Navigating Mental Health In the Beauty Industry

Sarah Eccles-Markey, founder of the “Well-being Stylist Co.”, a dedicated platform to the health and well-being of hair professionals has shared with us ways to manage client expectations which in turn improves mental health among beauty professionals.

Being in the hairdressing industry can be eclectic, exciting, a creative environment, where hairstylists thrive in their artistic surroundings, in which they spend their daily lives. We are statistically one of the happiest industries to work in. Fun, personable and being able to interact with people all day long and making a difference in those individuals lives. Whether that is giving them the shoulder they needed to cry on, listening when no one else did or a blow dry that made them walk out feeling like a “million dollars”. I love my job for all these reasons.

Sadly, what I have noticed over the last few years is the rise in anxiety levels quite literally across the whole team dynamic. Client expectation, along with social media platforms that depict imagery and video footage of unrealistic transformations, platinum blondes, colour corrections all happening in what looks like, to the untrained eye, a normal three-hour appointment.

As a Style director, salon manager and freelance educator, watching the team have the worry whether their client liked their hair, or if it met their expectations started to become a daily occurrence. Not just for the team may I add, my anxiety levels have risen over the years, I needed a personal fail-safe process to eliminate as much of the unknown as possible. I learnt how to say “No” very quickly or offered an alternative service. I knew my personal well-being was more important then trying to convince a potential client that having a black box dye to platinum transformation with a £150 budget and three-hour appointment was not going to happen.

As a salon we offer a complimentary consultation service where we spend up to 30 minutes with new or existing clients who are wanting a colour change. We find this gives us the time to spend with our guest to carry out all the necessary hair tests, gain a full hair history, look through images the client has bought, gain some perspective and manage the client’s expectations.

Even with all this in place “client expectation anxiety” is still a very real thing all stylists face. Do not get me wrong we love our clients and the challenges our job brings. Our reputation is quite literally walking around for all to see, its one of the most rewarding aspects of our job, seeing clients confident and leave with a smile.

Education and professional development are a key component to lessen the anxiety, I did a poll recently within our community. The top answer of the poll, when asked what aspects of consultation do you find difficult? Was, “When a client asks for a service, I am not confident in!” I believe having the confidence to say “No” and pass on the client to a stylist who does have the required skill can have a huge impact on our mental wellbeing and anxiety levels in a positive way. In the moment it may feel like you have given up or you are not as good as the next stylist. What I say is use this as a positive, look for online or in person education, get yourself out there and learn a new skill. Then the next time a client walks through the door, you will be ready and able to deliver. What you have done by saying “No” in the first place is potentially saved yourself from a restless night’s sleep, the dreaded bad social media review and feeling like you could have done better. In turn you have reduced the amount of anxiety and stress putting your own well-being first.

We spend a huge amount of time one to one with our clients providing not only a hair service, but we often are a confidant, a best friend, we are there through break ups, marriages, births and deaths, life milestones that even some family members do not witness or are part of.

When we leave the salon, a lot has been added to our mental container, sometimes if unattended can become very over filled.

The focus needs to return to the stylist, so we can build the resilience we need to be there for our clients. As hair professionals we need to take an active role in looking after our health and well-being. The daily struggles of being a stylist is something I witnessed or felt nearly every day before COVID-19 arrived. The repetitive strain and injuries our bodies are subjected to, causes mental strain, being in pain all day is not fun! Standing over the back wash and your lower back is aching, carpel tunnel in our wrists, hip pain, neck and shoulder tension it is all real!

However, what I did notice during Lockdown after lockdown is the way my body started to heal with rest, a good workout routine and the right nutrition. What we need to learn as a collective is how we return to work and keep these healthy practises in place, especially on a 2-minute lunch break when an assistance is shampooing for you.

So how is the question? Set boundaries before returning to work is the key and stick to them!

#1 Schedule a lunch break even if this is for 15 minutes, grab healthy snacks throughout the day

#2 Get outside when you can for some fresh air or a walk around the block.

#3 Stay hydrated

#4 Cultivate positive professional relationships (no one needs a negative workspace)

#5Take 5 minutes to step away and simply breathe (not with your phone either)

Prioritise your own wellness and start reducing your stress levels, getting a good night’s rest will also help you take on anything that is thrown at you.

A physical well-being plan can really help your mental well-being, so go find the thing that keeps you active, makes you sweat and that you enjoy so that you stick to it. Who does not want happy hormones helping us out, its one less thing to worry about!