In this article, you’ll learn about_:_
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Why it's helpful to give braids a break
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Remote hair extension removals
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Root touch-up tutorials for clients with relaxed hair
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Banning box color with camaraderie
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Why now is the time to embrace natural hair
Clients with high-maintenance hair have already begun to worry about what’s going to happen to their hair when they’re unable to keep up with their regular appointments. Luckily, live streaming can be a powerful tool to connect with your clients and offer individualized guidance on how they can preserve and protect their hair from home. Here’s how you can specialize live stream sessions for your clients based on their most recent styles, treatments, and their current hair needs.
Give Braids a Break
Braids or cornrows that have been left in for longer than the recommended length of time can be harmful to the scalp as the tension from styling weakens the hair and the accumulation of natural build-up can create the ideal environment for bacteria and other nasties to breed. Clients who have had their protective hairstyles for more than 8 weeks should begin considering removing their styles and giving their hair a rest. You can use Vagaro’s live streaming integration to connect with clients to help them carefully remove their braids, cleanse, and deep condition their hair before giving their scalp a much-needed break.
After braided clients have rested their hair for at least a week, they can go back to another protective style if they so choose. Live streaming can also be a convenient way to teach your clients how they can do their own braids, twists, deadlocks, or knots in order to protect their hair until they can jump back in your chair. When offering these online hair styling lessons, be sure to communicate ahead of time how clients can prepare their hair for styling before the session begins.
Extensions: When in Doubt, Wait It Out
Hair extensions can be tricky for inexperienced clients to remove on their own, as they can easily cause damage to their hair or their scalp, so it’s a good idea to encourage your clients to wait it out until restrictions have been lifted. If, however, you have some clients that are very overdue for a removal and are unable to wait, you can provide professional guidance with a virtual one-on-one session to minimize the risk of damage.
Because removal methods can vary based on the type of extension, it’s a good idea to offer consultations based on the specific extension type. Adhesive-based extensions are among the easiest type to remove at home. Sewn-in wefts, while slightly more difficult, can still be carefully removed at home with the help of a roommate or family member. Individual bonded extensions require a chemical treatment to break up the bonds before the hair extensions can be precisely removed one by one, which makes them much more difficult to remove at home. Clients with this type of extension should be encouraged to wait until you’re able to help them directly.
Carefully Touch-up Relaxed Roots
Help clients who want to touch up their untreated roots by offering a hot tool workshop. You can demonstrate how to use a flat iron to straighten their roots while minimizing damage.
Prompting your clients to start with clean, freshly washed hair and using heat-protecting products allows them to begin protecting their hair before they even begin styling. Then, using a micro flat iron, straightening small sections of hair with a “slow and steady” approach can help your clients get a more precise and straighter result.
As the time between relaxing treatments grows, so too does the risk of breakage. Combing and styling adds to this stress and can easily snap strands at the growth line so be sure to also remind your clients about the importance of keeping their hair conditioned and moisturized. And while over-moisturizing is possible, it is reversible, whereas breakage is not.
Keep Color-treated Clients Away from Box Color
As you know, one of the most important things your color-treated clients can do for the health of their hair is avoiding box color. Secretly touching up roots with box color can create a color-correcting nightmare down the road, so it’s best to reach out to your clients early and discourage them from taking their color into their own hands — literally. Hosting a #showyourroots “support group” session can be a fun way to get some much-needed socializing in while encouraging your color-treated clients to share their own roots acceptance and styling advice with each other.
Embrace the Natural
Taking a break from heated styling tools, too-tight styles, or harsh chemical treatments can be beneficial to the long-term health of your clients’ scalp and hair. However, taking a break and going natural doesn’t mean giving up all hair care! Consider offering one-on-one consultations where you review clients’ hair care routines and offer specialized advice on how they can take a break without giving up on their hair health. You can also offer guidance on how your clients can best nourish their hair in preparation for any future treatments they may be looking forward to!
Create Product Kits Centered Around Different Needs
Putting together product kits specific to different hair textures or desired effects can help continue to encourage your clients to support you and your business by shopping at your online store. Compiling small sample sizes into a single kit can allow your clients to try a bunch of different hair products to see what works best for them without making the same financial commitment as buying full-sized products. Here are a few fun ideas to help get you started:
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Killer Curls — Creams and serums to help fight frizz and sculpt beautiful bouncy curls.
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Pump Up the Volume — Texturizing sprays and volumizing powders focused on fluffing up fine or flat hair.
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Heavenly Hydration — Hair lotions and masks to hydrate and help prevent damage.
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Braided Beauty — Balms and gels to make braiding at home and laying edges easier.
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Relax, You Can Do It — Moisturizers, flat ironing thermal protectants, and no-lye relaxer products to help chemically straightened customers stay sleek, without the breakage.
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Go Natural! — Moisturizing deep conditioners, water-based moisturizers, natural oils, and protein-based treatments to help customers who want to embrace their natural texture and repair the effects of heat and chemicals.
As clients with high-maintenance hair watch the weeks pass since their last appointment, you can support them in protecting their hair with specialized live stream appointments based on each client’s needs and wants.
Images: Giorgio Trovato via Vagaro
Icons: Mia Montemayor via Vagaro