If you have been looking for that perfect hair salon with that special stylist who will cut, color and style your hair the way you want it, keep reading.
This page is especially for people living or working in or near the South Bay Cities of Torrance, Palos Verdes, Redondo, Hermosa and Manhattan Beach in Southern California. I'm sorry but this information will only be partially relevant to readers from other areas. I decided to take on this project because none of the articles I have read in magazines or online have been able to provide real answers to the question;
How do I find a new hair stylist?
So how do I get started? You may have been thinking about a change, but have been avoiding it because it is not an easy thing to leave your current stylist and start over with someone new. How do you end a relationship that is in many cases so personal? Well if you are already thinking about it, you probably should have already done it. The best way to approach the issue is to just be as truthful as you can without saying things that you know will cause hurt feelings. Something like I just wanted to try out a new stylist that (my husband gave me a gift certificate for, that is closer to my house,) or you pick out the language that is most appropriate. Another approach is to just not make another appointment with that stylist. I recommend the polite excuse as the better approach, but you have to decide what is right for you.
Should I ask a friend? I have read lots of articles that say; ask someone you know whose hairstyle you admire to find a new stylist. Well this can sometimes work just fine, but there are pitfalls to keep in mind. Just because a stylist gets it right with one person, doesn't mean that they turn out great results on a consistent basis or that they will give you the hair style that you are looking for. Another thing to keep in mind is that your friends, workmates or acquaintances, may not want you talking to the stylist that they have been confiding in for years. You get the idea.
Why are there so few stylists with their own websites on the net? Many salons advertise on the internet but very few individual stylists actually have their own website. There are stylist search sites that will help you find a stylist or salon in your area and if you look at a few you will find me listed there too. The bad part is that they do not do any screening and anyone can get listed on the site just by filling out the form. Most of the best stylists don't advertise their services anywhere because they have always been busy and have never needed to do anything other than good work to find new clients. Most talented stylists just never learned the value of an internet presence because they never really needed to advertise, at least until recently. I have been very fortunate to find quite a few new clients who discovered me through the internet and I have also referred business to some of my colleges when I was too busy or the client needed a special service that I don't do, like hair extensions.
Which comes first the Stylist or Salon? Since we established in the beginning of this page, that we want a talented stylist hopefully working in a nicely decorated and well equipped salon, this seems like an essential question. To answer it lets start with the different types of hair salons and who is likely to be working in each type. You don't often find the best stylists in chain owned or franchised salons because those stylists are usually new to the industry or part-timers and work on a commission with the salon taking a good portion of each day’s earnings. Really good stylists don't work at these salons but they probably did their apprenticeship and their training in one. After being in the industry for a while, the better stylists move on. Where do they go? The really good stylists, the ones with experience and a good clientele will move to a higher end salon that charges them rent for the chair or station and for the color, products, towels and just about everything that they use. They need a good following of loyal clients to support themselves and afford the cost of the rent on their station and all the supplies and extras that they must pay for. Now you know the kinds of salons to look for, nice, higher end, independant salons.
OK that's great to know but I still need a Stylist. We're getting to that. There are thousands of stylists in the South Bay, yes there really are. But you are looking for the talented ones and you need someone who specializes in the type of hair or styles that you like. So how do you find out who they are? As far as I know a list the South Bay's of top stylists and their specialties doesn't exist. I certainly don't know all the good stylists in the South Bay, but I know quite a few really good ones and they specialize in different styles and do extensions and other special techniques. I will assist you in finding a match if you like.
Why would you help me? It's really pretty simple, it helps me and it helps my colleges in the South Bay who have earned my respect for their capabilities and their professionalism. Two years ago you would not have had much of an opportunity to meet a lot of these stylists because they were just too busy and only took appointments from their existing clientele. This economy has changed that and just about everyone has openings in their schedules to see new clients. Why is that? Everyone is cutting back and in our business this means that some clients are waiting longer between cuts or color and that leaves openings in our schedules. There is now an opportunity to book appointments with some really great stylists who are very happy to meet new prospective clients. I didn't see any good way to locate these stylists on the internet or anywhere else and that's why I'm doing this. If you would like to contact me, please send me an email to MarliesBodnar@live.com. Please understand that I am a full time stylist myself and I am doing this on the side so I won't have time to speak with you during my regular working hours 9:00 am-6:00 pm Tues-Sat. My appointment phone number is (310) 543-9591 and is for taking appointments only, so as to cause the minimum disturbance to clients in my chair. If you do email me, please give me some information about yourself and the preferred methiod of contact. I truly hope you found this webpage informative and I wish you the best in your quest to find the right stylist for you.
