How much integrity does it take to know when to say "No!"?

 A simple search on the Internet will show you that adding hair is becoming just about as common as getting color or a cut. Yes, it is somewhat expensive, but everyone wants Kim Kardashian's hair and they will charge their future away to get it. So of course there are those who are willing to do your extensions for less money out of their home, car, whatever...

I have seen more than a few of these jobs lately, and it truly frightens me to know that when someone without the critical thinking skills, or the training and know how starts installing extensions, the end result can be PERMANENT hair loss. That means it is never going to grow back, you will no longer need a hair dresser because you will be wearing wigs for the rest of your life! (And believe me, wigs are not comfortable in 90 degree heat!)

Just look at the African American community, (who have been adding hair forever) many of them are now bald, or have bald spots on their head. This is because not everyone can do hair weaves, and those who do them poorly, end up causing more hair loss. The same will be true with white clients who choose to find someone cheap, then neglect the care instructions that should accompany every hair addition. Hair additions must be monitored by a qualified professional, or they should not be installed.

Hair weaving, hair extensions, hair pieces are making it possible to create looks and resolve issues we had no solutions for in the past, however, they do come with risk, and careful installation is just the beginning. One must develop a relationship with their extension professional, and be able to trust that the installer has the integrity to speak up if issues are starting. Think about this, does your extension expert want to give up a lucrative client if necessary? Or will they just keep adding more hair until there is nothing left to add to?

At Chris for Hair, integrity is our most valuable service. Without it we believe we have nothing to offer.

www.chrisforhair.com

I hate my color, now what??

Today I want to talk about hair color. Just had a call from a lovely young woman who had her hair colored at another salon, was unhappy and wanted to see if I could fix it for her.

After asking a few questions I learned that the stylist has been dying her base color brown, THEN highlighting it after. This is a very dangerous way to go because one can not dye hair, then dye it lighter. Once it has been dyed, only bleaching will lighten the hair and it has to be strong bleach which not only damages the hair but can result in many off colors such as fushia, orange, even extreme red. In this case the stylist performed this service several times, making it even more difficult to get color out.

I had to tell this caller that even though there may be people out there who will say yes they can do her, she needs to leave her hair alone for at least 6 months, then perhaps it can begin to be corrected.

Once the dye is in the hair, it has to grow completely out before it can be done properly. At the rate of growth of 1/2 inch per month in 6 months we only have 3 inches of new growth. EVEN IF YOU CAN NO LONGER SEE THE DYE it is still in the hair, and needs to be accounted for.

Recently I had a client tell me she had not dyed her hair for over 1 year and wanted highlights. I processed it and checked the color near the scalp. When it looked the appropriate color I shampooed and during the styling phase I realized she had lied, her hair had been dyed about 4 months previous.

What we ended up with was beautiful highlights on the new growth and the same black ends where the hair had previously been dyed. Had I known she had dyed it 4 months ago, I could have adjusted my formula to account for this, Because she was not truthful we now had a mess. Luckily in that case I was able to recolor and the ending result was what she wanted, but it took 2 complete applications and I needed to charge her for that. So not to mention the extra time this took, the client paid twice to get the look she wanted.

Always tell your stylist the truth, and be accurate about previous colorings. Your hair will thank you...

What's up with feather hair extensions??

We now offer feather hair extensions. I must admit that I thought the latest beauty craze was somewhat silly, but you know, they DO look cool in the right hair style! And, they are very reasonable in price, take only 5 minutes to apply, and make you look like a true Diva...

Feather extensions can be washed as you shampoo, come out easily when you no longer want them in your hair, and hold up well to all we do to our hair.
If you want feather extensions call us today, tomorrow you can set the trend for all your friends.
www.chrisforhair.com
925-245-0194

Walmart for hair??

Yesterday on top of a full book of back to back appointments I had one final appointment to do a consultation for a removal and re-installation of hair extensions. I had my reservations about taking this appointment as the person on the phone kept  talking over me and trying to get me to commit to a reduction in my pricing structure. However as usual I let my intuition be overruled and booked her.

Almost as soon as she walked in the door I knew I should have listened and told her to move on as my intuition had suggested. The salon I work in is very elegant, quiet and private as we service numerous clients who have a need for privacy because of hair loss issues.

This young woman walks in, helps herself to a stack of hair extension products located at another stylists station, and starts playing with them. I told her that the piece she was throwing on her head at the time was $1400.00 worth of hair hoping she would get the point that we are not Wal-mart, and we do have a protocol. Unfortunately she did not get that point and proceeded to try on wigs over her obviously dirty hair.

