Ways To Stay Connected When You're Not Behind The Chair

Even though your salon doors may be closed, that doesn’t mean you have to push pause on client relations! Now, more than ever, it's important to keep yourself top of mind for clients and strengthen your brand loyalty. We partnered with one of our favorite industry luminaries, Sam Villa, on a Facebook Live where he shared tips and tricks you can use to nurture client relationships – all from the comfort of your home! 

Sam stressed that the most important thing we can do when you can't be face-to-face with clients is to connect and show them that you’re thinking of them and that you care. Clients are wondering when they can get back into the salon. One simple way you can provide virtual support is by creating simple, 5-minute or less video tutorials or Facebook Lives providing clients with tips on how to maintain healthy hair, manage grow out, use products correctly, and have fun trying new styles.

Here are our top takeaways from Sam. If you’d like to watch the full recording, click here (we've referenced some highlights with timestamps below). 

De-Tangling Hair (3:57)

• Sam noted, “So many clients don’t understand the procedure of de-tangling hair.” He suggested that you talk to them about the brush they use – for this video, Sam used a paddle brush. Tell them to turn it vertically so the pins are lined up and tilted at an angle. This way, “you’re not pulling so much on the strands and it’s better for the health of the hair.”
• He also revisited the simple act of using a comb, because not many people know that you should always run the comb through hair vertically first before moving to horizontal combing.

Using Hairsprays (9:49)

• Clients don’t typically like hairspray, but they want control, and product is a necessity if you want more control. He said that most people don’t like hairspray because they are spraying too close to the scalp and suggested to use the length of the can to determine where to start spraying from.
• Another tip for clients is to spray their hands and scrunch in the control that is needed.  

Braids (12:57)

• Braids are wonderful because anyone can do them. Sam demonstrated a very easy way to show clients how to recreate them at home.
• Even if clients have shorter hair, they can still learn how to braid. Sam noted, “teach them how to be the hero at home! They can braid for daughters, nieces, friends.”
• Sam also demonstrated how to hide elastic with a super cool trick using just hairpins.

Acknowledging Grow Out

• This is a topic on everyone’s mind, and one effective trick to hide roots is to do a zig-zag part.
• Another tactic – encourage your clients to #ShareYourRoots. Everyone is in the same boat here, and clients are counting down the days to get back into the salon.

How to Use Pomade and Waxes

• Pomades and waxes are the most commonly misapplied products. For pomade, Sam suggests putting a dime-sized amount on the lid, then using a blow dryer to melt it down on low speed and high heat. This makes it much easier to distribute through hair and also allows for less product to be used.

Combating Dry Hair

• With so many businesses closed, people are finding more time to work out. More workout time means sweatier hair. Instead of washing every day, Sam suggests applying anti-frizz spray so that salt from the sweat doesn’t dry out the hair.

Importance of Staying Positive

For Sam’s closing message, he brought out Andrew Carruthers, Education Director for the Sam Villa Brand (SVB). In addition to driving education at SVB, Andrew is also a life coach. He said that in times like these, the mind tries to control and predict the future. The human condition likes to live in stories – beginning, middle, and end. The problem is that we have no idea – no vision – for what the end looks like here with COVID-19. Our mind goes into hyperdrive and searches for an answer, and the challenge is that the answer is not available right now.

Andrew said, “we must quiet the brain, and you must make sure you’re sourcing information from the most positive places that you can.” Stay informed, but go to reliable sources, such as the Sola Salons COVID-19 Resouce Center, the Professional Beauty Association, and the CDC.

Andrew closed with, “We are going to get through this. It’s the only option. Let go of the things you cannot control. We CAN control checking in with each other and with our clients. Reach out. We will recover. We will prosper. We will unite together.”

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.