Spend twenty minutes on Instagram and you’re already overwhelmed. How can there be so many stylists out there? How do they have thousands of followers? How are they posting such amazing pictures? And they’ve got a website? And they’ve got a Twitter? How do I compete with that???
If your hair is on the long side, or you have a lot of it, you know exactly how long it takes to complete the entire hair care routine. Wash it, condition it, dry it, style it–the process seems to be never-ending.
Having long hair myself, spending three hours on my hair every time I washed it was just getting to be a bit too much. Or maybe I am just impatient when it comes to my hair–but I’m sure I’m not the only one. So, instead of opting for the famous ‘chop’ to avoid the incessant styling, I decided to find hacks on how to get the same results, but faster.
Over the years, I’ve somehow learned to cut down my three hour hair routine into one that’s about thirty minutes. Not bad. If you’re interested in these tips and tricks on how to style your long hair faster, then watch the video below or scroll down to check out the steps.
This is one of the most effective ways to cut down time on your hair routine. Of course, this trick won’t work if you’re in a rush to get out of the house, but if you’re washing your hair on a week night or on a lazy Sunday, always be sure to follow this tip. Not only will it cut down actual blow drying time by a lot, it will also damage your hair less, as it’s not good to apply direct heat to hair that is soaking wet.
So, when you get out of the shower, gently pat your hair dry. In full transparency, a cotton t-shirt would work best for this and will prevent damage to the hair, but let’s get real…how many cotton t-shirts do you have lying around to be used after every shower? I don’t, so I use a regular towel and pat my hair dry very gently with it. Try your best to avoid twisting it, rubbing it, or making a turban on your head (I am guilty of this at times), as this is what can truly cause damage to your hair in the long run. After you pat it dry, place a nice fluffy towel on your shoulders and while your hair dries, use this time to catch up on emails, do errands, chores, or watch your fave tv shows.
If you use any sort of hair products, be sure to apply them before the hair is completely dry. If you wait too long, you’re just spraying new moisture into the hair which only prolongs the process. I like to use a de-tangling spray and heat protectant or a leave-in conditioning spray right after I pat the hair dry with a towel.
I used to be the type of gal who’d never do hair masks before. My excuse is that I don’t really have time to pamper myself so often or sit around waiting for a hair mask to absorb into my hair. Of course, this is just an excuse for a lazy person.
Moisturizing your hair is literally the number one priority, as this is the biggest factor in having beautiful, healthy, bouncy, shiny hair. I realized I’ve got to find a way to incorporate hair masks into my hair care routine in a way that doesn’t feel like a pompous ceremony. And I did! Here are a few of my favorite ways.
All these methods above are completely doable by every single one of us, so really, there is no excuse to skip out on treating your hair with what it deserves. And just think about how much time you’re saving by incorporating this into your regular routine, instead of dedicating a separate time slot for hair care.
To speed up the drying process even more, take off the nozzle that concentrates the air into a thin stream and blow dry your roots upside down. As soon as you feel your hair is about 90% dry, it’s time to put the nozzle back on and use a round hair brush to fully dry the rest of the hair, and smoothen it out in the process.
When you are done blow drying, put your hair dryer on a cool setting and run the cold air through your hair with a round brush one more time. This will seal the cuticles and make your hair appear even shinier and healthier.
Ah, curling long hair. No one can argue that having beautifully styled long hair is absolute goals, but the effort and time that normally needs to be put into styling it is quite on the lengthy side. One of the best hacks on how to style long hair fast is to pull it up in two ponytails, and curl in sections. This works for two reasons:
If you need a full tutorial on how to do this step by step, check out this videoon how to curl hair in just two minutes. In this video, you’ll see that you can also curl your hair extensions this way and just clip in the longer locks whenever you’re ready to rock them. Once you’ve tried this technique, there’s a rare chance you’ll ever go back to curling your hair regularly.
