c/cosmetologists

Just realized my blow dryer nozzle was the reason my curls kept falling flat

After three years of struggling with frizzy roots in this humid Oklahoma summer, I switched to a concentrator tip with smaller teeth and held it upside down at the scalp for 20 extra seconds per section, so has anyone else found that the nozzle shape matters more than the dryer wattage?

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sam_harris68•17h ago

The 8-week balayage rule is overrated for fine hair

I've been doing hair at a small shop in Portland for about 6 years now, and last month I finally told a client what I really think about strict touch-up schedules. She has baby-fine blonde hair and kept booking every 8 weeks because that's what her last stylist preached, but her ends were fried from over-processing. I pushed her to wait 12 weeks and use a purple shampoo in between, and her hair is actually healthier now. Has anyone else bucked the standard timing for fine textures and seen better results?

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joel280•3d ago

Took me 3 tries to nail a balayage on 2C hair, what's your go-to?

Honestly, my first two attempts on wavy texture left these weird banding lines that took forever to fix. Third try I finally switched to a lower volume developer and painted in thinner slices, but it ate up an extra 45 minutes. Anyone else have a color technique that took way more practice than the training videos let on?

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avery366•4d ago

Chose the airbrush over the brush-on gel for prom season, best call I made

I had to pick between airbrush makeup or brush-on gel for 12 prom girls last Saturday, went with the airbrush and only had to do 2 touch-ups all night, has anyone else switched back and forth for events or is it just me?

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taylor_barnes59•4d ago

Unpopular take: I stopped doing free touch-ups for regulars and lost 4 clients

I know the advice is to keep them happy so they book again, but last month in Denver I had a woman come in 3 weeks after her balayage complaining about brassiness that was clearly from her hard water. I fixed it for free, then she brought a friend expecting the same deal and got upset when I quoted $45. Has anyone else drawn that line and regretted it or was it just me?

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ross.jessica•4d ago

Paid $140 for a keratin treatment and it fried my hair into a broom

Walked into a new salon in Austin last month cause they had a deal on smoothing treatments. The girl used some generic serum off Amazon and left it on way too long. My hair now snaps off if I even look at it sideways, and I'm a stylist so I should've known better. Have any of you recovered hair from a botched treatment or is this a year of hats and clip-ins?

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wadeyoung•6d ago

Tuesday was a 12 hour chair marathon and my back is still mad

Had a walk-in at 9 am who needed a full corrective highlight after another salon botched her roots, then three bridesmaids squeezed in for updos before a 5 pm wedding in Scottsdale. By the time I swept the floor at 9:30 pm my feet were done but honestly the money was sweet, pulled in $680 that day which never happens on a random Tuesday. The part that got me though was the last bride's mom asking if I could squeeze in her gray coverage too, I said no and she tipped me twenty bucks just for being honest. Anyone else ever hit a day where you're slammed nonstop but the clients are all nice, and how do you keep your posture from wrecking you? I need new chair tricks before Friday.

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henderson.hugo•6d ago

My shampoo bar meltdown at a Saturday appointment in Denver

I spent 45 minutes trying to rinse a client's hair after switching to a new solid shampoo bar that just would not dissolve in our hard water, so has anyone else had to adjust their whole washing routine when a product works fine at home but fails at the salon?

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dixon.anthony•11d ago

Dye decision disaster: box color vs salon gloss for a wedding rush

Had a bride book 2 days before her big day with 3 inches of roots in a copper red. Chose to use a gloss to blend instead of a full box dye touch up, thought it would be faster. Ended up needing 4 toner applications and a prayer circle while she sat in my chair, the gloss reacted weird with her previous dye job. Anyone else ever gamble on a quick fix and live to regret it, or did I just pick the worst time to be brave?

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paul_burns•12d ago

The salon chair that hummed changed how I do blowouts

Last Saturday I was finishing a client in her 5th hour at the chair and noticed this low hum from the base, kinda like a fridge noise I'd ignored for 3 years. I stopped and felt the vibration with my palm, realized it was throwing off my hand steadiness, and switched to a lower speed setting without saying a word. Has anyone else had equipment that messes with your technique quietly like that, or am I just picking up weird habits?

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ray210•13d ago

A client's one comment about my balayage placement fixed my whole technique

She said my highlights looked 'striped like a zebra' and after I started painting thinner sections in a zigzag motion, my last 6 clients in Nashville have all asked for my card, what's your go-to fix when someone points out a flaw in your work?

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evan51•14d ago

A client said my foils looked 'sad' and I fixed my whole technique

I was doing a bleach and tone in Mesa last Thursday and this older lady watched me place the last foil, then said 'those look sad, honey.' I laughed it off but then I looked at the mirror and yeah, the sections were super thin and jagged. Since then I switched to a 1.5 inch zigzag part and I'm packing twice as many foils per head, like 45 instead of 25. Has anyone else gotten weird random criticism that actually made you better at something?

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terry_mitchell•14d ago

TIL toner can fix brassy hair way faster than purple shampoo

I spent 6 weeks in Sacramento fighting orange tones with purple shampoo and it barely moved. My coworker finally made me try a 10-volume toner with blue pigment and it neutralized everything in one 20 minute session. Has anyone else found toner works better than shampoo for stubborn brass?

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violak95•15d ago

Bleach disaster on a client with 4c hair, turned into a 5 hour repair

I was in my chair in Houston last Saturday when this girl asked for a platinum blonde. She had 4c hair that was clearly color treated before. I told her it was risky and would take multiple sessions. She said she had a wedding in 3 days and her usual stylist backed out. I did a test strand, it lifted okay, so I went ahead. Big mistake. The back of her hair turned to mush in 10 minutes. I rinsed it out but the damage was done. I had to cut off about 3 inches and do a deep protein treatment with olaplex. Ended up giving her a honey brown instead of blonde. She cried at first, but her wedding photos turned out fine. She actually tipped me $60. Have any of you dealt with a client pushing for something their hair just cant handle? How do you say no without losing the client?

