3 Things That Will Propel A Hairstylist To Success Once They Embrace Them

Did you recently graduate from beauty school? Or maybe you're a hairstylist who's been working in a salon for a while now and your confidence is fading. It’s like all the excitement of embarking on your new career is being overshadowed by the reality of how much you still don’t know.

No one can teach you salon reality.

You have to experience it to learn it. There are no short cuts.

When you leave beauty school, you are knowledgeable on how to pass state boards but when you step foot in the salon … that’s when the REAL training starts!

This feeling you’re experiencing is referred to as Imposter Syndrome. You know how to cut and color hair and you might be building a clientele, but now that you’ve approached the next level of growth, you suddenly feel doubts and wonder if you’re really good enough.

Let me share a trade secret: every hairstylist who finishes cosmetology school hits this same roadblock at some point in their career. It’s inevitable when you’re learning and growing and developing your confidence.

Honestly, I’d be more concerned if you never experienced this feeling because that could indicate that you aren’t raising the bar high enough for yourself.

Maybe you’re perfectly happy where you are in your career. That’s great! But if you’re like me, you want more. You want to propel your career to success. And if that’s you, keep reading.

Three traits that set successful hairstylists apart from those who fail:

1. Be Humble

This is the most important one of all. It’s so easy to let our ego get in the way and be embarrassed to ask questions or to worry about looking foolish, but that, my friend, is the enemy of success. If left unchecked, your ego will keep you from becoming successful.

Successful hairstylists are able to put their egos aside and they’re not afraid to ask question after question after question. It’s better to risk asking a silly question than making a mistake on a client because you didn’t ask! In fact, I bet there are other stylists who have the same question. So be bold in your pursuit of hairstyling success but stay humble in the learning process.

2. Learn From Your Mistakes

This one is a big one because it’s from the mistakes we make that we learn the most.

I remember early on in my career, while cutting my friend’s hair, I went to pick up my texturizing shears to remove some weight off the top, and I picked up my regular shears instead!

And guess what I did?! Yep, I cut a huge chunk of hair off the top of her head about an inch long. Did I die? Yes, but let me tell you, all these years later … I still check my shears to make sure I’ve got the right pair in my hand every time. Get my point?

There’s no way to avoid mistakes completely. We’re human so we’ll make them from time to time. But the best way to greatly reduce the chances of making a mistake is to learn from those we’ve already made.

3. Practice What You Learn

When you learn something new or you make a mistake on a client, take the time to practice what you’ve learned over and over again until you are confident you’ve got it mastered. Don’t just ask a question or learn something new and then walk away. Commit to taking the time to practice it until it becomes second nature.

I’ve been in this wonderful industry for years, and I am still learning. I think that’s why I love this industry so much! It is always changing, always evolving. It keeps me on my toes!

A humble and successful hairstylist never stops asking questions, never stops learning from their mistakes and continually practices what they’ve learned until they’ve mastered it.

Once you embrace these things, you’ll propel your hairstyling career to success!

If your skills aren’t where you want them to be, I highly encourage you to find a trusted hairstylist to mentor you.

And if you don’t have anyone available who's at the level where you want to be, consider On Point Hair Academy. There are many options available to help you advance your haircutting skills, your business expertise, your personal growth and your client relationships.

On Point Hair Academy education and Own Your Chair blog were created for stylists like you who need just a little help (or a lot of help) in different areas of their hairstyling business. You don’t have to take this hairstyling journey alone.

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