Since the technique above doesn’t curl the roots, it’s a possibility that the hair lays flatter at the top. A quick trick to add volume to the roots in this case is to simply use a texturizing powder, or a natural dry shampoo, which will help create volume. Massage well into the roots, or you can even put some in your hand and scrunch the hair upwards to create texture and body throughout the length of the hair.
That’s it, my friends! This is how I style my long hair, and with these tips and tricks that I just shared with you, I’m able to cut down my hair styling process significantly. I hope that you’ve found them helpful.
Ever feel like the App Store is bursting with too many options?
There are a dozen different social media platforms at our disposal and at times that gets a little overwhelming. Like me – I love Instagram, but Twitter makes me nervous. What do I say? What if no one likes my tweet?
These questions can become especially frustrating when you’re running your own business. No worries, I’ve got a cheat sheet here to show you 5 different social media platforms and how you can use them as a stylist.
Make Facebook a solid landing page for your business. If someone lands on your Facebook page, they should be able to know immediately:
Who are you?
What do you do?
How do they contact you?
Fill your Facebook up with pictures and posts all relevant to these key elements of your business. On another note, set up a Facebook business profile. It’s not hard and it’ll make your life so much easier if you want to start running ads or even just checking in on how many people visit your page.
Snapchat is great for stylists because it’s very in-the-moment and hands-on. Post daily on Snapchat about any part of your life as a stylist – from picking up new products, to chatting with clients, to researching different styles!
You may be thinking – what could I possibly do with a certain number of characters? Post updates about your business – availability, new styles that you’re working on, updates on location. Answer questions. Point people in the direction of your favorite products. And don’t forget – you can upload photos and videos to Twitter too!
I know what you’re thinking. No one’s going to find me on LinkedIn and try to book an appointment. You know what my philosophy is? If you’re running a business, you want to give people as many opportunities to come into contact with you. Set up a LinkedIn account and treat your styling like a real business!
Here’s the platform best-suited for stylists – Instagram. Use Instagram Stories in the same way you use Snapchat – with quick snapshots and process videos. Use Instagram Posts for glossier images of your work, to post graphic posters about updates, and to keep people updated on your life!
We can help you be part of the self-promotion process. Tag @hairtochair on Instagram and Twitter for a repost to our own community!
Self-promotion as a stylist doesn’t need to be stressful.
You have an entire marketing agency at your fingertips with social media. Take advantage of that and don’t be afraid to promote yourself and your passion. Here are a few tips and tricks to get you started promoting your business through social media.
In social media promotion, you want to give something before you can get something. For you, that might mean sharing advice on commonly asked problems when it comes to hair care or styling. Find little ways to share your knowledge and your followers will come to see you as an authority on the subject.
One of the most interesting things to see for anyone who does any creative task is to take a look at the process. Platforms like Snapchat or Instagram Stories makes it ridiculously easy to take quick snapshots of your before, middle, and after process – which can be absolutely amazing when it comes to styling hair. A further bonus is that followers will get to imagine themselves in your chair and be more likely to reach out for an appointment.
Take advantage of your network and ask your clients to tag you in pictures where their hair is the main feature. Not only are you then accessing their network of followers, you can then repost their content to your own social media platforms, showing your followers that your clients are excited to show off your work!
My biggest social media pet peeve is when business owners of any kind don’t have their social media platforms cleaned up. What do I mean by that? If you’re on Instagram and Facebook – have a business profile set up for both of those. If you’re always out partying and acting crazy, that’s totally fine! But make sure those posts go up on a separate account, maybe a personal account, that’s different from your professional one.
The best part about social media promotion is that there are no set rules on what does and doesn’t work. Have fun, experiment with things, and don’t fall into the trap of trying to copy what you see someone else doing. Form the brand you want to be.
We can help you be part of the self-promotion process. Tag @hairtochair on Instagram and Twitter for a repost to our own community!
