The beauty industry is changing everyday, and so is how we present ourselves. Ten years ago every high end salon was wearing all black business casual, now most stylists have total freedom of what they can wear and how they show up to work.
In this episode we'll discuss first impressions, personal style, how you should present yourself inside and outside the salon and how dressing well can completely transform your career.
Join me at the Aspiring Stylist Podcast group on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/theaspiringstylist
Aspire Barber and Beauty Academy:
http://aspirebarberandbeauty.com/
Can I ask you a favor? If you enjoy the show, will you follow us and leave a 5 star review? This helps our show move up in the charts to help more stylists. Thank you!
The Aspiring Stylist with Tracey Franklin is a product of Morgan Franklin Media.
The beauty industry is changing everyday, and so is how we present ourselves. Ten years ago every high end salon was wearing all black business casual, now most stylists have total freedom of what they can wear and how they show up to work.
In this episode we'll discuss first impressions, personal style, how you should present yourself inside and outside the salon and how dressing well can completely transform your career.
Join me at the Aspiring Stylist Podcast group on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/theaspiringstylist
Aspire Barber and Beauty Academy:
http://aspirebarberandbeauty.com/
Can I ask you a favor? If you enjoy the show, will you follow us and leave a 5 star review? This helps our show move up in the charts to help more stylists. Thank you!
The Aspiring Stylist with Tracey Franklin is a product of Morgan Franklin Media.
Welcome to the Aspiring Stylists Podcast with Tracey Franklin. Where to begin, grow and aspire to become the best stylist you can be. Whether you're thinking about becoming a stylist opening a salon, or developing your skills as an experienced stylist the next step of your beauty career starts here. Each week we'll discuss strategic ways to design, plan and execute on becoming a stylist that excels behind the chair and above the bottom line. Here's your host, Tracey Franklin.
Tracey Franklin:Today's episode might ruffle a few feathers. Okay. And that's because we're talking about something that I think a lot of people have opinions on. And that's whether or not I feel like the stylist should look the part. I mean, how important are first impressions and looking good in the beauty industry? I think it's incredibly important. And I'm definitely seeing a change in the way that beauty professionals present themselves these days. And don't get me wrong. Okay. Let me start off by saying that I love a casual Friday or Saturday. I love a good pair of jeans. I like comfy shoes. I like rocker tees and all the things. But are we presenting ourselves in a professional way? You know, no matter what you're wearing, I mean, can we all agree that we need to brush our hair and put on some makeup before we show up for work. I'm actually really proud of how I present myself if you know me at all, you know, I'm a I'm a snazzy girl, I like fashion. It's a huge part of my brand. For someone that's trying to build a clientele. It's a huge conversation starter. It's a door that you can open into your professional world that can really pay off. So for example, if I go out and my hair is on point, my makeup looks good. The chances of me being recognized for that, and my community, somebody's paying me a compliment. It's pretty high. And then for me that opens the door to a conversation about who I am and what I do. And I love a good trend. I feel like following the trends as a beauty professional, it's important. Our clients are looking to us for advice for what's current or what will suit them best. And keeping up with your own appearance lets them know that they can count on you for their selves as well. I have clients that have come to me for 20 years, and I'm gonna be honest, I feel like we both look better than we ever have. That's because we take care of ourselves, we pay attention to how we can not necessarily look younger, but how we can look the best for where we are in our lives. So let's talk about some examples of how a stylish should present themselves at work. For me, I'm sorry, it's it's not comfy casual for me No sweat pants, I just don't think there's really a way to elevate a pair of sweat pants to make them look like the professional you want to look like. And that's not to say you can't be professional or that you have to do hair and a blazer and that you can never wear a messy bun. But it's not my vibe. And I don't think I would be where I am today. With that approach. I can tell you that no matter what your fit looks like hair and makeup to me is non negotiable. When they look at us our appearance should inspire them, not make them question us and whether or not we just rolled out of bed, your personal style is going to influence your clients perception of you. When I think about what my clients invest in their services with me, I could never show up and a pair of cut offs and a ballcap and feel good. I think how you show up matters and it influences the type of clients that you're going to attract. I want clients who were lived in color and hair extensions. So guess what I wear, I wear lived in color and hair extensions. It's what makes me feel good, and it's the services I love to perform. I want clients who don't mind paying luxury prices, so I make sure that I look like a luxury stylist. So there are some do's and don'ts for the appearance that I feel like you should have and some of the best ways don't even include a curling iron or makeup brush. Some of your do's should be have a morning routine and an evening routine. Trade in some of that coffee for water and include time to recharge this industry will require a lot from you. Don't, don't show up hung over or exhausted or dehydrated or depleted because you haven't filled your cup. What about tattoos and piercings and unconventional hair color? Well thank god that's becoming less of an issue. You will usually attract clients that are similar to you. So people looking for an edge Your stylist with cool tats and fun hair color will likely seek you out. And if that's what you want to be known for, this is all great. You know, variations in a natural hair color have really widened the scope for the kind of clients that you can serve. And what I mean by that is, you know, your soccer moms are now getting a fun strip of pink in their hair, or kids are wearing it to support their soccer team or whatever it is. So it's not just like those edgy rock'n'roll people that are wearing