Waiting for something to happen in an unplanned future is really poetic, but a little out-dated. In this day and age there's so little in your life you can't learn to have more control over. Somethings, like love, aren't supposed to be controlled though.
As a hair stylist its easy to eventually feel like you're looking at the masses as something you're separate from. Or maybe that's not true and its just me.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Mens grooming
My start at the Hair Cuttery really brought me to an entirely new part of my craft, men's grooming.
Working in a private salons as an assistant I saw maybe a 1-5 ratio of men to women. When the rent and cost of maintenance of a private salon can sometimes be 3-5X of a business like the Hair Cuttery, the goal of the stylist becomes to have the highest ticket price for the fewest number of clients. This is a reasonable response. However, over time you realize the best way to do this is to build a large clientele for color and foil-work. These services can be anywhere from one to several hundred dollars in a matter of hours. In the shadow of high-paying clients like these, men can become unimportant or at best, second in priority.
Men, I think, flock to the Hair Cuttery and similar salons for one or more of the following reasons:
Convenience - there is always a stylist available for a walk in and most men don't think it necessary to see the same person all the time. Also a large portion of my male clientele does not have the most structured schedule and likes being able to just come when they think they need a hair cut, rather than when they've been scheduled to come back.
Comfort - the Hair Cuttery is a simple design and lay out with a low price and none of the frills and flowers of a private salon, which, in most cases, caters to women first, men second.
Brand Power - Since most men don't spend their time with other men discussing where they had their hair cut and why they liked it, there is much less word-of-mouth between men, so they're less likely to be referred to a private salon. The Hair Cuttery however has been around for years, has always offered a cheap clipper-cut and is known to do a lot of men's haircuts. This, for most guys, perfect. I'm sure there's a lot more to it. There are millions of ins & outs of the successful marketing of the Hair Cuttery but that's where I'll start.
I think I should also mention, that a large portion of our male clients are looking for a short even cut on the sides (done normally and pretty reliably with clippers) and "finger-length" on top. In reality an average men's hairstyle is distinguished mostly by the product used and the shape formed. I think for myself and other men, we just know there's not too much that can be messed up in that short hair cut, and its easier to trust a stylist you've never seen before when you're thinking like that.
I came from a salon where almost every part of a male's hair cut was done with scissors. In my first couple weeks at the Hair Cuttery I realized not only was this more time-consuming than expected for the client, but also didn't give the solid, clearly defined silhouette of clippers. I quickly learned that my talent as a hair stylist would mostly be shown in the 12 or so square inches of hair left at the top of the head, or by the style I suggested based off the clients face.
Most men won't tell you that they would like to accentuate their cheek bones and neck, while drawing attention away from their receding hairline. I decided early on that your success in doing mens' hair will rely in a large way on your ability to assume what they want. There are many variables that most male clients are not used to being asked about. Such as:
Texture - does the client want to see a broken shape in their hair, do they want chunky or solid, do they want movement or a stiff style.
Hairline - square or round mean nothing, do they want a natural hairline, a blunt edge, a fade or undercut
Length - the front of the head curves down into the forehead. does the client want one inch of hair from the back to the front, or do they want the front of their hair cut to stand as tall as the inch cut in the back and top-center of their haircut.
Profile - does the client seem to like their face shape? do they want their profile accentuated with fading and tapering where its needed.
In my world, I have the 3 minutes of consultation to assume enough about my male client that I can give him a hair cut fitting for his personality and routine. Everything from the way they greet me, they way they sit, the way they're dressed, the way the talk about their hair (are they being extremely casual or somewhere on a scale of specific?) and also what they seem to think of my own hair when looking at me in the mirror. There is a lot of customer service training and my own unavoidable stereo-typing that gets done in these few moments. Please don't let stereo-typing have a negative connotation with you, because when it comes to business some thorough research of your client and being able to somewhat categorize them is what makes you successful.
REMEMBER: Most men NEVER see themselves from the side and have no concept of their profile and its up to the stylist to bring their attention to things that ruin their profile, like tight fades on the back of lumpy heads, or not suggesting a taper for someone who would look good with one.
THE OPTIMUM FACE SHAPE FOR A MAN IS SQUARE. That's the most complimentary and no matter what hair cut they're asking for if it sqaures off their face they will like it more than if not. Its not necessary to bring this to their attention unless you think they are interested. Most are not.
There are so many more parts of this I could elaborate on. I plan on doing separate posts on fades and longer mens' hair cuts...
I'm hoping I've at least sparked an interest in men grooming and can get you to come back for more.
Gunnar
RIGHT: Notice the straight line along the top of the hair cut, created with a slightly longer length at the very front. And the taper at the neck accentuationg this mans head shape and neck.
ABOVE: See that even tho the haircut is a round shape, its slightly heavier around the temples and the straight up and down on the sides of the head. This man has a square face already and has no need for tapering (gradually getting shorter towards the bottom) because his silhouette is complimentary.
