c/cosmetologists

Just realized my shampoo bars are the problem after a salon visit in Austin

Went to a new stylist last Thursday and she asked what I use, then told me my hard water here was reacting with the bars and leaving buildup. Has anyone else had to switch away from solid shampoo after moving to a place with different water?

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keith900•3d ago

Why did it take me three years to find a mixing bowl lid that fits?

I have been doing hair for thirteen years, and for the last three I have been using plastic wrap over my color bowls. Every single time I had to reach for the roll, tear off a piece, and hope it stayed put while I moved to the next client. Last week I finally ordered a set of silicone lids sized for those standard metal bowls, and I felt like an idiot for not doing it sooner. It probably cost me fifteen bucks and maybe an hour total of messing around, but the wrap method never once held up. Has anyone else dealt with this silly time drain, or did everyone else figure this out on day one?

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lewis.terry•4d ago

Saw a stylist in Nashville use a mixing bowl trick I never thought of

Honestly, I was in Nashville last week for a family thing and stopped into this small salon to grab some product. This stylist was doing a vivid color and she mixed her toner in a plastic squeeze bottle with a few drops of water before applying. She said it spreads way more even and cuts down on patchy spots. I tried it on my client yesterday with a pastel pink and the result was super smooth, no streaks at all. Tbh, I've been doing color for 8 years and never once thought to thin it out like that. Has anyone else got a random mixing hack they picked up from watching another stylist work?

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tara642•5d ago

The $40 mannequin head that gave me a panic attack at 2am

So last week I ordered a new practice mannequin for a balayage class I'm teaching this weekend. It arrived Wednesday and I left it on my counter while I went to grab dinner. Came back, turned on the kitchen light, and saw this pale face staring at me from across the room. I screamed so loud my neighbor knocked on the wall. Cost me $40 and I swear I'm gonna start keeping a towel over it when I'm not using it. Anyone else ever get spooked by their own supplies?

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milarodriguez•6d ago

That $6 mixing bowl moment in Miami changed my balayage game

So I've been doing balayage for like 4 years and always used the same bowl from beauty school. Last Tuesday a client brought in this cheap stainless bowl from her kitchen and asked me to use it. I thought she was joking but tried it anyway. The color stayed way more even because the metal kept the bleach cooler, no more heat buildup messing with the lift. Anyone else got a random non-pro tool that lowkey works better than the salon stuff?

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the_elliot•10d ago

A bride told me my updo looked 'too perfect' and it stung

Last month in Austin I did a wedding trial and she said my work looked like a mannequin. I switched from using a ton of pinning spray to letting the hair move naturally with just a few bobby pins. Has anyone else gotten feedback that made them rethink their whole technique?

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gracec16•10d ago

Is 'consult first, cut later' actually slowing us down?

Honestly, I've been watching new stylists at my salon in Austin rush straight into scissors, and they keep doing corrective cuts within 2 weeks. But my old mentor in Dallas always made me do a 10 minute consultation before touching anyone, and I swear my rebooking rate doubled after that. Ngl, I get the pressure to fit more clients, but are we trading long term trust for short term speed? Has anyone else seen the number of fix-it appointments jump when they skip the consult?

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michaeld48•15d ago

Chose handheld clippers over the corded ones for my floor kit, no regrets

I do house call haircuts in Austin and got tired of dragging a 25 foot extension cord into people's bathrooms. Picked up a cordless Wahl at a pawn shop for $45 about 3 months ago, figured if it died I was only out a little. That thing has been through 60 plus cuts now and the battery still holds for a full day of appointments. The only downside is it's a bit heavier in the hand, but man the freedom of moving around a client's kitchen without tripping over wires is worth it. Has anyone else switched to cordless for mobile work and found a brand that actually lasts?

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miles_burns•17d ago

My foiling brush melted mid-section and it was chaos

Last Saturday I was doing a full highlight on a client in Austin and my favorite foiling brush just bent sideways in my hand. The plastic part near the bristles got soft and warped from sitting too close to my hot iron between sections. I had to finish the whole back of her head with a tail comb and my fingers, which took an extra 40 minutes and looked way messier than usual. Anyone else had a tool fail on them right in the middle of a service? What do you keep as a backup that you actually trust?

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oscarc12•17d ago

The toner sat 25 minutes and did something weird on me

I left a violet toner on this client's hair for 25 minutes because I got pulled into a walk-in consult. When I rinsed it, the ends picked up this pale lavender tint that actually looked awesome, but her roots stayed brassy like nothing happened. Kinda backwards from what I expected, the porosity on her ends just soaked it up way faster. Has anyone else had toner act totally different on one section like that, or was mine just past its prime?

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parkerbrown•18d ago

The sagging perm I blamed on the client was actually my water temp

Last saturday I had a regular come in for her touch up perm and the curls fell flat before she even left the chair. I was about to blame her hair porosity or the product batch but then I checked my rinse water temp gauge and it was reading 98 degrees instead of the 105 I thought. Turns out my heater had been drifting for like 2 weeks and I never recalibrated it, which explains why those last three perms looked weak too. I always trusted the dial on the sink but the actual thermometer told a totally different story. That $12 thermometer just saved me from losing a client who's been coming to me since 2019. Anyone else ever had a tool silently fail and mess with their results?

