02/03/2026
Coloring hair professionally is a lot like being a great chef in a fine restaurant. Some salon pros. decide to work on VOLUME (like at a very good fast-food restaurant), rather than on exclusive service. BOTH ways can be successful, . but a decision must be made. What type of colorist do you want to be?
When your skills and passion for perfection are in synch, you can focus on exclusivity: Seeing fewer clients per day, scheduling adequate time for each client, charging more for each service, and delivering very premium, more labor-intensive types of. color. This type of client is usualll y not in a rush, and is not interested in "Express-Service, or in discounts or "group-ons[. They can also be very demanding and will rightfully expect lots of care.
OR
When you feel confident with covering gray, changing hair colors, and with painting and highlighting hair, and when you can do all this nicely and quickly.. (because your knowledge and manual skills allow you to work quickly, AND you also enjoy being a great hair cutter and stylist)... You can plan to accommodate many clients during the day. And because you are working on volume, you will care for more people and will charge less per service, as you see more clients in a day. Express services work very well in this type of business.
DECIDE what type of business you want to create because trying to be everything to everybody over the long run, is very, very difficult and can create the kind of salon stress none of us need.
WHATEVER you decide, please be good to yourself. Allow sufficient TIME to properly care for each client. It takes time to properly greet a client (who might arrive a few minutes late). And, before you do anything else, provide a focused, detailed pre-service chat with the client so that you ae certain that you ae both on the same page. For myself, scheduling a color retouch for 30 minutes does not usually allow sufficient time to satisfy the client. As we move on in our careers and have a history with clients, the time you allow can change. HOWEVER: For myself: All New "first time" color clients are confirmed 36 hours before their appointment, AND I allow ONE HOUR so that everything is relaxed, welcoming, very clearly communicated, applied and processed perfectly. That first visit means the world to a new client.. and keeps them coming back to you for the lovely visit AND for that gorgeous service you provide Just my opinion.. and I think these words might be good ones to share with a new professional who might be working in your space. . B