If you’re not as obsessed with Rihanna as I am, you need to be. She went from pop star to fashion designer to beauty saint to icon and is still moving up. But one of my favorite things about this girl (in addition to her makeup, style choices, and general charisma) is her hair journey.
Rihanna has gone through so many different styles and while we probably won’t unpack all of them this moment, we’re going to explore my favorite moments in Rihanna’s hair journey.
A familiar Rihanna look is her curls. No matter what color or length she’s rocking, she always seems to come back to the loose, perfectly coiled curls. I’m a fan. Forever a fan.
Hey, remember when Rihanna popped out of nowhere with those slick & tight bantu knots and completely slayed us all? Yes, I remember. I remember it well.
Ariana Grande is forever the queen of the slick-backed ponytail, but when I see my girl RiRi with a slick back hairstyle, I know that girl means BUSINESS. Also, this is the look that makes me the most envious because my kinky curls will never be that slick.
Oh, hold up, wait, blonde RiRi? Amazing. Blonde and long RiRi? Even better. She’s the perfect complexion so that the blonde doesn’t wash her out, only makes her glow. Girl puts Regina George to shame.
RiRi plays like a complete hustler and then she steps out in an adorable, sweet bob? What do we do? What do we think? Is this darling 1920s ingenue the same girl who sang Bitch Better Have My Money?
RiRi’s done dreads quite a few time (most recently for her role in Ocean’s 8) and she always carries them off with grace and gorgeousness.
These have all been amazing looks for sure, but my absolute favorite is when she went straight RED. Not auburn. Not a couple of red streaks. Not hints of red. Girl went Kool-Aid punch red and pulled it off flawlessly. We’re not worthy.
No matter what kind of hair you have, there’s no reason you can’t go through just as many styles as our girl RiRi. It’s easier for some, harder for others, but when it comes down to it, if you want to change something up about your hairstyle – you can do it! Whether it’s a new cut, new color, or merely finding new ways to change up your hairstyle on a day to day basis, reimagining your look doesn’t have to be hard.
And if you’re needing more inspiration, just browse our stylists’ portfolio!
Who says that once we get older, we have to give up our love for hair accessories. Remember being young and running around with multi-colored, mismatched butterfly clips, vibrant velvet scrunchies, and all the bobby pins.
Because I do.
And sometimes my hair just isn’t enough all on its own. Sometimes, it needs something to spice it up. One thing I know – we’re never too old for hair accessories. Here are accessories I’ve played with recently.
I found these multi-colored bobby pins that are bright, glossy, and absolutely amazing. I stick them randomly in my hair when I’m wearing a pretty calm outfit. They don’t serve any real function, of course. Not slicking down any flyaways or holding together a bun. They’re just for the fun of it – like sprinkles on top of a cake.
When I’m feeling a little sleeker, I like to pop in a couple of slick clips into my hair. Not the ginormous kind that can hold piles upon piles of hair. Just those simple clips that are like an upgrade from a bobby pin. They can hold a little more hair & they make you look just a tad more put together.
Scarves are in right now. I’ve seen them used as belts, neckties, purse accessories, but why not throw one in your hair? You can use a silk scarf as a wrap if you’re having a particularly crazy hair day or as a fun addition to your ponytail.
What’s another way to decorate your ponytail? How about a classic scrunchie? It does the job of a basic ponytail holder, but with a preppy twist. Plus, they add a pop of color and draw more focus to your ponytail. Wanna stand out with a hint of Cher? Then, it’s scrunchie time.
What hairstyle pairs perfectly with a nice slip dress or LBD? In my opinion – chopsticks. And floss for the nice ones too, not basic ones that people might confuse with your sushi utensils. Personally, I’ve got a pair of jade chopsticks, that I love to throw up there every so often.
Hopefully, this little list gave you some much-needed inspiration on how to decorate your lovely locks. If you’re the kind of girl who loves dressing up and putting on a full face of makeup, why not give some attention to your hair too?
And if you’re needing more inspiration, just browse our stylists’ portfolio!
