That one week where every client wanted a drastic color change

So last week at the salon was just wild. I had five people in a row book appointments for major color shifts, like going from dark brown to platinum or adding full rainbow panels. One woman brought in a picture from a magazine and said, 'Make me look like this,' and it was a model with bright pink hair. The thing that made it stand out was the timing, because we had a heat wave in Phoenix and the AC in my station kept cutting out. I was mixing color with sweat dripping down my back, trying to keep everything precise. My coworker joked that we should charge extra for 'extreme conditions.' By Friday, my arms were sore from all the foiling and my brain was fried from the constant calculations. Has anyone else had a run of big color jobs that just wiped you out?

3 comments

3 Comments

tessaperry5d ago

My sister is a stylist in Tucson, so I used to think her job was just chatting and cutting hair. Hearing her talk about a week like yours, with the color formulas and the physical strain, it really hit me how much skilled work that is. It sounds like you're basically a chemist and an artist while working in a sauna. That heat wave would make any tough job ten times harder. Does your salon have a plan to fix the AC before the next rush?

grant.olivia5d ago

Wait they're just saying "we'll look into it" while you're all basically DYING in there??

abby_cooper5d ago

You said "basically a chemist and an artist while working in a sauna" and honestly that's close but it's missing the part where you're also a therapist and a problem solver. People come in with a picture of a color from Pinterest and you have to figure out how to get that on their hair when they've got old color and damage. It's a lot of math too with the developer ratios. As for the AC... they keep saying they'll "look into it" which is code for we're all just sweating through it.