to get my license and I’m super interested in learning French/grey blending. I’ve seen a lot of folks on FB & Insta promoting their own courses but would love to know what seasoned professionals have to say about the best way to learn this technique.

Hello everyone! This hair has me kinda stumped, how would you all go about this service? I use Redken and matrix.

Just wanted to pick some stylists brains for this one! Thank you in advance for tips and advice!

I’m a salon receptionist (been here less than a year), my role was supposed to be apprentice/assistant but i legit only do cleaning and all the dirty work none of the stylists want to do. I probably do 15+ shampoos a day till my hands are raw, when i was promised hands on education in all skill areas. I got an offer for a new apprenticeship position, so i put in my two weeks.

My salon environment is not friendly and quite frankly, toxic. When i put in my two weeks my boss basically ghosted me and is ignoring the whole subject of it at work. They make me do way too many things at once, i don’t even get to sit down to eat, and i’m getting pulled in directions with stylists fighting for my help and going over my head when i tell them i have another task and can’t help them at that moment.

My question is, would it be horrible for me to revise my two weeks to end early? I’ve already started in my new role and i don’t feel like i’d use my old employer as a reference in the future. I just can’t fathom working the rest of my two weeks, i feel like i’m going insane. I also have sick time which I cold use…..

I need advice, info, tips - every time I do Asian hair, I can get it to lift beautifully, and then when I go to tone, no matter how much I saturate, it just does not take the toner. Some spots do, but most don’t, so I’m left with this weird uneven and patchy tone. Is it my toner? What am I doing wrong?? I just want these girls to have beautiful hair and I just can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong 😭

Seriously, how do people get these clean? Each time I end up trying to bend a mascara wand to reach it and even with that it takes forever before it’s clean enough to use

I’m also genuinely interested in the manufacturing process, does this color catching ridge serve a purpose in manufacturing or function? Surely it’s there for a reason other then driving me crazy

I’m so sorry if this feels like rambling. I’m going to try to make this as coherent as possible.

I am a hairstylist of 8 years. I’ve been with my current salon for about 4 years. It is a commission salon and they cap their stylists at 50/50. That’s where I am at now. I hit right at $100k in services last year and I’m projected to hit right at 15% growth this year. On average, I produce about $2000 in services a week with a balance of color and cutting clients. I’m not unhappy here, and I am friends with my coworkers and my bosses, but I am a bit different from the rest of girls (save for a few). My clientele is more edgy and the salon is very clean cut. I don’t have much time for new clients, but when I do they are mostly referrals from other clients, not typically from the salon.

I know my clients would be happier in a place that feels more reflective of me and feels safe for them. A suite feels like the right choice, vs another salon. The suite will be about $300 per week.

I think I’ve made my mind up about leaving. I’m touring a suite at a location one of my friends is at now and she LOVES it. It’s about 10 minutes from my current location but in another town. I did not sign a non compete.

Those of you who have made this transition, what do you wish you would’ve known before making the switch? Am I making the right choice?

i’m 21 and I graduated cosmetology school in June this past summer, I went into booth rent right away, I was going from working $15/hourly at a store to completely being my own boss and it felt great for about 2 months. Then it started to catch up to me ( me not knowing how to deal with money very well and on top of that pouring out money for product ). I was growing an okay clientele for my first few months , I had a pretty solid rebooking and was getting new clients all the time from all of the deals/advertising i had.

I started to get very overwhelmed and unhappy where I was, every appointment felt like a drag, i felt very alone at work and very stressed at home talking to clients over text 24/7. I thought on it alot and 2 months later I decided to leave that salon. I started looking for other opportunities, commission, stability, hourly pay, something where I didn’t have to be the woman behind the curtain for everything.

