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Five Things Stylists
By Billy Nicgorski
If you think about it, every professional who
has to consult with a client about services
must have (buried inside) a list of things that
they hate to hear. Hair stylists, doctors, the
girl at the cosmetic counter, car mechanics -
we all share the challenging experience of
responding to a request or a demand that
makes us dazed and confused.
In this article I’d like to share a short list of some Do’s and
Don’ts—some of those “I-hate-it-when” stories that professional
stylists deal with during consultations. If you’re aware of a few
of the things on my list, you might avoid confusing your stylist,
and they will always be bright-eyed and attentive to your needs.
1. The New Me Syndrome
First on the list is one of the most common. It’s not so offensive,
but for hairdressers it is lemon juice on a paper cut. If I were
able somehow to record the conversation, it would go something
like this:
Client: “Billy, I want a change! Something completely different…
something wild and fun like me.”
Stylist: “Wow! What a great idea. Let’s go for it!
(Pause) Like most hairdressers, I live for being creative, I can
appreciate that it’s always a little frightening for folks to try a
new look. I try to be sensitive to that. But it’s daring for the
stylist as well, for in every stylist there’s a bit of the artist who
dares to create. And when you rise to the challenge, you school
yourself to be unafraid to risk your creative side.
Now, here comes the all-too-familiar lines we hate to hear. (Play)
Client: “Ok, well, I don’t want any layers, and I don’t want you
to cut the length. And no bangs….and please don’t….”
By this point of the consultation I have already tuned out, and my
eyes are starting to glaze over. I ponder drinking the Barbercide
to kill the pain. When a client starts going on like that—spouting
off a long list of “don’ts” and “but not this or that’s”—I’ve
learned from experience that basically they’re asking for the same
look they walked in with. It’s just that they want to hear that
somehow it’s a fresh, different, and wild new look. The “same
old look” is totally fine with me. No biggie. But it’s painful to
have to listen to a big song and dance about “a new me” or “a
wild change” when it’s plainly unwanted. This sort of thing happens
at least once a day in a busy salon. It’s so frequent that
most stylists I’ve spoken to are numb to it. If you really want a
new look, say so, and trust your stylist more. Give only a bit of
input. Or better, let the stylist ask for your input. But please,
don’t drown the stylist with an ocean of restrictions about your
“new you.”
2. The Kate the Great Syndrome
Katherine the Great, the eighteenth century ruler of Russia, had
an insatiable sexual drive, so historians say. Numerous lovers
couldn’t satisfy her. Believe it or not, Kate still lives today, and
she frequently visits hair salons. Here’s the red flag that signals
her appearance:
Client (Kate): “Billy, I’ve been to five different shops and no one
could get my hair right, not even Jonathan or Vidal.”
26 I PhillyFIT
September/October 2008 I 215-396-0268 I www.phillyfitmagazine.com

Well, in a case like this, chances are that Kate might be getting in
her own way—kind of like being your own worst enemy.
Consultation and communication are the keys here when it comes
to getting that special look you want, but try and stretch your
sense of what’s good enough. Remember: we get to see your
whole head, not just the front. (I can’t stress this enough!) A
French philosopher once said, “The best is the enemy of the
good.” I’m not French, but the street philosopher in me has a
sense that close is sometimes good enough, and exactly right is
far too costly. Along these same lines I might plead that you try
not to become too much of a back-seat driver during your cut. It
reminds me of driving with my ex-girlfriend, Whatshername.
3. The Just Like This Syndrome
Next on the list (and I bet you might have seen this one coming):
the unrealistic photograph.
Client: Billy, can you make me look like this (Holds up pix
from Cosmo)
Stylist: Well let me see. Hmmm….Yeah, well, in this picture the
girl has long hair, cascading down to her waistline. Your hair is
wickedly short. How is that going to work
Try to be in the same ballpark if you have a style you like from a
magazine. It’s helpful to consider that your hair has genetic limits.
So, for example, if your hair does not curl, please don’t pick
a Sara Jessica Parker to show your stylist. If it’s thin, don’t show
a picture with two tons of volume like the Bride of Frankenstein.
