Adventures in Beauty School VI

CLINIC

After 300 hours in the classroom, I am able to work on actual people. Every Thursday and Friday we accept appointments for cosmetology services in our salon here at Upper Bucks. My first client came in for a color retouch service. I set up the station for color and consulted with the client before I began. The client wanted the same color as indicated on the files we keep here but also wanted cap highlights in her hair. Due to the scheduling of our salon in accordance with the A.M. and P.M. class, it is not possible to do both color services in the morning appointment. So I did the retouch in the morning with the client agreeing to come back in the afternoon for her highlights.

A retouch is what we refer to at Me Salon + Spa as a single process color. I mixed the color and taking
¼ inch partings, painted on the color to the regrowth. We took the end of the rattail comb to loosen up the hair so the color could process. We set the timer for the time on her color card (30 minutes) and let her process. She completed processing (timer set) and was washed with color care shampoo and conditioner. I blew dry and styled her hair.

When she returned in the afternoon, I did cap highlights. I pulled the cap over her dry hair and pulled hair through the blue holes (works out to every other hole). When all the hair was pulled through, I ran a comb through the hair to make sure all of the hair was pulled completely through the holes. I then mixed the bleach and developer and painted it on the hair pulled through the cap for highlighting results. I do the top front to back then the sides. I took a comb and loosened the hair from the cap. Since we did not do highlights on this client previously, we set the timer for 10 minutes. After looking at it, we set it for another ten minutes. After the 20 minutes, we determined that the hair was still not at the desired color and waited another 10 minutes. At that point, the color looked good. We performed a strand test, by spraying water on a hair strand and looked at the color. We wet the hair and applied a little shampoo with the cap still on (this loosens the cap and makes the taking it off painless). We slipped the cap off, washed the hair with color care shampoo and conditioner and then dried and styled the client. She was thrilled with the outcome and I received my first tip as a hair stylist. I have it in a frame at my house.

I have had customers every week now, and I have completed: a curler set and style, a perm, a foil highlight, and a few haircuts. I learn so much in each clinic such as proper draping of client, communication, listening, understanding clients ailments and limitations, positioning my hands while working with scissors, blow drying, height of chair, shampoo bowls etc. Order and cleanliness in a salon is essential to productive employees and an excellent salon experience for the client.

I have been working at Me Salon + Spa for 5 years now as a shampoo assistant and Guest Advisor. I feel more connected to the stylists and the services they perform as I learn more at school. In recent months, I have been assisting with stylists as they consult with their client, formulate and mix colors, and perform haircuts. I have even cut my husband's and son's hair at the salon, with the guidance of the stylists at Me. I continue to learn new techniques in cutting, coloring and styling from my co-workers and teachers at the salon. I feel so fortunate to be a part of the Me Salon + Spa team!!!

Your stylist in training, Marian