Working in a private salons as an assistant I saw maybe a 1-5 ratio of men to women. When the rent and cost of maintenance of a private salon can sometimes be 3-5X of a business like the Hair Cuttery, the goal of the stylist becomes to have the highest ticket price for the fewest number of clients. This is a reasonable response. However, over time you realize the best way to do this is to build a large clientele for color and foil-work. These services can be anywhere from one to several hundred dollars in a matter of hours. In the shadow of high-paying clients like these, men can become unimportant or at best, second in priority.
Men, I think, flock to the Hair Cuttery and similar salons for one or more of the following reasons:
Convenience - there is always a stylist available for a walk in and most men don't think it necessary to see the same person all the time. Also a large portion of my male clientele does not have the most structured schedule and likes being able to just come when they think they need a hair cut, rather than when they've been scheduled to come back.
Comfort - the Hair Cuttery is a simple design and lay out with a low price and none of the frills and flowers of a private salon, which, in most cases, caters to women first, men second.
Brand Power - Since most men don't spend their time with other men discussing where they had their hair cut and why they liked it, there is much less word-of-mouth between men, so they're less likely to be referred to a private salon. The Hair Cuttery however has been around for years, has always offered a cheap clipper-cut and is known to do a lot of men's haircuts. This, for most guys, perfect. I'm sure there's a lot more to it. There are millions of ins & outs of the successful marketing of the Hair Cuttery but that's where I'll start.
I think I should also mention, that a large portion of our male clients are looking for a short even cut on the sides (done normally and pretty reliably with clippers) and "finger-length" on top. In reality an average men's hairstyle is distinguished mostly by the product used and the shape formed. I think for myself and other men, we just know there's not too much that can be messed up in that short hair cut, and its easier to trust a stylist you've never seen before when you're thinking like that.
I came from a salon where almost every part of a male's hair cut was done with scissors. In my first couple weeks at the Hair Cuttery I realized not only was this more time-consuming than expected for the client, but also didn't give the solid, clearly defined silhouette of clippers. I quickly learned that my talent as a hair stylist would mostly be shown in the 12 or so square inches of hair left at the top of the head, or by the style I suggested based off the clients face.
Most men won't tell you that they would like to accentuate their cheek bones and neck, while drawing attention away from their receding hairline. I decided early on that your success in doing mens' hair will rely in a large way on your ability to assume what they want. There are many variables that most male clients are not used to being asked about. Such as:
Texture - does the client want to see a broken shape in their hair, do they want chunky or solid, do they want movement or a stiff style.
Hairline - square or round mean nothing, do they want a natural hairline, a blunt edge, a fade or undercut
Length - the front of the head curves down into the forehead. does the client want one inch of hair from the back to the front, or do they want the front of their hair cut to stand as tall as the inch cut in the back and top-center of their haircut.
Profile - does the client seem to like their face shape? do they want their profile accentuated with fading and tapering where its needed.
In my world, I have the 3 minutes of consultation to assume enough about my male client that I can give him a hair cut fitting for his personality and routine. Everything from the way they greet me, they way they sit, the way they're dressed, the way the talk about their hair (are they being extremely casual or somewhere on a scale of specific?) and also what they seem to think of my own hair when looking at me in the mirror. There is a lot of customer service training and my own unavoidable stereo-typing that gets done in these few moments. Please don't let stereo-typing have a negative connotation with you, because when it comes to business some thorough research of your client and being able to somewhat categorize them is what makes you successful.
REMEMBER: Most men NEVER see themselves from the side and have no concept of their profile and its up to the stylist to bring their attention to things that ruin their profile, like tight fades on the back of lumpy heads, or not suggesting a taper for someone who would look good with one.
THE OPTIMUM FACE SHAPE FOR A MAN IS SQUARE. That's the most complimentary and no matter what hair cut they're asking for if it sqaures off their face they will like it more than if not. Its not necessary to bring this to their attention unless you think they are interested. Most are not.
There are so many more parts of this I could elaborate on. I plan on doing separate posts on fades and longer mens' hair cuts...
I'm hoping I've at least sparked an interest in men grooming and can get you to come back for more.
Gunnar
RIGHT: Notice the straight line along the top of the hair cut, created with a slightly longer length at the very front. And the taper at the neck accentuationg this mans head shape and neck.
ABOVE: See that even tho the haircut is a round shape, its slightly heavier around the temples and the straight up and down on the sides of the head. This man has a square face already and has no need for tapering (gradually getting shorter towards the bottom) because his silhouette is complimentary.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
This is a Toni&Guy cut I learned in my New Talent Training @Altamoda. 
CUT: Shattered Graduation, Toni&Guy Classic Cuts. I hear this collection is available in a book, and on DVDs. Maybe they're sold together. Not my job.