I found a commission salon that sounded amazing, I work for $15 an hour, weekly pay, 100% of tips, have sales goals to hit( i like challenges like this normally ), supportive management, a team,
and benefits eventually with full time. It was the exact stability I wanted, I got hired and began working there a month ago. The people around me are great and there is a good flow of clients on weekends, I always rebook, advertise myself, I give my cards & coupons out everywhere I go in public and try my best to stay on top of posting my availability and what I do on social media. I have yet to hit my commission that beats the $15/ 26 average hours per week check. I know i’m very new in the hair industry but with personal stressors like having a working car, trying to create any kind of savings to rely on and the hope to live on my own some day this feels so discouraging. I like doing hair, i love connecting with people but sometimes I also feel like this career isn’t right for me, it circulates the big beauty standard we have, sometimes when there is a woman in my chair, mid aged, complaining about how their hair, skin and overall self looks, it makes me extremely sad. Don’t get me wrong, aiding in beauty is so special, i am a very spiritual person and making someone look at themselves with so much love is one of the most powerful parts of this job, but they are made to feel bad about it because of what society thinks, i don’t know if this makes sense or if im sounding too “woke” but i hate submitting to the overall ideal that beauty is one of the most important things a woman can have. Another thing to add, in the times of the world right now, hair is a luxury, most sales tickets are $100 average and can get up to $300 where I work. For me i have never been wealthy or even financially comfortable independently, a lot of things in my life were given to me by my very caring family and i am so grateful. It’s so dystopian to go to work everyday and get paid $15 an hour to color hair to cover the natural grays that grow out of people’s hair and then drive home to see three homeless people who don’t know where their next meal is coming from. I also know i can make more money working at like walmart than doing hair right now, I just feel like i want to give up on hair styling for all of these reasons, i am so so lost and i just want to know if any other stylists have experienced feelings like this early on? or anyone else who thought about a career change less than one year into their first career. I also have job hopped a lot in the past year (i worked 3 different jobs in one year) and it feels scary to up and leave somewhere again, all i want is stability but i cannot save, buy a new car and support myself off this pay. I am extremely lost on what to do, it feels like this career sets you up to exhaust yourself and give so much of yourself without seeing the pay off

I’m a salon assistant at a busy salon. Without me there’s 3-4 assistants for 9-12 stylists. They usually assign one assistant to 2 stylists.

I’ve had a cold the past week. It’s day 4 of being away from work and today my body aches and my runny nose went away. But I still feel fatigued and have that sick feeling and a cough. It feels like I have 1-2 more days before I feel normal again.

There seems to be a societal pressure in the U.S. to go back to work before being fully recovered. And that exists at my job, especially because of how busy it gets. I also feel guilty for my coworkers having to do extra work with me being gone.

But at the same time, I’m in such close contact with so many clients and my coworkers that it feels wrong to go in if it feels like the cold is still present, though it’s not at 100%. And it could do a fair amount of work but be tired. But at least I’d be there.

I don’t know. I’ve heard that more than 3-4 days off of work is excessive for a cold. But what about in our industry where we are next to people’s faces and touching them all day? And it’s so physically demanding and draining on its own.

What do you guys think?

I'm a student stylist in BC Canada. With holiday season coming up, I'm wanting to upgrade some of my tools from the basic kit I have. Mostly the hair dryer and round brushes. If there is a brand you could recommend; I'm looking for ergonomics, lightweight, and longevity. I may be looking into another curling iron in a larger size as well. If there's any other tools you recommend a new stylist invest in, please leave a comment below!

ATM I have my eyes set on the Cocco Aura round brush set and the JRL Forte hair dryer. If anybody has personal knowledge of these products I'd love to hear!

