I volunteer at a senior center over on 5th Street every third Saturday, and last month I offered to do a little gloss touch-up for one of the ladies there. Big mistake. The color came out patchy and uneven because I rushed the sectioning. I felt SO bad I went home and practiced on my mannequin head for like 4 hours straight that night. Found out I was missing the part where you really saturate the mid-lengths before the ends. This Saturday I tried it again on three different residents and every single one came out smooth and shiny. My hands were shaking less too. Has anyone else had a total failure in a public setting that forced you to relearn a basic technique?
Last month a regular named Mrs. Chen finally told me she hated how I did her hair. She said my blowouts made her head look like a basketball. At first I was mad but then I looked at photos and she was right. I was overfilling the sections and using way too much tension at the root. So I changed how I section and now I use smaller clips and focus on smoothing the midshaft more. Its been three weeks and Mrs. Chen actually complimented my last two blowouts. Has anyone else had a client drop a truth bomb on them like that?
I spent 6 months using a round brush and dryer to lift roots on fine hair, then grabbed my flat iron on a whim last Tuesday and got way better volume in half the time. The flat iron just lifts right at the root without pulling the whole section flat. Has anyone else found a tool works completely opposite to what you thought for a specific technique?
Had a woman in Peoria last week change her mind mid-application and get mad when I quoted her the price difference. Anyone else dealing with people who don't understand what they booked for?
I've been doing hair for about 12 years now and it wasn't until 6 months ago that I figured out I was using way too much developer with my color. A new girl straight out of school named Jess was working next to me at the salon in Nashville and she asked why I was using a full bottle of 20 volume for a root touch up. She said her instructor taught her to measure with a scale instead of just eyeing it. I blew her off at first but then I weighed my color mixture and realized I was using almost double the amount of developer I actually needed. All those years of wasted product and weaker color payoff because I thought more liquid meant better coverage. Has anyone else had a junior stylist or assistant correct something you've been doing wrong forever?
Read that stat in a trade magazine last month and it made me wonder, how many of us are just ignoring the early warning signs until it gets bad?
Used to think pH balanced shampoo was just marketing fluff. Been doing hair for 8 years in Nashville and never paid attention. Then I read a study from a cosmetology journal my old instructor sent me. Turns out alkaline products above 7.0 can strip the cuticle layer permanently over time. I tested my own favorite clarifying shampoo with cheap strips from Amazon. It tested at 8.5. Blew my mind. Now I check everything before I put it on a client's head. Has anyone else actually tested their products and found something shocking?
I usually use 30 volume to lift my dark roots, but I figured I'd test 20 volume to see if it would give a softer grow-out. It barely lifted at all, now I've got this weird orange band that I have to fix with a toner. Anyone else ever swap volumes and regret it instantly?
I had a client in Dallas last month who wanted silver but walked out looking green. Took me 3 color corrections and 6 hours to fix it. What's the longest you spent undoing a mistake?
I spent 3 hours fixing a hot roots disaster on a client from Seattle after she used box dye, and the demi-permanent blend blended the line way smoother than my usual permanent formula would have. The result was so much more natural with zero banding, even on the second application. Anyone else switch between the two based on the situation or are you loyal to one type?
I was at Target last Tuesday picking up some stuff and grabbed their cheap paddle brush on a whim. Used it on a client with super fine hair and the frizz was out of control like half way through the blowout. Switched back to my ol faithful Wet Brush Pro and it smoothed everything down no problem. That cheap one just couldn't grip the hair right at the roots no matter how I angled it. Anyone else notice a huge gap between budget brushes and mid range ones or is it just me?
Tbh, my teacher Mrs. Davies back at the Paul Mitchell school in Austin swore we had to use perfect diamond sections for every haircut. I argued with her for months saying it wastes time and doesn't matter for simple layered cuts. Well, after 3 years doing hair, I finally tried her way on a fussy client last month and the layers blended way better. Has anyone else found that old-school techniques actually beat the shortcuts we learn online?