this now, with the variety and the type of clients you can serve with these services. The possibilities are endless. So your appearance as a stylist is going to affect your career opportunities. And I think that kind of depends on what kind of career you want to have. If you want to work in a high end salon, and you're really hoping to land elite clients, you have to ask yourself, Do I look the part? Do I look the part of a stylist that would attract this type of client? Maybe you own your own suite will do you look like a hairstylist because you better no matter what your career goals are. You can never overdress, you can never look too good. There are probably some stylists out there that are really struggling with their professional image. I've known stylists that say, Tracy, I don't really know what my style is, it's not something I've ever been super passionate about. So I haven't really taken the time to dive into what I would look like as a stylist in a perfect world. And that's okay. You just have to be yourself, but be the best version of it be an elevated version of it. Because you're going to evolve and your sense of style is going to change. And it should like don't stay stuck, you know, you have to look for little ways to elevate and change your appearance, again, to keep those clients interested. Most importantly, look like you tried, you know, if that's what you can bring to the table is, hey, I may not be really good at this, but I put my best foot forward. And I looked like I tried presenting your professional image in person. Yes, that's important. But it's also important to translate it to social media. I like to use my social media for a little bit of personal and a whole lot of professional. That way, people get to know me as a person, which I think people want to know about you. They want to know what you do on your time off, they're making a connection with you, they're attracted to your personality. So yes, I think it's totally fine to represent yourself personally on social media. But I make sure that anything I post is still representing my brand, whether it's personal or professional, if it's going on my social media page, I'm going to make sure it's something that my friends and family can see. And something that my clients or potential clients can see, that still feels like me. Professional pages should always reflect an image that you hope appeals to clients. And we're also talking about behavior here. Are you posting questionable behavior? If a potential client saw that, would they still consider you as an option? I've really struggled with posting on social media without hair and makeup. Like it's just not how I feel like my best self. So it's not something I want reflected in public a lot anyways. But if you want, I do think you can use it to your advantage. Are you having a great skin day? Are you having a self care day? Like, I think all these things can impact your image in a positive way. Maybe you're using some products that are really working for you. And you can use this opportunity to share that with a client that may be looking for something new. Let me focus more on the self care. Again, your clients need to see you as a person. So they need to know that yeah, you went for a bike ride and you didn't bother to put any lashes on. You know, that's normal. They need to see you as normal as well. You don't need to be this unobtainable beauty that never has an off day. I think ask yourself, What's the reasoning behind me posting without makeup without my hair done? Like, am I fishing for compliments? I think that's the wrong reason to do it. If I want to make a post about oh, you know, I'm having a bear Tuesday. That's great. But why am I doing it? Am I doing it so that my public can see me as a real person? Or am I doing it so that I can somehow fuel my ego with trends changing all the time, there are probably a few that won't positively reflect your professional image or your appearance. And this has been such a topic of conversation in my salon. So I've made modifications to my dress code a million times. We used to be a salon that wore all black. I think that's pretty common. In like that old school commission salon and especially in the Aveda culture, black is still a huge part of your attire as a hairstylist and I personally have no problem with that I feel very good in black. I feel like it's a smart color to wear when you're when you're doing the kind of services that we do. But with that being said, people are tiring of it. And so we've started adding things into our dress code. And I feel like no matter what you're allowed or not allowed to wear, you can put a professional spin on any trend. There's these jeans now that people are wearing with the big holes. And I'm not talking about cute little distressed jeans, I'm talking about the entire thigh hanging out. And I'm just not sure there's a way to make that look professional, I feel like that's probably something you should be wearing on your off day or to a festival or a concert or something. And you may want to consider crop tops, you know, I'm a big fan of crop tops, I'm comfortable wearing them. And I think people look really cute in them. But you know, there's a difference between showing an inch or two of your abdomen and then wearing something that looks like a bra, let you know, to me that's crossing the line. At the end of the day, you should very much want them to see you as professionals. So you're gonna have to find a way to balance between being expressive and authentic with being professional. Now, I think there are a lot of stylists out there that dress however they want. And it doesn't really impact their ability to charge premium prices. But I think that's because they've built such a reputation for themselves. And they've reached such a level of success that this isn't a huge concern for them. They're a highly sought after stylist, and they're able to show up however they want and not truly impact their income. But you have to ask yourself, if how you're presenting yourself aligns with your desired clientele? Do you look the part? Again, it's not so much about the clothes, I charge $600 for services all day, and blue jeans and rocker tees, but I have my necklace on I have my hair on point and my makeup is always fresh, as a stylist, the word style is in your title. So please have some as your career evolves, probably so will your personal style. And if this used to feel more important to you, then you're probably going to really love it. And you're probably going to enjoy your ability to maybe even add in some designer labels. So if you're a stylist, and you're looking for ways to redefine your professional