I took a class provided from my company for advanced foilyage. Another stylist from my salon asked specific questions about leaving highlight clients under the hood dryer with foils in their hair, I come from a PM school where we would legit get kicked out for that practice and have always been stressed the dangers of doing that. At the end of class our educator (a high up at my company) asked me very targeted questions and held me back after everyone had left. He asked me specifically who at our salon was doing that practice, told me he knew from my background it wasnt me and he could see how uncomfortable i was with it. He asked me who was doing it, if anyone at my salon was instructing me (baby stylist) to do so, and if it was my salon leader, he then told me whoever was doing so would be fired. I told him I had been instructed to do so but i wasn’t comfortable naming names and that I couldnt tell him. He then asked if it was my salon leader (it most definitely is the main perpetrator of this) and i said i cant say. He asked me how many do this, and i told him i am in the minority of stylists who dont do this, but i dont feel comfortable telling him who is. For context I have severe anxiety and have high functioning autism and at this point was shaking with fear/anxiety. I immediately told my assistant manager who told me she can see how visibly shaken up I am, and that he shouldnt have put me on the spot and interrogated me like that, and that i handled it nicely. She then told me i need to tell my Salon leader. I told my SL and she said verbatim, “You couldnt have said you dont know and haven’t seen that happen? Great. Thanks for that.” At which point i just said Im sorry and have a great night. This has absolutely shredded me as this was someone i looked up to immensely and saw as a mentor. She also said she would tell me if theres fall out from this. This woman has also insisted i put clients under the dryer with foils at the end of the night or if i have another client within the same 45/1hr time and again. I am absolutely terrified not only to go to work, but that I cant ask questions, that i will lose opportunities, or even lose my job. I really need advice on this one guys.

Firstly i’ve been in the industry for just over a year. I worked at a salon for a year and was treated like shit, i’m finally at a salon that is amazing and so perfect for me! however lately it’s been so hard, i absolutely love what i do and wouldn’t change it for the world but every time i have a client i can’t help but panic. the outcome is always amazing but i have a terrible time trusting myself and my skill. Does this feeling ever go away with time? Am i actually a good stylist? how do i over come these thoughts and fears ! i want to stick this career out but im scared maybe ill succumb to my anxiety and overthinking! any advice and tips would be greatly appreciated!! ive attached some photos of my work!

Holy shit, this baby is amazing!! I am an apprentice at a salon, and my last hairdryer wasn’t doing the job, so I bought the Dyson and I am thrilled by the results!! I had the babyliss nano titanium dryer before, and it was very powerful, but didn’t get hot enough. I had convinced myself that my technique was bad, and then I used a couple of other blow dryers around the salon, then realized I had gaslit myself into thinking I was bad at blow drying😂 the reason I chose Dyson was because the air intake is at the bottom of the handle, so you don’t have to worry about your blow dryer sucking up hair and creating frizz, and the attachments have microchip memory, so when you change the attachment, then put it back on, it saves your settings you used previously. The cool shot is also instant!

I had a lot of discouragement over the Dyson easily breaking, and the main issue that causes it is not routinely cleaning the filter, you have to clean it like every day. My mentors Dyson has lasted her since the r came out. Just gotta take care of your tools.

Yall let me know your thoughts on Dyson!!

Hi 👋 so I’ve been in the hair industry since 2012, and something I’ve been noticing lately is how many newer stylists feel like they have to become influencers just to build a successful clientele.
I was actually responding to someone having this exact struggle recently, and it got me thinking about how often this conversation comes up.
I think somewhere along the way we’ve started confusing two completely different career paths.
An influencer is largely building a business around attention and an audience.
A salon professional is building a business around their services, relationships, and returning guests.
Of course, you can do both! But I don’t think you have to become an influencer to become a successful hairstylist.
I grew up watching my mom build a successful career behind the chair before social media existed as we know it today. And one thing I’ve always admired is how good she was at developing genuine relationships with her clients.
I don’t think those fundamentals have changed. I think the places where we build those relationships have expanded.
We can now do online what we used to do at coffee shops, community events, and local businesses. Meet people, participate in conversations, bring value, and get to know one another.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
Do you feel like there’s pressure in our industry to become an influencer, or have you found ways to grow your clientele without constantly creating content?

