r/hairstylist

Hope everyone is doing well! I'm 20m from VA, and I am thinking about writing a script for a sitcom TV show centered around a barber shop/hair salon. If you have any funny or unique stories from working in the business and want to share them, I would love to learn.

So I’ve recently run into an issue. A client of mine requested a specific product and I told her I would order it for her since it’s something I don’t typically carry. From our professional supplier, the product is just under $19 our cost. I happened to look it up on Amazon and Amazon is selling the same product in the same size for less than $17. Typically when we buy things from our suppliers, it is “at cost“ and the markup is 100%. That would mean I should sell this product to my client for just under $40. Am I the only stylist having an issue with this situation? I have a hard time charging my client almost $40 for the same product that she could very easily order off of Amazon for less than half.

Im trying to run a a salon where I have 2 stylists on commission, and two stylists on chair rental.. im confused because I don't know if the chair rentals should be getting clients from the salon, as in a new client wants " anyone " from the salon.. would it be only offer them the commission stylists or are chair renters expected to be getting clients as well

also I ran a promo for a specific service and sent out a mass email to the whole client database, one of the chair renters clients wants to know more, however we said in the promo " booked with select stylists" meaning the commission stylists. now the renter wants to buy their own product and book the service themselves. so it feels as though were marketing for the salon to make money but the chair renter wants to make his own money off the marketing done..

thoughts?

I work in a barbershop & salon in Canada. I'm looking for recommendations for magazine subscriptions or books to have in the waiting area for clients to browse specifically for hair styles. We do hair of all ages but majority of our clientele is older.

Good morning,

I'm struggling with inconsistent results after using skp for 25 years. The new formulations have been unpredictable. The bottles of developer are not air tight and leak. I'm more cut specializing than color so I don't go through my bottles fast enough to not notice the quality of the developer changing at the half bottle mark. I'm frustrated and looking at my options.

Currently I'm eying keune. Id love to hear what you love, what you don't like.... all of the things I should know from a stylist experience perspective, instead of rep perspective. My rep is bringing me a trial pack, and I will do an education session, but again, id love to hear from other stylists how they like or dislike the line.

Thanks!!!

Do you feel valued and respected as a hairstylist, or do you feel like clients don’t appreciate you enough to make all the hard work you put into their hair worth it?

I know the title sounds pretty intense, but I have this client that I’ve only seen twice and both times she has talked about political topics, conspiracy theories, made trans phobic remarks, and etc. I don’t know how to shut down the conversation, I’m typically not very confrontational and I know sometimes you just have to be in this industry. How should I go about shutting down the conversation when she brings up those topics in my chair?

For some context I am 25 and she is in her early 40’s, and sometimes I feel like because I am a younger stylist people feel like they can walk all over me.

Kinda on topic 🫣 but have yall ever service traded before? I never felt it worth it because I was slower and definitely NEEDED the money to come in.

But this lash artist wants to service trade and I kinda want to! My only concern is obviously lashes are more upkeep than hair to an extent so idk how that would go money wise. I would like some advice or words of wisdom lol

Hey everyone, so I’m starting a new job tomorrow and I know someone who worked at the salon I’m going to and she never got paid.
I have left a Salon in the same area in the past to go work in Jersey and also did not get paid so this is not my first time hearing of this happening to a stylist. I’m not sure of how common this is in my area but I’m from a large city that rhymes with Dilly.
Just want to ask if this has happened to anyone else and how often does this happen because I am now terrified to start my new job.