image, but you're feeling a little bit lost, take a look at your examples. And what I mean by that is look at the people that you admire, how are they presenting their selves? How are they showing up? What are they wearing? And what is it about them that you're so attracted to? And then emulate that, but make it your own? Okay, so maybe you're a brand new stylist and you have absolutely no idea what you should wear to work. Hopefully you've spent some time in the salon that you've chosen and you kind of know what the vibe is that's going to help you in your selection. Maybe they have rules, maybe you know, for whatever reason, something that you thought you could wear, you can't that's okay, definitely follow the salon rules. But make sure you add your own uniqueness so that you can feel comfortable. It's totally okay to have lazy days where you're not doing your hair and you're not doing your makeup. But for me, if I'm coming in for paying clients, I don't really think that's true. If I'm coming in on my day off, what's to say the person next to me is looking at me thinking wow, that stylist showed up super ugly today. They have no idea it's my day off and then I'm just coming in for my friend. They're just looking at how I presented myself behind that chair that day and they're not impressed. So sometimes we're going to oversleep right or alarms not going to go off. We're going to sleep through it whatever. Well for me, I have a crazy hack collection and a five minute makeup routine that has saved my ass countless times. You got to do the best with what you can with what you've got, just again look like you've put some effort into it. It's not uncommon for stylists and salons to get ready throughout the day. Now have I curled my hair at work before? Sure. But have I rolled out of bed and arrived ugly? No, no, ma'am. No, I haven't. It shows a lack of preparation. Like you don't have your crap together like you're unorganized. So I'd be lying if I said that I'm not from a generation of stylists that back in the day would never wear tennis shoes. I would have never even considered wearing tennis shoes to work for probably the first 15 years of my career. But here I am with bunions and corns and ingrown toenails living my best life. You should save yourself. I'm here to tell you there are ways to make these more comfortable more are athletic shoes work with any outfit? Now I still wear platforms and I wear my cowboy boots too, but it's not super smart. I've pivoted big time with my thought process around what's allowed now. And I really love pairing my suits with a good pair of Nikes. I feel cute, I feel confident, and I also feel comfortable. Again, it's not about shoes. It's about professionalism and style. Leggings can be a bit tricky. You know, what about leggings, T shirts. I think workout leggings are for working out or trying to look cute while you're running errands. That's usually why I wear workout clothes. But leather leggings with a cute top and boots is a vibe. So I think it depends on what kind of leggings we're looking at here. It's really just all about how you present. Is there anything that I think that no matter? What is an absolute? No? Well, obviously pajamas. You know, we have a really fun week, the week of Christmas in my salon. And that is a one time where I think we can make the exception for pajamas. We all come to work and our cute pajamas. And it's so fun, and the clients absolutely love it. But that is a massive exception to a general rule. I've never done shorts or ball caps, maybe that's just me. But that feels a little low key to me, and how I want to present myself. I don't think you should ever wear anything with offensive content on it, there's just really no reason for it. That's not to say you can't stand up for causes you believe in or quotes that you think are funny. But is that something that will translate well to a client seeking your services? Also, oh my god, the clanky bracelets at the shampoo bowl, if you're going to wear them, please take them off before you start moving your hands back and forth and trying to get somebody to relax while you've got these things clinking together. So maybe you'll get to a point in your career where you don't feel like it matters? Well, I won't, I will always think it matters. I think being impressive should always matter. It's going to help you attract new clients, and it's going to help your current clients stay attracted to you because of your personal style. And you really need to put in that same effort for the loyal ones anyways, like we don't just need to be showing up strong for the days that we've got someone new on the book, that repeat impression is just as important as the first one. So make sure that you remember that. So it's your day off. I mean, should you really have to do your hair, pick out a cute outfit get your makeup on? Well, I think that's a personal choice. And I can't say that I always do. I think for me, it depends on where I'm going. Am I going to Lowe's? Yeah, well, then frankly, I don't give a damn. But if I'm going somewhere where I could possibly run into clients, then I want to make sure that I at least look presentable. But at the end of the day, you have the right to choose, it's your day off, enjoy it. I'd like to wrap up today by talking about how looking the part has given me the confidence and the permission to be the best stylist I can be to show up as the best version of myself. And not everything is about the way you dress or present yourself, but it's definitely going to help especially in the beginning, I have always cared about my appearance and I have always loved fashion and being part of the industry has definitely fueled that for me. Building a clientele starts with appealing to people. So make sure you do that. I have made sure that I've looked apart and had business cards in my purse at all times. Honestly, for the most part I still do. It's just a big part of who I am. And it makes me feel like my highest self. Ask yourself, what do I want people to think when they look at me? Does how I present myself support my goals? I hope the answer is yes.
Morgan Franklin:Thank you for joining us on this episode of anytime soon. The Aspiring Stylist Podcast with Tracey Franklin. If you enjoyed listening and you want to hear more, make sure you subscribe on Apple Podcast, Spotify or wherever you find your podcasts. The Aspiring Stylist Podcast with Tracey Franklin is a Morgan Franklin Production. Today's episode was written and produced by Morgan Franklin editing and post-production by Mike Franklin. Want to find out more about Tracey and the Aspiring Barber and Beauty Academy go to aspirebarberandbeauty.com