What you need to know about personal care provider selection and maintenance.

Have you ever gone through the dilemma and trauma of having to find a new Personal Groomer (I hate to use the over-used terms such as hairstylist when so many of them are much more than any one component of caring for you) either because you moved or because your Personal Groomer has moved? Did you know that the average length of time that a hair groomer stays in the industry is about 2 years? Then there is the groomers’ moving history. Hair groomers frequently change salons, taking (and leaving) approximately 50% of their clientele.

Oprah once had a show on how difficult it is to “fire” your Groomer. If it is the focal point of an entire Oprah show (the video of which was used in beauty schools), it doesn’t matter whether you are an Oprah fan or not, it has enough weight for consideration in the real world.
We build rather complicated relationships and communication levels with our P.G.s. For example, how many people do you let stand as close to you or touch you with such permission. There are special levels of comfort and correspondence we develop with a good PG relationship. Our outer expression MUST be in sync with who we are in order to feel “ourselves” and express ourselves to others accurately. Besides, it just feels great to look Just FINE!

Building a great relationship with your next Personal Groomer … or in stepping up your current relationship does NOT mean you must tell them your life story or problems. In fact I discourage that sort of communication. The same goes for the reverse conversation.

Your time with your Personal Groomer is YOUR time … and time and company you are paying for. Please put it to great use and learn about your hair, find personal growth oriented topics, talk about products that might be of use to you … or just have fun! Your options are endless and by the way, your problems will be there later anyway. I have many more opinions on the topic, but will only express them upon popular demand.
Here are a few tips from my Hairobics bag of tricks.

*The obvious is to ask your friends… but only if you like the results… remember, too, that you don’t want to look like them.
*Ask someone on the street whose hair and overall “style” you admire for an introduction. Look for skill and appropriateness, not that it necessarily that what you see is what you want … after all, you want to look like YOUR fabulous self in between visits.
*Interview a few Personal Groomers prior to your final decision. Many of them offer complementary consultation sessions by appointment.
*Ask the manager of the salon you are considering if you would be allowed to visit for a period of time and watch their staff work
*Look online for salons you drive by to see if you can learn anything one way or another. *There are user sites like Yelp.com who specialize in client participation and response.
*While you are shopping around, ask to see their price/service lists and perhaps even collect them for comparison before your final decision. Let’s face it money DOES make a difference.
*Discuss your budget for your care with your Personal Groomer ahead of time. Surprises hurt both parties and can get out of hand when left until the end of your service. I recommend figuring out an annual budget and dividing it up based upon the services and scheduling you prefer. I used to give my clients piggy banks with a goal marked on them for between appointment focus.

As you can see, I have a great many opinions and suggestions for you! Please call or e-me for a complementary phone consultation.