Image

The salon business is a service business: therefore, close Care of your hair, skin, hands. feet and clothing need basic guidelines listed in this section to help ensure your professional image.

Hair Care

The most beautiful hair is clean and healthy hair. As a cosmetologist, of course, the condition of your hair is of particular importance, A daily hair-care program is essential for the salon professional you are studying to become.

Your own hairstyle and color or perm design must communicate your professional expertise. Your hairstyle should be fashionable yet include any necessary modification that will allow it to better suit your face, If curly hair, for instance. doesn’t flatter you or fit your style, don’t curl it! Never wear a trendy style merely because it reflects the fashion of the day.

The way you wear color in your hair will help – or hinder – your efforts to introduce color to your clients. Fashion colors can be fun and, for some, flattering. However, if the fashion colors of the season are shades that are not flattering to you. don’t wear them. Your ability to call attention to your personal use of hair color to flatter your complexion, “broaden” a narrow forehead, or “narrow” a too-wide jaw will be a far greater help to you in encouraging your clients to try a color than if you simply follow the current color fashion trends.

Skin Care and Makeup

The proper care of your skin isn’t limited to the products you put on it. Healthy. glowing skin is equally dependent on good nutrition, exercise and rest. As a beauty business professional, you will need to keep your skin looking its best. Research the variety of skincare products now available and find the regimen best suited for your skin type. It will become increasingly apparent to you how personal skincare knowledge will be an advantage when recommending skincare products for your future clients. Artfully applied, cosmetics enhance attractive facial features while balancing – to some extent – proportions that aren’t quite right. Just as one can contour a face with creative hair color techniques one can contour with the careful use of cosmetics.

When fashion trends change. the popular make-up look usually changes too. In your profession, it’s as important to update your use of cosmetics as it is to wear a hairstyle that reflects the correct fashion look. It’s important that you learn to modify current cosmetic trends into looks that are flattering for you. The basics of makeup application never change:

• Foundation should match your skin tone.
• Contouring with light colors always broadens.
• Contouring with dark colors always narrows.

Cosmetic shades change. So does the fashionable use of makeup…from obvious and dramatic to light and natural. Master the basic techniques and then you will be able to learn how to apply makeup to suit any fashion trend in the manner that will complement you best.

Hands

Your hands will touch many people during the course of your career, so they must be smooth. soft. Immaculately clean and well-manicured. Maintaining attractively manicured, well-cared-for hands are particularly challenging for a cosmetologist. The services you’ll perform will often require the use of chemicals: perm solution and hair color. to name only two. Wear protective gloves whenever performing chemical services. Use moisturizing lotions frequently. Keep your nails attractively manicured, avoid wearing rings that can chafe or irritate. Take the best care of your hands that you can.

Feet

A great deal of your time as a cosmetologist will be spent standing on your feet. In order to maintain a cheerful attitude, you will need to take proper care of your feet. practice good posture and wear good-fitting, low, broad-heeled shoes.

Make sure your feet are thoroughly dry after bathing to prevent fungus infections like athlete’s foot.

Clothing

Your clothing must always be freshly washed. or cleaned. and pressed. No unsightly rings around the collar or the armpit can be accepted. Seams and hems must always be secure. The shoulder fit must be loose enough to allow easy movement. No article of clothing should be uncomfortably or unflatteringly tight. Shoes must always be clean and polished.

Dress for Success

Your clothing should be selected to incorporate current trends into a statement consistent with your personal sense of style. You’re in an age of fashion that shows a variety of designer looks for any given season. Some will be more popular than others, but if the one that’s popular doesn’t look good on you, go on to something else! A very short woman, for instance, is often visually overwhelmed in a broad-shouldered. calf-length dress. A woman with heavy legs will not be flatteringly dressed in a mini-skirt. Exercise good sense by taking into consideration your height and silhouette when selecting fashions. For instance, wearing gaudy. overpowering jewelry could take away from the image of a well-groomed professional.

Many schools and salons have a dress code for their stylists or students. Follow it with careful consideration of your personal sense of style and fashion, and you look like the beauty business professional you aspire to be.

Posture

The need for good posture goes beyond just standing correctly. Good posture enhances your physical well-being. As a professional stylist, you’ll be on your feet every day. As you shampoo and style your clients, you’ll bend and stretch and stoop. As you restock inventory, it may be necessary for you to lift boxes as heavy as 50 pounds. Maintaining good posture and moving properly will:

• protect you from muscle strain and potential injury
• reduce physical fatigue
• present an attractive image