In another article I touched on the subject of Hairstylists and the effects of the autonomy of salon suites contributing to the destruction of the salon industry.
I want to begin to explain the stylist's perspective. I made a video about viral moments and featured a stylist who had an elderly client hit her for no valid reason. This resonated with me because working as a hairstylist in a nursing home, assaults were not uncommon. Her client was elderly. The pandemic brought out the absolute worst in clients who were already at their breaking point in my opinion.
The aftermath of the pandemic
I have never in my 23 year career, fired as many clients as I did during the pandemic compared to any other period of my career. And it wasn't a specific age group. It was elementary age all the way up to senior citizens in the silent generation. By “firing” I mean I literally tell clients I can no longer be their hairdresser.
The Salon is the unofficial “safe space “. Many people hate going to therapists. They'll tell their hairstylist their deepest darkest secrets knowing we'll take it to the grave so to say. Because we're so used to dealing with a wide array of personalities, narcissists & psychopaths (both diagnosed and undiagnosed) that drama is handled with ease in our salons. We're used to the drama, believe me.
Unsatisfied & mental health
I once had a client who was upset every time I did her hair. I was wondering why she kept coming back. She finally told me her husband didn't want her anymore and hoped a new hairstyle would awaken his interest. Now, you see ….that's absolutely unequivocally ridiculous. That's a mental health issue. First of all no man that's attracted to you cares about your hair to that extent. I say that as a covered woman. Even we get stared at, complimented, doors held open etc and you can't even see our hair. Also, as a married woman over 15 years just trust me….and that's all imma say about that.
I refuse to address mental health issues or your marriage issues because I'm not a therapist. After 2020, I couldn't peddle policies out fast enough to keep up with the lunacy. Before 2020, I never had serious written policies because I never had to. You book the appointment and I do your hair. That's how it was until 2020.
At one point I was considering seeking therapy. Some things I encountered were
●Repeated no shows although they got text & email reminders
●No shows although they made their appointments themselves online
●Unrealistic expectations (8 inches of hair but want a style for someone with 15 inches of hair)
● Blatant fabrication of stories
●Missing money at the time of the appointment. Last minute I.O.U’s
● excessively late(2-5 hours)
And the list goes on and on. To be honest I was sick of it all. Customer service workers deal with the effects of a capitalistic society. In my opinion we're indoctrinated to be consumers with no empathy. That's another subject I won't touch on today because it's too deep.
Searching for sanity
We are not therapists. I literally come to work to play in hair all day and hopefully put a smile on your face. But when you add all that drama, it's like “Forget all that hunny”.
And this is not to take away from legitimate clients who have been tortured by lunatics who pose as hairstylists. I had many lovely regular clients while I was working. I'm just giving my perspective on the journey of sane clients finding sane hairstylists. It's a mutual process where we all are vetting one another out searching for that connection.
_________
Dawn Michelle Williams is a licensed cosmetologist for the state of Maryland since the year 2000. If you need a hairstylist as a consultant because you don't have a regular stylists you may want to try our "Virtual hairstylist " plan. Visit us online at
Notes from the author:
I have a "Tales from a hairdresser " YouTube exclusive podcast series https://tinyurl.com/TalesFromAhairdresser
These blog articles dedicated to this subject drop every Thursday at 9am EST.
During our "on" seasons for "Research Shows
….." podcast I have a segment dedicated to" Tales from a hairdresser ". Episodes air weekly Tuesdays at 3pm EST on most streaming platforms
These episodes are also on my blog “My two cents” under the “Tales from a hairdresser” tab!
