Hairstylists: Get more clients in your chair and make them happy!

One of the best and greatest tips I can give a fellow stylist looking to grow their clientele is to create a referral program for their existing clients. Now I am sure a lot of your already know this or heard this 10000 times, but are you doing it? Are you making sure that every guest that visits you, is putting your name in their mouth?

Well here are 3 great tips to make sure that happens and every guest is helping you grow and feeling happy to do it with out any effort.

1. Use referral cards, this is not a business card, however you can use your business card if necessary. The key is to design a card that rewards your guests for referring their family and friends. For example at my salon we have created a $15 dollar referral card, so for every guest that my current guest refers they both get $15 dollars towards any service. Here is an example of the card we created for our skin care department.

2. Explain to your guest's how and when to use the refer cards. In essence explain to them how to refer guests to you with these cards, so they know exactly how, when and why they have these referral cards. This way the cards are with them all the time and they know that by having them, its like cash in their pockets. It even helps to explain to them that the value of this card is actually $30 and you get to share that with someone special to them.

3. This is very important. Make sure your guest's hair is looking great outside of the salon, not just when you style it. ALWAYS recommend the proper products to your guests so they know how to replicate their style at home. Also make sure your giving them the proper styling tools and techniques to use to achieve the look they want. Product is such a must! So make sure they have the essentials and then teach them the skills.

Later on down the line I will be sharing more great! techniques on how to build and grow your business behind the chair!

Like always please contact us via email: info@thehairstylistblog.com FOR ANYTHING!

Leave comments and suggestions or other great ideas you might have on growing your business and for those of you non professionals taking the time to read this, we would LOVE to hear your ideas as well. ALWAYS.

New Hair Cutting Video!: How to do a bob hair cut step by step

Hello everyone we have a new video up! This is such a fun way and fast way to cut an angled bob.
I have broken it down step by step for you to follow along with the video! I would love your comments and if there is anything that you are dying to see let me know.

Thank you!




Step by Step:

Section hair from the occipital bone diagonal back. Notice that it is the point to which the head naturally slopes down.

Over direct (bring all the hair to the central location) all of the hair straight up to the highest point of the parting and cut a straight blunt line

Take a horse shoe section from flat point of the back to the high temple area or point to which the eye brow arches.

Isolate the top

For finer hair textures like Jill's create a sub zig zag section to maintain weight and fullness towards the bottom.

Starting in the center back take a 2 inch pie shaped section (for those of you working on a more dense hair take 1 inch sections), over direct to the middle of the section, elevate at 90 degrees and cut short to long in a graduated manner

Notice the shape that is being taken

Continue working on the left side with 2 inch pie shaped sections over direct the hair back to the center and cut in the same manner: 90 degress elevation cutting short to long in a graduated manner

Continue working to the top of the ear in this fashion

At the top of the ear, over direct hair straight up and follow guide from short to long. To extend length slightly glide your hands out as you begin cutting short to long.

Check balance into back sections

Repeat this process on the opposite side

Drop down the isolated sections and begin Drying hair

Once hair is dry have guest look down

Cut the the base length, using a point cutting technique for softness, of the previous isolated sections to match the existing guide.

With the head upright check balance and clean up excess graduation.

Continue cutting length in a blunt cutting technique on the sides.

To add more texture and volume take a diamond shape section at the top of the crown

Deep point cut into this section creating a very shattered soft textured layer

Continue with a horse shoe section on top of the head and over direct back to balance the textured layer

Check visually for balance

For even more added texture and separation comb the hair forward and slightly slide cut into the hair creating more separation. Be carefully not to cut on top of the hair but behind it, so the layers are not as exposed but have a more invisible look, to maintain fullness to the hair.

For areas that are a little more fat or bulky, slide cut on the top to remove the excess bulk. But only in those areas.

Continue on the opposite side.

Always check balance and shape in the back at the very end.

This concludes our cut.

Practice Practice Practice and I hope you enjoyed it.

Please visit our website @ thehairstylistblog.com

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Our shirts our now available at District Lines. We have 5 different styles!

Visit our District Lines store to take a look.

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Having trouble covering gray hair?

This one is for the stylist's! So at the salon the other day we had a client in whose hair had a little challenge covering the gray with her formulation. The areas that gave us the biggest challenge were around the face by the ears.

For those of you who have had these challenges we have some solutions. Here are some great tips and tricks that have worked for us in the past and some that I have learned from fellow stylists for those problem areas, especially around the face!


Often times the hair around the face and ears will get filled with salt, due to the amount of sweat a person has perspired. Salt in our sweat will cause the hair to become very dry and resistant to color. Also product, minerals and chlorine will have a major affect on our color results. The best solution if this happens is to detoxify the hair prior to coloring. My recommendation would be to use Pureologys clarifying and detoxifying shampoo: Purify, prior to coloring. If you feel that there is an excess amount of build up of product, minerals, chlorine or salt in the hair use shampoo and leave on for up to 20 min capped under neath a dryer. Follow by applying your color to your manufactures instructions.



Here are some other great tips to try if clarifying the hair does not work.