It’s the age-old struggle. In order to find a job, you’ve got to have experience. But in order to gain experience, you have to have a job! The same goes for being a stylist. How can you acquire new clients if you don’t have existing ones? How do you build up your portfolio or reputation without a client base?
There’s no need to worry. Everyone has to start somewhere. Even if you don’t have a robust client base right now, there are several immediate steps you can take to start building up that list. Here are some basic ideas for finding new clients.
1 – Build a Portfolio
People want to see what you can do before they hire you. Make sure you have a substantial portfolio to showcase the looks you’re capable of. Build up this portfolio by enlisting the help of family and friends as your subjects. This also helps to build up your brand identity so that when people see a certain style, they know it’s you!
Sometimes, the most helpful step towards your goals is actually writing down what those goals are. Here’s a quick outline to help you out:
Sometimes it’s easier to find new clients if you specialize in one key thing. Maybe your thing is coloring. Maybe you’re amazing at braids. Maybe getting girls ready for prom is the thing you love. Find a niche, work on honing those skills and build up your portfolio with that particular style. Build up your reputation and skill set so that when clients are looking for something specific – they find you!
So, you want to be a stylist with an endless stream of top clients? Do you know an existing stylist who is doing the exact same thing you want to do? Reach out to them! Build up that key relationship by asking for advice, getting an insight into the industry, and having a support system. And it can start with one cup of coffee.
It can be hard to build up your client list if you’re just starting out as a stylist, but it’s not impossible. What’s another tool that can help you find clients? Hair to Chair! Use the platform to showcase your portfolio, find salons that are looking for stylists like you, and to manage your existing clients so you can focus on gaining more business.
This is the story of my own hair care regime rotation. Because black hair can take on so many shapes and styles, why not experiment with them all? And across these many experiments from faux dreads to box braids to flat-ironed, my favorite looks always end up in this rotation – Braided, Breezy, and Bantu. Of course, pros and cons come with every style…
I’m not talking any kind of braids, I’m talking box braids. They’re named because of the thick, boxy shape formed by the hair divisions, and they’re fantastic.
Pros:
Cons:
By easy, breezy, beautiful, I’m talking the all-natural, all-out fro. It’s fun, bouncy, and an inherent celebration of your own culture.
Pros:
Cons:
I love bantus because they’re a nice compromise between braided and breezy. Sometimes, you need to put your hair in a protective style, but don’t want to go all out with the braids. Easy solution: bantu knots.
Pros:
Cons:
No matter what styles you like to wear or style for others, it’s nice to have a range of favorite and to know the pros and cons of wearing each style. Sign up for Hair to Chair to browse what braided, breezy, or bantu looks other stylists are showcasing on their portfolio – then showcase your own looks too!
Summer is in full swing, which means flowy fabrics and bright colors—these don’t have to just be about your clothes, though. Headscarves are the ultimate summer hair accessory since bobby pins. Wearing a headscarves is a great way to cover any greasy, sweaty roots on hot days, or incorporating a beautiful, brightly colored, delicate silk or chiffon scarf into your summer hairstyle can take it from drab to fab. Check out these three beautiful summer hairstyles which all incorporate headscarves.
In order to ensure that your headscarf blends in beautifully with your hairstyle, we recommend to choose a lightweight, smooth fabric. 100% silk is luxurious and easy to work with, while satin headscarves have a beautiful sheen and come in a variety of colors. These fabrics are also thin, delicate and smooth, so they can glide and weave into your hair with minimal damage. We recommend to steer away from heavier fabrics like cotton, as they can create friction on the hair, leading to static and frizziness or even cuticle damage. Learn more about why silk is better for your hair than cotton here. You can find some beautiful satin and silk headscarves at Urban Outfitters, ASOS, and Nordstrom.
Now that you’ve chosen your perfect headscarf, it’s time to to learn how to spice up your hairstyle with this summer hair accessory. Read on.
From Luxy – A. Kassam