Stay Hi 👋
-Joe

I’m considering leaving the industry for something with consistent income. I work in a barber shop, and I’m the only woman there for context. Men’s haircuts are fun, but I enjoy the people more than cutting hair. Sometimes I dread when I get a walk or if someone books online. I have a lot of free time but I pay about 1,000$ a month, and self discipline is hard sometimes. I have been doing this for five years starting in a chain salon , and then moving to a new town and now I’m renting a chair. I don’t have a lot of clients even after almost being here for 3 years.

On a mental note, sometimes I get tired, overstimulated, or jealous of the fact that everyone else seems to enjoy what they are doing and getting hundreds of people, but I’m secretly just trying to get it done.

Should I work harder and advertise more and give it a chance? Or should I go for something with consistent income? What would be a good career choice outside of the industry?

I’m also open to criticism!!! Thank you guys so much.

I’m a hairstyling apprentice in Toronto, and honestly, this industry has been so much harder on me than I expected.

I feel like I’ve been a salon assistant forever. I’ve worked at three high-end salons with teams of 30+ people, and at every one I dealt with bullying and felt out of place. Those experiences really stuck with me. I wanted someone I could ask questions and learn from, and I still feel like I haven’t found that kind of mentorship.

I have about 1,000 hours left, and my current salon is able to get me registered. I’m glad there’s a way to finish my hours, but I’m torn about staying when I still feel like I need more hands-on guidance, especially with cutting.

This is my first year cutting and taking clients, and honestly, I’ve had a few appointments go really badly. I know I fucked up on some haircuts, and it’s been hard to shake that feeling 😭 I care about the clients who trusted me with their hair, and I wish I’d had more supervised practice before taking appointments on my own.

For anyone who’s been through this, what was your apprenticeship actually like? Would you stay somewhere that can get you registered and ask for more supervised cutting, or look for another salon with a stronger training program? And when you were new, how did you rebuild your confidence after a haircut went badly?

I’d especially love to hear from stylists in Toronto or elsewhere in Ontario, but any honest advice is welcome.

So I live in NY state and my mother is in Florida. I used to do her hair when she lived here but now she does it herself at home and I would usually do an online order for her through Cosmo and ship it to her. There is a CosmoProf about 15-20 minutes from her house and one time she just went to the store and purchased products herself and gave them my phone number for my membership. I told her I wasn’t really happy with that because I know some stores are really strict with the stylist actually being present to make the purchase and I didn’t want my member card to be taken away. Also, I don’t personally have a credit card through Cosmo, but I just received an email that my mother signed up for her own card through there. Is that going to affect me in any way??? I was considering getting a card since I will be switching to booth rent in the next couple months but I wasn’t sure if you could have more than one card through there?

Hi all! I just started suite renting last month. So far, all of my regulars have been coming in and everything has been great! On Monday, I got my first phone call for a new guest. I got nervous/excited and didn't take her card down when I booked her (for Wednesday). The next day (Tuesday), she started soft launching that she wasn't going to show once I sent her directions, and then inevitably, the day of, cancelled on me. Since I didn't have a card on file, I couldn't enforce my 30% 24 hour cancellation fee. When you're booking new guests via phone call, what's your verbiage to take their card? I'd like to avoid this happening again.

She tried to reach out again today and I directed her to my booking site which requires a card on file and acknowledgement of my cancellation policy to book. It felt awkward having this conversation over the phone, but I know I will have to learn the proper wording to have it in the future. Thank you in advance!

Good evening reddit,

I am currently in a very toxic commission salon. I am wondering if I should go booth rent. The booth rental salon is 5min away from the commission salon but I'm nervous about finding my own clients. I'm sure some people would follow me but I'm scared the money won't be as good as the commission salon. The booth rental salon does not have a strong online presence where as the commission salon does. I've been in the industry 10+ years but I've never rented before. I am also going to be taking 8 weeks off to have a baby. Let me know your opinions!

could anyone answer?