I was thinking of the Amelia Jane one or Braggn beauty. They’re both around $1000 though it’s a lot of money and wondering if it would be worth the investment.
Has anyone taken these or others they recommend or don’t recommend?

i love doing hair, i really do. but sometimes i wonder what my life would be like if i chose a different career path. this is one of the most stressful careers, that doesn’t slow down, even in the slow season. im an independent 22 year old salon owner (my salon is suite sized), so i am entirely by myself. i gained business incredibly quickly, and i am usually booked 2.5-3ish months out. my mental health has been plummeting and i have to work more and more to keep up with the economy. i have nowhere to go. no where to debrief. i cant afford anything. i’ve already raised my prices twice, but i still like i’m being overran constantly. i just feel so alone sometimes. we just have to swallow that and hear from everyone else constantly. sorry to bring bad vibes, i just need to rant to other people that understand.

Our salon just took a Davines NaturalTech class and I'm feeling like I came out understanding less about the line than before. The salon I am from is a curious and eager to learn class so we were engaged and asking questions, majority of which were not answered. It's cool to know that the company is a b Corp and they have all these certifications but when I am left with little to no product knowledge I feel like I wasted my time. Also.. how am I supposed to guide clients to the product that's right for them? I'm just feeling so frustrated, we already use all Davines color and their main shampoos and conditioners which are amazing. It's just that the treatment line needs so much more instruction, I'm left feeling clueless.

I’m currently in the last few months of my cosmetology program and I keep wracking my brain as to the reason people with extensions don’t put layers in them to blend more. I understand not wasting hair so in that case why are we not using shorter wefts up the head to mimic layers? what am I missing?? tia✨

Hey guys!
I am a 15 year stylist/ salon owner in a small Southern town.

I have really been thinking lately about what I can do to increase my income. I know that it’s a hard time economically to do so, but frankly I am tired of undercharging, and seeing my younger stylists charging more than me and people paying it with little issue. I know this is completely my fault, but I am always so nervous to raise my prices.

For context, I work 4 days a week, roughly 33-40+ hours per week. I made roughly $62,000 last year before deductions, but as we all know, with supplies increasing the way they are, I have no doubt I spent at least $5k-$10k on supplies, color, etc.
I guess I can just see that if something doesn’t change, my income will continue to dwindle. I’m also to a point where I feel like I would love to rebrand myself and my salon to something more luxury. I have always been a “cheaper” stylist in what I charge, but I feel I have the skills to be able to move into a more luxury vibe. I rarely double book clients and I like spending time with everyone individually, so it wouldn’t be a huge stretch for me to have more add-ons to elevate my clients’ experience.

My questions are, for the stylists that have been in the game for a long time and have full books, have you ever done something like this? How was it received by your clients? How much did your prices increase for the added luxuries, and what did you add on? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I know the main thing for me to do would be to do a price increase, but I’m looking to possibly go in a different direction entirely with rebranding, so I would rather get settled on that before I up my prices. I will also put what I have been charging for various services, but please keep in mind that I live in a small southern town of roughly 15k people.

Full color:$105+
Highlights and haircut:$125+
Women’s haircut:$45
Men’s haircut:$25
Color with highlights:$145+

ETA: I have a full book/clientele. I am not necessarily looking for advice in growing my clientele, I honestly am very lucky that I am at a point where I have to turn people away fairly regularly. I’m mostly looking for advice on if anyone has changed the vibe/structure of their salon to be more “luxury” when you already had established clientele. Did you keep them? Did you end up having to rebuild your clientele? And also, what extras did you add?

Also want to note that I have an existing head spa room in my salon as well, so I don’t think I want to add a scalp service to my regular menu because it might hurt my head spa business.

I’m debating switching color lines from Wella to Oligo. Has anyone made that transition and what are the thoughts from stylists who have made the switch to Oligo?

Hi! Just looking to get some insight on how hairdresser life is in Colorado. I’m looking to move to the Denver area. I’ve been a hairdresser in New York for 16 years. Transferring my license seems easy enough, if you’ve done it before and have any tips let me know. I currently work in a suite but I’d be applying to work in a salon again and I’d love some recommendations for salons to check out, I do a lots of vivids, curly cuts and focus on color- no clipper or kids cuts.
So yeah just overall vibe of the industry out there and any tips would be much appreciated!