1. Prior to coloring the hair apply a small amount of the hair color pigment only (not using any peroxide) to the challenging area and after apply color throughout entire head (including the challenging spots) in normal fashion.

2. After applying color to challenging areas, cover areas with foil.

3. Pre-soften the hair by applying a small amount of 20 volume peroxide to a piece of cotton and rub the challenging areas with the peroxide.


If any of you happen to have other tips and tricks we would love to hear them. Please comment or write us at: info@thehairstylistblog.com

Shear Genius Season 3: Goodbye April, my thoughts on the episode and an exclusive interview with April Barton

So I just watched the new Shear Genius Episode tonight on my TiVo. I have to say I am extremely disappointed with the show. I feel that the challenges are weak, the judges are awful and only give negative remarks and the show, like the last 3 years, is striving so hard to be like project runway.

I would love to see them give the stylist's more time. The only person who's opinion I value is Orlando Pita, the mentor "Tim Gun" and I have to say even he falls a little short on this show. He really gives a lot of negative feedback and not a lot of positive reinforcement like Mr. Gun often does.

Well I am going to continue to critique the show week by week for the last couple of episodes and give my thoughts. I felt the right stylist (April) went home tonight. She has far too large of an ego, a bit of an extreme attitude and her work was sub par. Her styles tonight were plane and her heart shape hair cut was a joke. Watching her cut hair was insulting and showy. As a hairstylist I really don't value stylist's who make it all about them, clearly she does. Good Riddance to her and let the show continue.




April recently did an interview on her time on Shear Genius. After reading her interview I will say this, she has integrity, although I particularly do not value her as a stylist, she is true to her self and I very much value that. check it out:
Shear Genius Season 3: Exclusive Interview with April Barton


This weeks winner: Matthew

The Hairstylist Blog's winner: Matthew, the right man one.

Check out all of the looks from this weeks episode: http://www.bravotv.com/shear-genius/photos/episode-6-do-or-dont

Here are the critiques on the rest of the contestants.

Jon: Not quite polished enough for me.
Janine: She did O.K but once again to me not polished. Her first look was too plain and not enough volume for the tv/movie world and her second look was just not polished for me.
Brian: Terrible and needs to go
Brig: Her first look was great! Her second look was far to sloppy and not balanced. If she would have done well on the second look she would have won with out a doubt.
April: The right choice was made here. Her look really had no taste and both challenges were lacking.

Pureology Serious Color Care

Hello everyone! I (gregory) am currently in Savahanna, Ga taking a pureology serious color care course.

I can't wait to share with all of you everything I learned!

I am going to take some video blogs of my trip and some info about everything that I did. If you want to learn more about Pureology. Please visit their site @: Pureology.com

The Hairstylist Blog

New video up! Check our 3 minute video all about us and what we do.

New Hair Cutting Video - How to cut Long Disconnected Layers Step by Step

In this video - The hairstylist blog will teach you how to cut a long layered hair cut with a disconnected layer and framing around the face. It will have a very similar look to Jennifer Aniston hair (hair cut) with a little bit of a twist! You will learn step by step instructions on how to cut this hair cut. You will also learn really great texturizing techniques. This is an advanced training video, not a basic hair cut. Notice the before and afters of the look for the transformation of this look. If you like the color you see, watch Katie's color, Highlighting around the face with dimensional coloring.  

Basically this cut is broken down into 7 easy steps with an optianl 8th step.
Hope you enjoy!!
-Greg

Step 1
Isolate the top portion of the hair from temple to temple, creating a horse shoe partinging.
Take a 1 inch center section in the center back and cut blunt with a concave layer technique.
Move going center right over directing everything to the center.
Move going center left over directing everything to the center.

Step 2
Isolate the bottom (The hair that was just cut).
Take a 1 inch Mohawk section from front to back of crown.
Establish your disconnected layer ** Note your disconnected layer should be longer than your layer that was previous cut underneath.
Follow through the Mohawk section at a 45 degree angle cutting blunt from short to long.

Step 3
With the top section still isolated - Divide the hair from left to right with a center parting.
Starting on the right side Take diagonal pie shaped sections going from front to back.
Follow your guide staying at a 45 degree angle cutting the hair blunt from short to long.
Repeat on opposite side.

Step 4
Dry hair smooth and straight with minimal volume.

Step 5
Establish length by using a point cutting technique to create separation and texture on the ends.
*Optional to create a more angled back length by visually cutting the hair shorter on the sides and gradually getting longer towards the middle.

Step 6
Isolate the bottom hair from temple to temple leaving a small section in the center back out as a guide
Over direct hair up and over to the 45 degree angle to which it was cut and blend disconnection with texture by finding the disconnection on the bottom and point cutting on the top of each section.

Step 7 (*Optional - This will create more texture and separation around the face)
Take a triangle pie shape section in the front of the hair from which the point that the head slopes down to the forehead (view on the video to get a reference point).
Comb hair to a 45 degree angle and pinch or squeeze hair to have it fan out.
Deep point cut the hair for seperation.

Step 8
Visually slice cut the hair throughout the top layer to create separation and texture throughout the top disconnected layer.