Tales from a hairdresser
- Opinion piece from a licensed cosmetologist
I was having a conversation yesterday with my youngest son about an issue I was having with someone. I ended up telling the person to never pop up at my salon again because their presence was a disruption. The term my son used was "because it's your happy place?". I was stuck. He described it so beautifully.
Hair is my passion. Playing in hair all day is like putting a puzzle together. Like, you know the satisfaction you get when solving a problem or scratching a place that was itching? I could be stressed & 1 day at the salon helps to relieve this stress.
Recently someone "popped up " at my salon unannounced. I was surprised & unexpectedly happy although this person has a tumultuous personality. It's quite despicable. 30 days & a court date later I realized why I don't allow "pop ups". You gotta announce yourself before doing a personal " pop up". Because it's my happy place.
My son said to me perhaps the person wanted to catch you off guard because you'd be too distracted to see through the game they ran.
As hairstylists, the salon is most often a safe space. We go to hair school & take state board exams all to ensure that our workplace is calm. We soon realize, salon owners are often in direct competition with you and even intentionally sabotage your growth. All for the purposes of trapping you into staying at their salon.
When I FINALLY got my 1st salon, I realized I had anxiety entering my own salon. The lunatic property owner ensured it wouldn't be my happy place. When I relocated, it was the same issue. I finally realized I needed to fight for a happy place and set serious boundaries. This includes
All clients must make appointments
No personal pop up visits from unwelcome parties
Fighting landlords for basic amenities
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Dawn Michelle Williams is a licensed cosmetologist for the state of Maryland since the year 2000. She is the owner of Dawn Michelle's Salon in Hyattsville Maryland specializing in natural hairstyles. For information & appointments visit https://DawnMichelleSalon.com
Notes from the author:
I have a "Tales from a hairdresser " YouTube exclusive podcast series https://tinyurl.com/TalesFromAhairdresser
Those episodes drop 1x monthly during "on" seasons.. These blog articles dedicated to this subject drop every Tuesday at 3 pm 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
. Click the link below to listen.