I compared the $12 Sally's house brand topcoat against a $4 LA Colors one last week on two sets of swatches, and the cheap one dried faster and didn't peel after three days of hand washing. The Sally's one got tacky halfway through the day and chipped by day two. Has anyone else found that pricier stuff sometimes just doesn't hold up like the basic brands do?
I always thought expensive dryers were the secret to smooth blowouts. Then my $80 Babyliss crapped out after 6 months and I grabbed a $30 conair from the drugstore in a panic. Honestly my hair dried just as fast and didn't feel any more fried. Anyone else had the same thing happen with a pricey tool?
I used to think scalp treatments were just a way to upsell clients for extra cash. Then I visited a small salon in Austin last month and the stylist there spent 15 minutes talking about how she fixed a client's dandruff with a basic tea tree scrub. She showed me before and after photos that were honestly shocking. Now I add a 5 minute scalp massage to every color service and my clients keep asking what I changed. Has anyone else seen better results from adding scalp care to their routine?
Turned out I was using way too much pressure on the bowl brush and the color was basically sliding off before it could process - has anyone else wasted half a day on something this stupid?
Thought I was doing myself a favor by upgrading from my old $30 straightener to something fancier. Got a titanium plate one with all the bells and whistles. After using it for about 10 days, my hair started feeling dry and brittle. Looked in the mirror and saw split ends forming right where the plates hit. My cheapo one never did that. Now I'm wondering if I should just go back to ceramic or if I got a dud. Anybody else have titanium wreck your hair?
I grabbed this new silicone brush cleaning mat from the supply store in Austin thinking it'd save me time. Spent like 4 hours scrubbing brushes by hand before realizing the mat actually works way better with warm water and dish soap instead of the fancy brush cleaner I was using. Has anyone else had a tool that seemed useless until you found the right trick for it?
Had a client last Tuesday who INSISTED her brassy yellow hair was actually 'golden honey' and that purple shampoo would ruin it. I showed her the color wheel on my phone three times but she kept saying I was trying to upsell her. She finally tried a sample I gave her and came back two days later apologizing because her hair was suddenly cool toned and she loved it. Has anyone else had a client straight up refuse to believe basic color theory?
Did a bob on a client in Portland yesterday and the razor gave me way softer movement than the shears ever did, has anyone else had that work out better or did I just get lucky?
I used to be dead set against using a razor on curly hair. Thought it would cause nothing but frizz and split ends. Then last week I had a client named Maria who had these tight 3C curls and she kept asking for more texture without losing volume. Another stylist at my salon, Kim, watched me struggle with my shears for 20 minutes and finally pulled me aside. She showed me how to use a feathering razor with the curl pattern instead of against it, and you gotta go super light on the tension. Tried it on Maria and her curls actually bounced up even better than before. The whole thing took half the time and she loved the result. Has anyone else had a change of heart on a technique they swore they'd never use?
I saw this deal for a used salon chair on an auction site and thought I was being smart saving money. The listing showed it in great shape, looked like a brand name chair. Got it delivered and the hydraulics were shot, the base wobbled like crazy. I spent another $60 trying to fix it with parts from a local supply shop but it still felt unsafe. My first client sitting in it nearly tipped over when they leaned back. Now I'm out $260 total and the chair is just sitting in my garage. Anyone else get burned trying to save money on equipment like this?
Three clients in a row canceled and it was already a slow Tuesday so that was my whole paycheck. Then my hot towel cabinet just died mid-service on the one person who did show up. Has anyone else had a day where everything just fell apart like that?
I was looking at my appointment log for the last 6 months and counted up 500 blow-dries I've done. That's way more than I thought I was doing, especially since I mostly do color work. Has anyone else noticed a surprising number from their day-to-day work?
I had this day last month where I did three blonde touch-ups in a row and every single one came out brassy no matter what I used. First client was at 9 AM and I thought maybe my purple shampoo got watered down, but by the third one I knew something was off. Turns out my assistant had been mixing the toner batches with week-old developer and I didn't catch it until lunch. Has anyone else had a run of bad luck like that where you just want to throw your brushes in the trash?