Tuesday 29 May 2012
English eat fish and chips, fish eat English feet!
Completely new at the end of 2010, fish pedicures are now a hot trend in Britain. Last year, more than 280 fish foot spas have been listed in the UK and this number increases every week since then. This is not to mention the beauty salons that have bought a fish foot spa to accompany their usual services. They even featured in this season's hit TV series The Apprentice!
In fact, CEFAS (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science) reports that 15,000-20,000 Garra Rufa Fish are currently being imported into the UK, weekly!
However, this trend could end quicker than expected as many experts warn about the possible harmful health implications of such treatment. Banned in 14 states across the USA, this practice is gaining a reputation as unhealthy and even dangerous for people.
Thursday 24 May 2012
8 tips on how to motivate your staff
Your business is your baby and although you may have your good days and your bad days, you want nothing more than to make a success of it.
Now, how do you inject your staff with the same enthusiasm every day of the week?
Unfortunately, you can't force each staff member to drink a can of Redbull every morning and to be honest you shouldn’t need to. Not only is it dangerous for health, but it probably wouldn't work. Lack of motivation isn't being physically tired, it's being mentally flat - just like a tyre on a bike. If you don't fix it, that bicycle isn’t going anywhere.
I have therefore prepared you a little "cocktail" of ideas to remotivate and revitalise your staff, and help bring dynamism and happiness back into your salon!
Tuesday 22 May 2012
"I started cutting hair at 15, now I own a hair product company"
Whether you are the proud owner of a hair salon, beauty salon or spa, you all have something in common: you need suppliers.
I can already imagine you grimacing at the mention of this simple word.
After all, who among you never shouted at one his suppliers because one of your order arrived late or complained that the prices are “skyrocketing”? Honestly?
No, it is never easy to be dependent of someone else but, as you know, it’s vital for any business to operate with suppliers, be it product distributors, utility companies or manufacturers.
How would you run your business without them?
I recently interviewed Scott Michaels (center of the photo), founder and CEO of Hairbond, a hair styling products company based in Lancaster. After 15 years being a hairdresser, Scott decided to take on a new challenge and set up his own company a few years ago. He identified a shortcoming in the male grooming products market and decided that “men deserve better!” So he embarked on a journey which resulted in the creation of Hairbond, the all British Men’s grooming company.
This article aims to show you that, even if the core of the business is completely different, those companies actually aren’t so different from you. I hope it will help you to understand how they work and being less frustrated when your order is delayed ;)
So, what do they require to set-up, run and remain profitable?
Friday 18 May 2012
How do you deal with your highly connected clients?
I was walking by a local hair salon this morning when something caught my attention: clients using their phones while having their haircut.
Crazy? Normal? Antisocial? The 21th Century?
I guess one of these words came straight to your mind while reading this sentence and you already have your own opinion about the subject.
Tuesday 15 May 2012
How far are you willing to go to look perfect?
Whilst skimming through the Metro newspaper, an article caught my eye which I thought was worth blogging about - “I’ll go under the knife before I’ll be your wife”. The article outlined that wives-to-be are splurging on pre-wedding cosmetic surgery so that they look “perfect” on their wedding day. This coincided with the world buzzing about Valeria Lukyanova (as seen on the left) - aka the Barbie Model. So I figured I would weigh in with my 2 cents on cosmetic surgery, alternatives to going under the knife and 21st century concept of Beauty!
Friday 11 May 2012
RIP Vidal Sassoon CBE 17.01.1928 - 09.05.2012
Tuesday 8 May 2012
Today we just want to say "Thank You"
Today is a very special day for us: we just hit 3000 visitors to the blog! Having started it only a month and a half ago, we find that pretty amazing and would like to thank you all for making this possible.
It is very nice to see people take time to read our articles and appreciate them. Seeing them highlighted on Facebook and Twitter everyday make us feel good about what we are doing and give us motivation to continue.
As the saying goes, what goes around comes around. So today we wanted to switch the roles and bring to light our most active readers by publishing some of the feedback they sent us.
Thank you guys, those comments really make our days!
Friday 4 May 2012
6 tips to make organising a launch party a piece of cake
Do you remember Claire from Seen On Screen? She was the main subject of our second blog post in which she shared her tips to make yourself known when you're newly established. Well, Claire just put into practice one of those tipped and yesterday I was lucky enough to attend the Seeen On Screen Beauty & Nails launch party!
If you are also planning to do one yourslef, better to warn you now: even if the term "launch party" sounds fun and exciting, organising one can be a daunting task. You will have to deal with the guests list, the food, the drinks, the photographers, the DJ.. and so much more, from the smallest particulars to the major details!
When chatting to Claire, she told me about some problems with one of her suppliers and that all the goodies to be offered to her guests during the party weren't even ordered. This was a few weeks before the deadline! And this is just one example of what can happen. No need to tell you then that you'll need nerves of steel and some bottles of Redbull to finish everything on time (yes, there are always "last minute" things to do!)
Still motivated? Great!
If you don't really know what to begin with, here are some useful tips to help you prepare and make the most of this special event without tearing your hair out.
Tuesday 1 May 2012
The importance of being earnest
I'm sat there comfy, I'm distanced from my thoughts, in the background is the familiar sound of the voice of my hair girl, we amble through conversations for near an hour.
When was the last time you sat down for an uninterrupted chat with any of your close friends for an hour? There were probably awkward gaps, distractions, phone calls, a screen of one kind or another to divert mutual attention. When we sit down in the chair in a salon, you have nothing but a set of blades and conversation and that's why being a good a hair professional is no easy feat. The real question though is what makes a great one?
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