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mitchell.shane•15d ago

A $9 color wheel poster from Amazon changed how I mix custom browns

I was mixing a warm chestnut for a 50 year old client's root touch up and kept getting muddy grey, so I finally hung up that cheap poster and realized I'd been pairing opposite colors on the wheel without accounting for the warmth ratio, has anyone else had that 'aha' moment with a physical wheel vs. just eyeballing it?

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the_taylor•17d ago

Bleach burn on my own scalp taught me a lesson about timing

Last Saturday I was doing a full foil on a brunette at the shop in Columbus, and I got a bit overconfident. I left a section of my own hair lightener on too long while I ran to check on a toner. My scalp started itching but I brushed it off, then by the evening it was red and tender. I used a cold water rinse and some aloe gel, but now I'm worried about scabbing before my next appointment. Do any of you press pause on your own foil work to check your clients, or do you just set a timer and stick to it no matter what?

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simon_black•18d ago

Do you count your regulars or just go with the flow? I never did until I passed 200

I always thought tracking numbers was for salon owners, not for stylists like me. But last week I hit 200 regulars on my books, and it got me thinking. Some people I know say counting clients makes you treat them like transactions, not people. Others say it helps you set prices and know when to hire help. I went 4 years without counting and felt fine, but now I'm not sure. Does keeping a count actually change how you work, or is it just a mental thing? Which side are you on?

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anthony165•18d ago

Advisor at my salon swore by razor cutting wet hair, my dry cut clients hate me now

My senior stylist here in Austin told me razor cuts on wet hair give that soft beachy look, so I tried it on 4 clients last Thursday and two of them came back with frizzy split ends. She's been doing this for 18 years and swears I just need to use sharper blades, but I'm scared to try it again after those refund requests. Anyone else had a mentor push a technique that flopped hard, or did I mess up the angle somewhere?

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cooper.spencer•18d ago

Hit 500 regular clients this month, and now I'm not sure if that's good or bad

I've been doing hair for about 7 years now, mostly in a small shop outside Columbus. This month I looked at my books and realized I have 500 people who book with me at least twice a year. I mean, part of me felt proud because that's a ton of trust, but another part of me is stressed because I'm basically booked out 6 weeks solid with no real gaps for walk-ins or same-week appointments. A few of my regulars have started complaining they can't get in when they need a quick root touch-up, and I've had to turn down 3 new clients this week alone. So here's the thing, is growing that number actually the goal, or should I be capping my books around 350 to keep quality high and my schedule sane? I'm curious how other folks handle the ceiling on client count, like do you chase new heads or protect your time off? Has anyone else hit a milestone number and realized it came with a hidden cost?

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simonreed•21d ago

Accidentally gave a client a mullet during a power outage

Last month the salon lights cut out mid-cut in Austin, and I finished his fade by phone flashlight. He actually loved it and booked a follow-up, but this is why I keep a headlamp in my kit now. Has anyone else had to improvise through an equipment fail, or am I the only one who created accidental 80s nostalgia?

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logansullivan•21d ago

Rant: My toner disaster last Tuesday took 3 hours to fix, salon was staring at me

So I had this client come in for a simple gloss, nothing crazy. I mixed up a toner shade I've used a hundred times, but this batch came out looking like a bruised eggplant. I mean purple gray in some spots, almost green in others. My chair faces the lobby, so everyone saw me panicking. I had to strip it, rebalance the porosity, and layer a warm toner back in. Three whole hours for what should have been a 45 minute service. The client was cool about it but I felt awful. Anyone else had a toner or color correction spiral that just wrecked their whole schedule for the day?

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the_leo•22d ago

Blew $120 on a fancy haircutting mannequin head, still practice on my cat

I bought this "professional grade" mannequin with real hair back in March thinking it would level up my scissors work, but the hair tangles instantly and the scalp feels like plastic wrap. My cat is a terrible model too but at least she sits still for like 10 seconds before running off. Has anyone else wasted cash on training gear that turned out useless, or am I just cursed with bad luck?

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eric359•22d ago

My mixing bowl cracked mid-color and I had to improvise fast

Last Tuesday I was doing a full highlight and my glass mixing bowl just split right down the middle after I tapped it a little harder than usual. The color was already mixed so I had to scoop it into a plastic cup with a spatula before it got everywhere. I finished the appointment but my hands were shaking the whole time and I know the consistency was off on a few foils. Has anyone else had a tool fail like that in the middle of a service and how did you handle it without losing your cool?

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the_shane•22d ago

Went from foil highlights to balayage and never looking back

Did a full head of foils on a client in Portland last Tuesday, took 3 hours and the melt looked like stripes when she moved. Two days later she came back crying. Re-did it with balayage, 90 minutes, blew out the roots and painted freehand. The color blended so much better and she tipped me $40 extra. Foils have their place for precision but for grown out looks, balayage wins every single time. Has anyone else ditched foils for certain clients and seen the difference in rebooking?

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cooper.spencer•26d ago

A bridal party in Nashville taught me to bring backup scissors

Ten days ago I was doing updos for a wedding party of 6 and my favorite shears just locked up mid-cut on the third bride. I had to borrow a pair from the venue's in-house stylist and it took me twice as long to finish. Do any of you carry spare cutting tools in your kit for situations like this, or am I just paranoid now?

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