How to Wash Hair in the Salon and Make More Money
How to wash hair in the salon properly and give the absolute best shampoo ever! And even make more tips behind the chair.
And this article, and the exercises it includes, is for every hair professional, barbers, cosmetologists, hairstylists, assistants, students, apprentices, even massage therapists and estheticians.
How to Wash Hair in the Salon
Think about it from the client’s point of view.
Your best shampoo experience
Think of the last time you had someone else wash your hair, how did it feel?
Rushed?
Relaxing?
Hypnotic?
Painful?
Rough?
Too soft?
Distracting?
Really think about it. What do you want your clients to feel?
How to wash hair in the salon – A Shampoo exercise
If it’s been too long since you’ve had your hair washed by someone else that you can’t even remember, give yourself a head massage right now. What feels best?
Slow motions? Fast motions? Scratching and scrubbing? Circular motions?
Now, once you’ve figured out your favorite motions and pressure points, go to a family member, roommate, co-worker, or even your pet cat or dog, try those same motions, pressure points, and speeds on them.
Guarantee, no one is going to refuse a good head rub.
Watch their face. Listen to their breathing.
Do their eyes roll back into their head? Do they squint in pain?
Ask for their feedback, but only after you are finished.
The best kind of advice for the best shampoo service ever is going to come from real people.
Why is knowing how to wash hair inthe salon good for your client’s health?
There are several reasons a shampoo service should be offered to every client.
Firstly, you the professional, know that the hair is clean, with your own products and washed thoroughly in your own way. Not with whatever silicone-filled products your client might be using, and you can feel and gauge the amount of buildup your client may have on their hair.
The second good reason is this- LIFE IS STRESSFUL!
Life gives us waves of unfairness, difficulties, work stress, deadlines, schedules, etc. It’s hard to catch your breath sometimes. Stress takes a toll on mental health, emotional health, and physical health.
A relaxing shampoo massage service can rid your guest of their headaches, tension, and communicates to your guest that you recognize that they are human and understand that life is stressful.
When I first started cutting hair, in 2014 at Cost Cutters where we did not offer a shampoo with each service, I had several clients who would just come to see me for a $4 shampoo on the days when they were plagued with migraines and unbearable headaches.
For 5 minutes I would give them the most relaxing shampoo and offered gentle consideration for their tension and pain. They would tell me that their pain levels would go from 9 to a 2, or even 0 after releasing the tension held in the muscles around the skull.
Even though the service at the time was $4, I would never get less than a $5 tip! And only for a 5 minute shampoo service. Some guests choose which stylist or barber to keep forever based on their shampoo service.
When to offer a shampoo
If you would like to offer your client these few minutes of relaxation, I advise including the service in the regular haircut price.
If you work in a shop that does not give you the flexibility to offer this service to every guest, talk about the shampoo and its benefits it offers to their health. An inexpensive treat to give themselves.
NEVER don’t tell your guest when the shampoo service costs extra. No one likes surprise charges at the end of the service. Always be straightforward and honest when there is any extra charges for services.
When offering or even including a shampoo massage service in your regular haircut prices rids the client’s stress of being charged extra. Sometimes, offering a free shampoo to a guest once will entice them to include it in their haircut from that point forward.
At my shop and for my clientele, the shampoo massage is included in the price, whether they choose to skip the shampoo or not. I value the shampoo service to $4-6 or so. With that being said, kid’s cuts don’t include a shampoo service (kiddos tend to have a hard time fitting comfortably in the sink) and is about $6 less than an adult cut price.
Dispursing Tension
Stress tension is generally held in the temples, and at the bottom of the skull, near the nape, as well as the shoulders. As I am sure you have experience for yourself, and realized during the self-massage exercise above.
When shampooing a guest, make soft and slow circular motions along the hairline, almost on the forehead but not quite. Many don’t realize that this is another high tension area. From the hairline, join your thumbs in the middle and make a direct line back towards the crown, right to the apex of the skull and then press firmly but gently. But do not hold this pressure point for more than 3 seconds. This is an excellent pressure point release technique.
Releasing tension is not difficult to do, but it is important to dispurse the tension after massaging it out of the muscles, or else it will settle right back where you left it. Kind of like the old cartoons when they dust the shelves but the dust rises and settles in the exact spot they just cleaned.
Dispursing tension is simply done by making a broader motion over the area that was just massaged, and opening your hand to spread your fingers around the skull or shoulders. This is dispursing the tension.
How does including a shampoo service make you more MONEY $
Imagine the last time you received a small act of kindness from someone. A stranger, or even a friend, co-worker, or family member offering a little act of thoughtful consideration special just for you. How did it make you feel?
Everyone wants to be seen and heard, even if they think that they don’t. Affirmation is powerful.
When a client seems extra tired, has a headache, or had a particularly stressful week and just needs a few minutes of quiet or a few minutes in the shampoo bowl with a relaxing massage shows consideration for your guest; That you acknowledged that life is stressful and YOU NOTICED that they deserve rest.
It is easier to be generous to those who are kind. When consideration has been given, giving a few extra dollars seems like nothing. An average tip for a stylist will go up if you consider a few extra minutes in the shampoo bowl an investment for a few dollars more in your tip.
Now, not every client will tip more but it is uncommon if they don’t. Though even if not, if you work in a shop where you are payed on a commission base or sliding scale, your hourly wage will increase and your paycheck will increase with the upsale of the extra service.
It’s the tiny details that make you and your business stand out.
One thing that I do in my shop is lay a hot towel on the shampoo bowl before my client lays back for the wash. Not very many people can say they have experienced that with their last barber. And it doesn’t cost me anything!
Tip Calculator for Hairstylists
Now it’s your turn– How to Wash Hair in a Salon your way.
Think of something that you can do to make you stand out among your competitors and peers. Not to be malicious or competitive, but just to set you apart from other stylists and barbers and that makes people remember and recommend you to others.
How do you want to stand out?