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the_alice•25d ago

That OSHA fact about hair dryers stopped me mid-appointment

So I was reading through the state board update last Tuesday and found out salon hair dryers can hit 140 degrees at the nozzle, which is way hotter than I thought. I had a client with fine hair and I'd been doing her blowouts on high heat for like 6 months, no wonder she kept complaining about breakage. I checked my own dryer settings and sure enough, the high setting was sitting around that range. Has anyone else adjusted their heat based on the actual temps, or am I the last one to figure this out?

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michaeld48•25d ago

Barber scissors vs shears, does the brand really matter?

I spent 6 months in Dallas using cheap shears from a beauty supply store and my hand would cramp by the third haircut. Switched to a pair my coworker let me borrow, same blade length, and the difference in fatigue was huge. Anyone else notice the weight distribution makes or breaks your day, or is it just me?

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violaramirez•27d ago

Vent: The Saturday where every perm appointment went sideways

Last Saturday in Mesa, I had back to back perms and both clients left with hair that looked like a startled poodle, no curl pattern, just frizz. Turns out the new neutralizer batch I grabbed was expired by 4 months, I never checked the bottle because it was front of the shelf. Anyone else had a day where every chemical service decided to rebel at once, or am I just cursed?

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cora518•28d ago

Half my clients ask for 'that curtain look' but have no idea it needs 14 inches of layering

I had a walk-in last Tuesday in Portland show me a Pinterest pic of thin face-framing pieces and call it curtain bangs, then got mad when I explained the real cut needs heavy weight removal and styling time, so has anyone else had to talk someone out of a haircut they saw on a photo that was actually a wig?

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emerym36•28d ago

My instructor swore by the 45 degree rule, ruined 2 highlight jobs in a row

Back at Aveda in Austin, my educator kept saying to always hold foils at 45 degrees for maximum lift. I did that exactly on two clients last month and both came out patchy, with hot spots near the roots. Turns out my chair angles and the Aveda bleach they taught with dont mix like that for finer hair. Has anyone else had a textbook rule that just doesnt hold up in real salon work?

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ellioth37•1mo ago

Bought a $240 ionic dryer and it broke in 3 weeks

Picked up one of those fancy ionic dryers from a shop in Uptown Charlotte, thought it would cut my blowout time in half. Thing died mid-session on a Tuesday, motor just gave up, no warning. I could've stuck with my old Conair that lasted 6 years and saved the cash. Anyone else had a high-end tool crap out fast, or did I just get a lemon?

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taylor.reese•1mo ago

Took me 5 years to try a wet brush on curly clients, I was wrong about it

I always thought wet brushes ripped through curls, but a coworker in Tampa made me try hers on a 3C client last month. The flexy bristles actually glided through without yanking the pattern apart. Anyone else switch tools after swearing them off for years?

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ninaowens•1mo ago

That one client who told me to stop using so much hair spray ended up being right

I had this older lady, Mrs. Chen, who comes in every 6 weeks for a perm. She kept saying I was overdoing it with the finishing spray, that it was making her hair feel crunchy. I thought I knew better because I always used the good professional stuff. Finally after like 4 appointments of her mentioning it, I cut back by half last Tuesday and her waves actually held better and she said it felt soft for the first time in months. Has anyone else had a client call you out on something and they were totally spot on?

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daniel140•1mo ago

The way people over-tone purple shampoo on blonde clients is driving me crazy

Had a lady come in last week who turned her roots lavender because she left the Purple Rain on for 12 minutes instead of the 3 on the bottle, and now I have to explain to her that no, purple cancels yellow, it doesn't turn white hair purple-blue if you use it like a toner.

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kimr74•1mo ago

Hot take: My instructor told me my balayage blending was too tight, I thought she was nuts at first

I got told last week at a training session in Portland that I was wrapping my foils too close together for a lived-in look. I argued with her for like 10 minutes because I thought tighter meant more blend. She made me do a section with 2 inches of space between foils, and I swear the result looked way more natural and softer. Anyone else get feedback that went completely against what you thought was right?

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evan_green52•1mo ago

Spent 45 minutes trying to figure out why my foil highlights were bleeding, turned out I was holding the brush at the wrong angle the whole time

I must have redone three sections before a coworker walked over and said hey you're dragging the color sideways instead of straight, has anyone else had a basic technique suddenly backfire on them like that?

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alexbennett•1mo ago

That $400 chair at the salon broke my back after 3 months

Last week my chiropractor straight up told me I need to stop using that fancy hydraulic salon chair I bought and switch to a saddle stool after 3 months of back pain. She showed me how my hips were tilted forward constantly which was causing all this tension in my lower back during 8 hour shifts. Has anyone else had to switch their seating setup midway through their career?

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hannah400•1mo ago

Client yesterday told me her regular stylist never checked her scalp condition

She sits down in my chair in Portland and says 'no offense but I just need a trim'. Then she mentions her scalp has been itchy for 3 months. I parted her hair and saw red patches near her crown. How do you go that long without anyone looking? Has anyone else had clients shocked when you actually inspect their scalp before cutting?

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jasonallen•1mo ago

That time a perm went VERY wrong on a new client last Thursday

I had a new client come in wanting tight ringlet curls, but after 15 minutes her hair started feeling like cooked spaghetti. Turns out she had been using a keratin treatment 3 weeks before and never told me. I had to immediately neutralize and spend 2 hours doing a deep protein treatment to save her hair. Has anyone else had clients hide what they've done to their hair and then blame you for the disaster?

3 comments