Friday, March 15, 2013

"The Salon Down The Street Said..."

by Melissa L. White
Licensed Hair Stylist
Certified Hair Extension Artist

Whew! You wouldn't believe how often people bring up something that another stylist said, or something a friend told them, or something that they read in a magazine. Sometimes it's not that they're confronting your knowledge or experience, but rather trying to make sense out of conflicting or confusing information out there. Sometimes the information isn't very up-to-date, doesn't apply to your hair type, or is based on mis-information.

Trendy Highlights Hair Salon
on Newbury Street in Boston, Massachusetts
Photo Credit: celebrateboston.com

Face it, as women, we're faced with daily bombardment of beauty tips, trends and ever-changing no-no's. It's hard to keep up with them. To make matters worse, they sometimes contradict each other.

You may read a magazine article that advises to avoid shampoos containing certain ingredients because they can interact with hard water, for instance. But not everyone has hard water, and for those that don't, why should a product be tarnished when there is nothing harmful about using it for those people.

We also deal with never-ending changes in trends. What's hot one season will be replaced with something else the next. Just read through some of my previous posts and you'll see that predicted trends for this Spring have already changed several times. And that's just in what colors will be hot this year! Sometimes predictions are just a shot-in-the-dark and it's best to wait until the season is upon us and see what's popular. But, if you like to be on the cutting edge of fashion, makeup and hair, it's a risk you just have to take.

In terms of conflicting recommendations from one salon to another, it's a bit more complicated. Just like other professions, there are a lot of sub-specialties for a hair stylist. Some find that they prefer giving men's haircuts, others just love color, are talented at creating stylish up-do's. Others perhaps haven't developed a feel for what they truly love, don't really care, like variety or just like the rapid pace of a quick in-and-out place like SuperCuts or ProCuts. Nothing wrong with that at all. The point is that most people tend to gravitate towards what they love to do. This can be something that gives them tremendous satisfaction, or it can be something that they simply excel at. Or both.

Myself, I'm passionate about providing quality hair extensions. When I first graduated and joined a salon, I did a bit of everything. The salon owner saw that I had a real talent for color, and began pushing me towards that specialty, sending me to trainings with Goldwell, Paul Mitchell and Redkin. I did like color, and loved using color on myself. But it just didn't excite me. After a couple of years, and a great offer from Paul Mitchell to join their group of colorists, I knew it wasn't for me. Instead, I continued pursuit of something that I'd developed a growing interest in.  

Extensions of Yourself
San Antonio Hair Extension Specialty Salon

From my own problem of thinning hair, I began my quest for a solution. After experimenting for several years with all types of weaves, wigs, braided extensions, and hair pieces, I eventually found my true passion in hair extensions. That was eleven years ago, and hair extensions is now my exclusive service in my own specialty salon in San Antonio. Everything I do at my salon is focused on providing services that ensure gorgeous hair extensions, including the conditioning services, color, highlights and cuts that my clients with hair extensions need.

Not all stylists are so specialized, or as passionate about what they do, but we all still have our preferred procedures and services.

So what does this all mean? Just keep in mind that the stylist you see at a particular salon has his/her own interests, and probably a good deal of knowledge about it. But no one stylist can be truly up-to-date on all trends, all products, and all the answers to every question. When you understand this, it's easier to see why then that you can get quite different answers from different stylists. Each is looking at the question from their own unique perspective and knowledge base. If you're seeking specialized information, try to get your answers from those who specialize in that area. You may save yourself some time and money!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR -
Melissa White is an experienced, licensed hair extension artist and stylist whose passion is to bring out the natural beauty in everyone by enhancing their own individual features with the use of exquisite hair extensions. Melissa has over 10 years of extensive training with the industries top hair extension companies in the newest techniques. Melissa is also a certified Brazilian Blowout stylist. Originally from Boston, Melissa has been in San Antonio for the past 8 years. She believes that everyone should be able to access and afford the hair of their dreams . . . thus the creation of Extensions of Yourself, San Antonio's first salon which specializes exclusively in quality hair extensions.