As soon as I finished my client I asked her to be seated and looked at her existing extensions, a feeling of horror over came me, and must have shown on my face. The extensions were dread locked 3-4 inches down the hair shaft with bundles of 3-5 extensions in each dread lock. Knowing what I do about hair extensions I knew this woman was in grave danger of losing her hair in the dread locked areas. I tried to explain this to her and tell her that hair extensions MUST be maintained properly, or severe damage can result. She continued to make excuses as to why she had not gone back to the person who installed the extensions, and I admit I lost my patience with her. I told her that I did not think we would be able to work together and get along, and with that she went off on me telling me I had poor customer relation skills. I quickly backed off and tried to recover the situation by telling her I was angry at the person who installed the extensions and that she should have been informed about taking better care of them...

She then proceeded to ask how much I would charge her just to take them out, but by this time nothing in the world would have made me take this job on. She also tried to tell me that this was not a big deal, the previous person only took a couple of hours to get the knots out. This of course told me she did know of the risks involved with extensions and she would not follow directions again...

And so we ended our consultation with her,( I am sure) feeling abused, my feeling uncertain of how I could have handled this case better.

After thinking this through, I do feel as though I was with in my rights to tell her the things I did, having hair additions is a commitment to taking good care of them and one's hair. Going to someone who works out of her home, as this woman did, can only result in a disaster. I did not tell this woman that it is unlikely she will find a professional who will take her on, as anyone with the skills and know how should be busy enough that they do not need to take on problems like this. And, the particular extension this woman had installed requires a specially made tool to remove them that is expensive and not all hairstylists will have.

My best word of warning? Don't go to Wal-Mart when you need a Nordstrom installation. If you really want hair extensions, save your money, find the best expert you can, then keep your mouth shut and listen. You will be happier in the long run.

Sometime we know just enough to be dangerous...

A potential new client came in today for a consultation, and having talked with her on the phone previously, I knew she would require special attention. I booked out a full hour for her instead of my usual 1/2 hour because she had some complicated issues.

When she arrived and removed her hat, I immediately felt the anger and frustration levels in my body elevate. My frustration was not directed at her, but at the fact that it only took a quick look to know that this woman had been scammed big time. As she told me her story I realized that she thought she knew some things about hair replacement that were actually just the result of unscrupulous people who want to tell every client "Yes, we can do whatever you ask," then do whatever they want, just to collect the money.

In this poor woman's case her extensions were so bad that she had to cover them with a hat because if the wind blew at all, the tape attachments would show. In addition, the methods used to attach to the top of her head were not appropriate for that area and could cause further hair loss.

At first I am certain it looked as if I was angry with the client, but the truth is it is the responsibility of the professional to let the client know what can be done safely, and what can not be done safely.
Since there are currently no license requirements for hair extensions, many people just start doing them and have no idea how much damage can be done if they are improperly installed or monitored.
I had to tell this woman that if I were to take her on, no one but myself can perform the services she needs, and that she would have to follow my explicit instructions for care. She would have to sign a "contract" and be sure to let me know if any issues came up ASAP.

I do not believe in contracts that state that the client is not free to seek another professional if they are not happy with me, but unfortunately because many clients do not understand how dangerous chemicals and hair replacements can be, if applied in a sloppy manner, I do feel it is necessary to all we can to see that the client is protected because sometimes they know just enough to be dangerous!

And keep in mind, a cheap job is just that. Price is not the only thing one must consider when getting hair extensions.

Chris for Hair
Her Secret

The price of feeling good about yourself

I am getting calls from potential clients asking for pricing of my services and of course like most business I don’t like to quote prices over the phone. There are too many variables to consider when one is considering a complicated service to really even give a ballpark estimate.

For this reason my answer is usually, “I need to see you in person before…” I offer free consultations for all hair addition services, and that consultation is the tool I can use to do the research needed to give the potential client an accurate estimate of the cost of their service.

Clients need to understand that it does take time to do the necessary research before discussing money. The price of hair fluctuates, mostly upward, on almost a daily basis. Add to that the time necessary to create the product that will eventually give the client more hair. We manufacture most of our own hair additions to be certain they are up to our standards. Just buying hair from a vendor has become risky in this business as the demand for hair grows, some unscrupulous manufacturers use inferior hair and call it Remy hair, even add synthetic hair to the product thinking no one will know.

At Her Secret and Chris for Hair we believe in providing the best possible product and for this reason we do not just quote a price, and hope we can find cheap hair so we can make money on that job. We take the time necessary to consult, research, and analyze before we discuss pricing.

www.chrisforhair.com