STYLING: Bumble & Bumble Prep and Styling Lotion (love both). Finger-dried at the roots,get a good grip on the root and pull it against the hair's natural pattern where you want volume or movement, and with the pattern where you don't (this saves so much time). I used a flat brush to move the hair from side to side in the back, and then just curled it under slightly with the brush (leafing) in the front, brushed and dried upwards on the top. Moving the hair side to side in the back along the head shape gives it a perfect amount of curve under the head and lays perfect on the neck.
Every week, sometime every other week, Phillip (Owner and top stylist) made all the New Talent (new stylists and assistants) get a model with straight hair willing to do the haircut he'd chosen for us out of the Toni&Guy "Collection Cuts".
This week (8/13/09) I remember I had no model right down to a half hour before class. I went across the street to the only place where I could hunt someone out, the grocery store downtown. The only grocery store downtown.
In the cereal aisle I passed Elizabeth, who was seriously analyzing the ingredients of something healthy looking. I actually think I walked away and came back and circled her again. I figured the only way to propose something like this on such short notice was to just say it.
"Hey, I'm Gunnar, I'm a stylist across the street at Altamoda. Anyway, I need a model for this class at the salon in like 20 minutes and you just happen to have the perfect length and type of hair I need. Can I get you to be my model?"
I showed her a picture of the cut, and of course she hesitated for a minute or maybe just over. Like 80 seconds. I was playing it super cool, but approaching people in the street... Well, I mean, I've done it. Just, never sober. I was desperate for her yes, and I got it.
The cut was an amazing variation of a traditional haircut. In school things were kept simple, but here I was learning to bend all the rules and make your own haircuts. And being with all these people, my age, learning their own version of what I was learning. I got to see 4 people do this haircut in a different way. These classes became priceless to me.
Elizabeth and I lost touch for a while. Then, she came into the salon on a Saturday a few months ago and had just gotten an awesome promotion. She was moving to Dallas, Texas wanted me to do her hair one more time (some awesome red highlights on a really dark red-brown, almost black, actually.)
I met Elizabeth only a couple weeks after I got my license. I'm not sure if she noticed, but that night I had the time of my life. Learning a new part of this craft I perform with my hands. Meeting someone so special in an experience that was part of my job.
What I needed more than a model that night, was to meet someone who saw the world I did. Elizabeth was a smart and hard-working, beautiful woman in a city where many women I met aimed for a husband instead of a career.
Gunnar
CUT: Shattered Graduation, Toni&Guy Classic Cuts. I hear this collection is available in a book, and on DVDs. Maybe they're sold together. Not my job.
STYLING: Bumble & Bumble Prep and Styling Lotion (love both). Finger-dried at the roots,get a good grip on the root and pull it against the hair's natural pattern where you want volume or movement, and with the pattern where you don't (this saves so much time). I used a flat brush to move the hair from side to side in the back, and then just curled it under slightly with the brush (leafing) in the front, brushed and dried upwards on the top. Moving the hair side to side in the back along the head shape gives it a perfect amount of curve under the head and lays perfect on the neck.
Every week, sometime every other week, Phillip (Owner and top stylist) made all the New Talent (new stylists and assistants) get a model with straight hair willing to do the haircut he'd chosen for us out of the Toni&Guy "Collection Cuts".
This week (8/13/09) I remember I had no model right down to a half hour before class. I went across the street to the only place where I could hunt someone out, the grocery store downtown. The only grocery store downtown.
In the cereal aisle I passed Elizabeth, who was seriously analyzing the ingredients of something healthy looking. I actually think I walked away and came back and circled her again. I figured the only way to propose something like this on such short notice was to just say it.
"Hey, I'm Gunnar, I'm a stylist across the street at Altamoda. Anyway, I need a model for this class at the salon in like 20 minutes and you just happen to have the perfect length and type of hair I need. Can I get you to be my model?"
I showed her a picture of the cut, and of course she hesitated for a minute or maybe just over. Like 80 seconds. I was playing it super cool, but approaching people in the street... Well, I mean, I've done it. Just, never sober. I was desperate for her yes, and I got it.
The cut was an amazing variation of a traditional haircut. In school things were kept simple, but here I was learning to bend all the rules and make your own haircuts. And being with all these people, my age, learning their own version of what I was learning. I got to see 4 people do this haircut in a different way. These classes became priceless to me.
Elizabeth and I lost touch for a while. Then, she came into the salon on a Saturday a few months ago and had just gotten an awesome promotion. She was moving to Dallas, Texas wanted me to do her hair one more time (some awesome red highlights on a really dark red-brown, almost black, actually.)
I met Elizabeth only a couple weeks after I got my license. I'm not sure if she noticed, but that night I had the time of my life. Learning a new part of this craft I perform with my hands. Meeting someone so special in an experience that was part of my job.
What I needed more than a model that night, was to meet someone who saw the world I did. Elizabeth was a smart and hard-working, beautiful woman in a city where many women I met aimed for a husband instead of a career.
Gunnar
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