Why I Left Behind the Chair at a Salon

 

Picture by: Victoria Miller Photography

Define yourself in three words. If someone asked you to do this, what would you say? Things that come to my mind are words such a loyal, trustworthy, caring, dedicated, loving, passionate, genuine, respectful, etc.

After taking a poll and asking some people three words that define them, nobody ever mentioned any words on how they look. 

When I started into the beauty industry my goal was to make people feel good. I wanted to give them the best experience. If I ended up gaining a lifetime client -- great! But, if I ended up making the client feel good -- that made me happier more than anything. 

Now, let's take a step into a salon -- a very appearance focused place. And I'm totally 100% behind "if you look good, you feel good," but I think it's more complicated than that behind the chair as a professional. 

My goal was to bring out the best features in someone, while getting to be creative and put a unique touch on each cut or application to try to "customize" each look for the client to feel their best. Nowadays with social media, it seems like people no longer want what best suits them, but rather they want their color or cut to look exactly like "the girl in the picture." 

No matter what we as hairstylists do, each hair journey has a different path and you never know what that person in the picture had to take to get to where they wanted to be. Also, most people don't take into consideration the time going into it and the money it'll cost. Now I LOVE when clients would bring in pictures from Pinterest or Instagram for inspiration, but that's all it is -- inspiration.

I must say I was blessed with some amazing clients who I miss so much. But what I won't miss are constantly seeing girls losing their identity in a picture  -- one that may have even been photoshopped.

Because truth is, as they were losing their identity in a picture -- I was also losing mine.

Picture by: Victoria Miller Photography

I'm such a people-pleaser and want everyone happy. I know realistically there's going to be good and bad days at any job. But my anxiety really took over. The day to day excitement was gone.

No longer was I excited for a new client -- I was stressed and put excess pressure on myself to deliver what they wanted. Did I deliver most times -- yes! But it was the thought of not delivering that made me super nervous.

I also slowly started feeling less creative and I slowly started to feel like I didn't fit into the industry because of my simplistic style with my hair and make up. 

What once was fun and a goal to help people feel confident slowly turned into stress and no longer about making the client feel good, but rather making them look perfect. 

To some people, stepping away from behind the chair may seem like I took the easy way out -- but I feel the complete opposite. Finding a different path that I could feel fulfilled in was one of the hardest things. 

I will always stay a part of the beauty industry whether it be doing a family member's hair or updos for dances or weddings, however I no longer see myself in a salon behind a chair. 

Picture by: Victoria Miller Photography

If there's one thing I've learned through the many stages of life it's that people are always going to judge the decisions you make. What has changed as I've grown is that with each decision I have found myself more and more -- making me confident in my choices and caring less as to what people might say.

At the end of the day, you control your happiness. If you can't make yourself happy, how can you make anyone else happy? We have to remember we only get one life, so live it. Nobody has to understand why you do what you do. This life of yours isn't for them -- it's for YOU. 

Confidence is more beautiful than any physical feature — always remember that and know your worth.

So, define yourself in three words? My three words that come to mind are ambitious, genuine, and kind. Our identity and how we're defined is more than a look. Sure I love getting my hair done as much as the next person and we all love when we look good, but how you look doesn't define you. Don't get caught up in looks. Because you might just end up losing yourself and who you are. And that just isn't worth it.