Pictures are a great way to communicate what you want, and by
all means bring in a picture. Stylists appreciate them, but be as
realistic as possible. The most common impossibility when it
comes to “make me look like this” isn’t length, it’s usually hair
type.
4. The White Rabbit Syndrome
Paradoxically, the one thing hairdressers most hate to hear is
something that is often unspoken. It’s the passive-aggressive
client who thinks that they are the only person in the world that
matters.
Client: (approaching the station) “Oh…..”
Stylist: (staring back) “Be with you in a bit, Love. Sorry we’re a
little behind.”
Sending an unspoken message to your hairdresser while they are
cutting someone else is not going to make them work faster or
finish sooner. It will just completely piss them off. Frankly, those
unspoken little jabs are just rude. It is absolutely wild how much
of this I see and it is sad. I personally don’t like the snippy, sniggering
talk that happens behind someone’s back, but, passiveaggressive
is like a punch in the stomach. When you exhale from
the pain, nasty words come out about the person who punches
you with their non-verbal, rude behavior.
It’s stressful when things get behind schedule. But some folks let
you know you’re behind the second the door swings open. Lewis
Carroll’s begins his novel, Alice in Wonderland, with an
encounter between Alice and a peculiar White Rabbit with pink
eyes who says to himself: “Dear, dear, I shall be too late.” It’s a
comment on people who are always in a hurry. It’s a message
that all stylists hate to hear. Let’s be honest: some folks are dishonest
when they claim that they’re late and in a big hurry. I
really don’t mind if someone is truly in a hurry. But here’s what
I loathe: I rush things because I feel an authentic concern for a
client who seems to be in a hurry and then I discover that they
really need to hurry back home because “Fluffy” the Pekinese
puppy feels lonely.
Please understand that for hairdressers it is difficult to book a
service appointment and stay on time. People like to change their
minds mid-way through a cut and want more. We try to treat
everyone like family, and that means trying to maintain a great
attitude even when someone’s wait goes a long way. My favorite
customers seem to be the most graceful; I will always gladly go
the extra mile for these wonderful people. I’ll come in early and
stay late and even go to their family dinners after work. My rule
is: the graceful customer gets whatever they want and then some.
5. The Ms. Bling Syndrome.
I’m happy that people are successful or very financially secure. I
want the same for my family and friends. But, stylists hate it
when Ms. Bling aggressively negotiates for a discount. Look,
stylists size people up quickly. After all, schmoozing is part of
the biz. Furthermore, strange but true: more secrets and personal
information are shared in a salon than in Fr. Murphy’s confessional
box at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. So, before long your
stylist knows information about your family, friends, livelihood
and tax return. A hair salon is where people easily relax. It’s
typical that your body and mind loosens up, and so does your
tongue. People will tell just about anything—without being tortured.
CIA water-boarding interrogation techniques,
“fagetaboutit!” Send a suspected terrorist to a hair salon once a
month for a year. Soon their stylist will know everything. I like
to think that happens because a good stylist knows how to make
people comfortable. All of that is simply to say that we know, for
example, that you drive a $70,000 automobile and just got back
from Palm Beach. That means that you have no grounds to barter
with your stylist for a discount. Since most people are uncomfortable
talking about fees, it’s probably a good idea to face the
music right up front and sort out the fee at the consultation. It’s
our job to be clear about what we charge before we start, so you,
the customer, have choices.
My friends who cut and style hair like to save our discounts for
people truly in need: people with big families, people who work
for peanuts trying to help others. Dear Ms. Bling, wealth is a
blessing. Don’t be afraid to share it.
On behalf of PhillyFIT Magazine I would like to invite you to
email us any questions or concerns about your hair. I will have
one of our hair professionals gladly reply.
*Billy Nicgorski is a hair color specialist from Blue a hair studio,
in Huntington Valley, PA and a recent recipient of the
Wella International Hair Colorist of the Year Award. Contact
Billy at BNicgorski@phillyfitmagazine.com.
September/October 2008 I 215-396-0268 I www.phillyfitmagazine.com PhillyFIT I 27