Monday, February 6, 2012

CONFESSIONS OF A T"HAIR"APIST / THE INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF HAIRDOM - CHAPTER 3 ; PART 2

It was at this salon that I would transcend into the “shear” madness that would forever shape my career. I learned to utilize the innate ability to feel out any client insecurity, special needs and to totally listen and perceive the situation that I would be embarking on. Paying close attention to their conversations opened up communication that often lead to psychological insecurities and emotional road blocks.
On very rare occasions those road blocks became impassable, yet the adventures leading up to those blocks were astounding. The reasons and the rhymes of those delusional insecure mindsets would become the stepping stones to understanding just how much mind energy it took in a day to smooth out the clients porous hair as well as their disheveled personality. There was always a sense of completion at the end of the day, yet it was emotionally exhausting and would tend to make me unsociable in the evening just trying to regain my own mental composure.

These first experiences of diva client privileges began my journey to the styling chair of client T"HAIR"apy. It was not just the hair that would need special attention. No matter what you would apply to the hair for control, it became very apparent that I also had to control and smooth their crowded, unhappy, insecure mind. The insecurities that fell out of them spilled around me like rain water, only I was the gutter that channeled it to a different direction of mindset.
Just listening and letting out sympathy from my heart would be the encouragement they needed to unleash more of their sadness. The privileged information came at no price to me as I never charged them for advice but they would hand over the money freely and happily and always eagerly awaited their next appointment to continue their stories.
Many women and men felt open to me and all their life stories would blanket me daily. I would learn more from these people than anyone could have ever imagined. This International House of Hairdom held within its doors my pathway to human fragility and loneliness. The hallways echoed the cries of convex conversations which were turned inward and I seemed to provide them with a straighter path to move forward. My gift of conversation and genuine interest brought the clients to me and they would leave a mark in my heart and create the vast amount of information that I possess to this day.

My stay at this salon was enlightening and informative. My new clients lead the way to the success that was noticed and soon I had been given the opportunity to relocate to another elite salon that my owner had recently built. Looking back it was a blessing in disguise as the fall of the “House of Hairdom” was imminent, as the lease had ended and was not going to be renewed. The era of this salon would end and the “Euro” staff would separate and find successes elsewhere.

This former salon was to be the beginning of my awareness of how much the clients depended on me. Unbeknownst to me I was part of a hair curriculum that was not part of the cosmetology training. This syllabus would hold a psychological consequence of an amazing positive aspect. I would learn to understand just how connected to the female psyche I was becoming and the intuition I had with each and every one of them would serve me well. My career was still very new but I could sense that incredible things were about to happen. My clairvoyant ability steered me in the right direction and kept me safe when I strayed into situations that needed to be dealt with quickly.

The “International House Of Hairdom” experience provided the new horizon that I would follow and I exited those doors with a brighter tomorrow. Taking on this new location would prove to be an exciting adventure. It was at this salon that I would meet the first of many clients that would challenge me in ways I never knew existed. Many of these new clients became like family while others would introduce me to the world of narcissistic, sociopathic insecure Clairol Christians. These clients were the most dangerous and most challenging.
No matter how you played out your appointment scenario you were never able to move beyond their total consuming "ME" syndrome. You could spend hours with these ladies and they would never walk away happy and then you would reap the pain of many repeated phone calls asking the same questions that you tried to answer with those many hours before in your T"HAIR"apy chair. Nothing would or could satisfy this type of client as they needed much more than a color process on their hair to bring them a happy demeanor. Luckily that type A personality client was rare and many, many other clients would become like a family to me. I became entwined with their lives and we shared a common ground of consistency and conversation that would be helpful to the both of us. The trust they put in me was never spoken except by their continued loyalty as a clients.

I had finally cracked the code of my responsibility to the wonderful people who would take this journey with me and who provided me with a strong grasp on reality and all that life can give you through the value of friendships. I was truly blessed by knowing each and every one who graced my styling chair. These people were the reason that forty three years later I can still be thankful for one hell of a styling career. Within my grasp was the power to make people look good and feel good. Sharing the gift of conversation only helped to make the whole experience positive for both the clients and myself.
Attached to every strand of hair was a head filled with so much information and life experiences that it would be as exhilarating as it could be debilitating.

Remembering each and every conversation and the person who was attached to it came easily for me. Somehow my mind stuck post it labels to each client and so it would come to pass that I would easily remember where we left off with our last conversation. So many people would come through my salon doors as clients and time would allow them to metamorphous into dear friends. There were people who made such an indelible mark on me as a person that it changed my awareness of many things.
The vulnerability that came from some clients desires, needs and high expectations delivered some of my career’s most amazing stories. On the other side of the fence were the wonderful clients that entered my hair kingdom and brought their trust, respect and loyalty over the years. Within the next chapters of this book, there will be actual revealing true situations with clients with whom I shared life experiences, some good, some bad, and others that were absolutely life altering. All of these situations took me to a new level of human compassion as well as understanding.

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