Our world is full of beautiful looks. You’ll find stunning long hair styling created by talented stylists on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Google and in every corner of the internet. But let’s face it, even the best stylists in the world sometimes create looks that just don’t look great and this can lead them to lose a little – or a lot – of confidence in their ability to do their job well.
If anyone ever tells you their work is HOT all the time, they’re lying (harsh, I know!)
Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever been creating a look and it’s just not coming together like you envisioned?
Today I’m going to talk about what to do when styling goes wrong and share with you some tips I’ve personally found have helped me recover in situations like this.
- Stay calm! Remember, you’re styling hair not curing cancer. Have you ever noticed the more flustered you get, the worse the look will be? Concentrate on your breathing, and keep communication open with your client at all times.
- This tip is probably one of my biggest lessons I teach in my class. If you have pinned, pony tailed, stitched or placed a section of hair and
a) It didn’t work as well as you hoped or
b) Requires loads more pins to fix what you have doneDo yourself a favour – TAKE THE SECTION OUT and start again!
This sounds simple, but it took me years to feel confident enough to redo a section because I was worried my client would think, “she can’t do it – my stylist is in trouble!”
GET OVER YOURSELF (sounds harsh, but I had to give myself this pep talk).
It will both be quicker and look better if you take it out out and redo – I PROMISE. Your client won’t mind, all you need to say is “I’m just not 100% happy with how this section is sitting. It will take me less time to just redo it than try and fix it later.”
Now that wasn’t so hard was it?
- Let’s chat about photo shoot work now. Many times I’ve spent hours and hours of prep time on a look that I want to shoot. It looks amazing on my doll but when it comes time to creating the look on my model it just does not work at all.
I needed to learn to NEVER FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR IDEAS! We’ve had many shoots where I’ve had to speak up and say to my photographer and styling crew, “sorry we need half an hour to redo this look because its just NOT WORKING.”
I also truly believe a good brief before you start prep is super important. It only takes 5 minutes and can set you up for a smooth and happy day together with your team. This was a hot tip I learned in my REDKEN days that has stayed with me for years. If something isn’t working, a good support team won’t just say “oh that looks nice”, a good support team will notice what’s not looking good and bring it to your attention. Nice means…
N – Not
I – Interested To
C – Care
E – Enough
If you set this rule in place before the madness of the day starts you will all be assured a successful day together.
Now you know what to do and what will work for you in the future, add it into your consultation process and team brief before you get started. That way clients know you’re only going to do what makes the hair look fantastic, not what makes you feel more comfortable.
I hope this bit of advice helps you in your world of styling and special occasion hair education – we are so blessed to have a career we love.
“ITS A BEAUTIFUL THING WHEN A CAREER AND PASSION COME TOGETHER”
Looking to take your long hair styling skills and confidence to the next level in 2018? Hands on workshops are the best way to learn and places are filling fast! See if Lorna Evans Education is coming to a city near you in 2018.
