The Life of an Assistant- And All that Jazz

Ok Ok it's been a while! I am totally slacking on my blogging abilities! But that is only because I have been doing GREAT things!!!

I think the last time I wrote I told you all about how I started at a new salon in Culver City. Let me just begin by saying it is the BEST job EVER! I couldn't be more happy to have found the perfect home and fit for me. I work 3 days a week and I am able to bring in clients the rest of the week. Lets just say I'll have my own chair there shortly. (That's the goal). I have already learned so, so much. I have cut my hair cutting time by over half, sped up color time and I am rocking keratin treatments/highlights. Our clients are amazing and most know me by now so I know the crazies vs. the awesome.

I am running a promotion for this month for FREE HAIRCUTS!!! If you want one contact me. If you need prices for anything else please contact me as well!!!!

On another night I am doing hair for the Emmy's this Sunday so I hope to post pictures soon. I was able to book fashion week which means I am doing 9 shows!!! SOOO EXCITED.

I am also attaching some pictures of hair I did for the posters on The Secret Circle. They took the hair I did and implanted it on to models. So check em out!!!

Anyways I'm sure that's enough infor for now! I will write again very soon! Promise!

Life as an assistant - Funny Faces

As I have been job hunting I was trying to recap some of the stories that had made me laugh while working in the salon.

There was one day that I was assisting and an older handicapped woman came in to get her hair done with her husband. She had been coming to my boss for a long time but I had just started with this stylist so I had no idea what to expect. (I had just started working for the salon a couple of months before) This client wasn't the nicest woman on the planet so I had a feeling this was going to be a very long few hours. As she sat down in the shampoo bowl I asked her if she was comfortable and if the water temp was ok and she abruptly replied "it's fine". Because of the handicap and her "hefty" presence the water from the bowl ended up mostly on her back and less in the drain. She got up slowly and I asked her to follow me to the changing room so I could get her a dry robe. She understandably was not nice about this situation. I wouldn't be too pleased if my back got soaked by some new assistant. (Of course I felt awful and blamed myself).

Now I want you all to take a minute to remember that no one had warned me in any way about this couple or what I was about to be put through. The assistants normally warned each other and protected each other but I think because I was still new I was going through an initiation phase that left me standing alone.

So this woman gave me a hard time all the way back to the chair and pretty much told me I was the only person EVER to have gotten her wet which of course made me feel even worse! (I came to find out later that day that the wife actually gets soaked every single time she comes in. She was just that unhappy that she took it out on me.)

The client then asked if I could get her husband a diet coke. She said no ice and just the can. So I brought her husband the drink and he then got upset that there was no ice and no glass. The 2 of them then began to fight and tried to blame the entire diet coke problem on me. AWESOME!

As the womans service came to an end it was time to grab the husband and wash his hair. (He didn't have much) I figured if I gave him the best shampoo of his life it would make up for everything. So I got him in the chair and felt pretty confident I could change this day around. I had a cheesy smile on my face, made sure he was comfortable (he had the same uncomfortable look on his face all the time) and was ready to go. I start shampooing him, looked down and he is making these ridiculously silly faces and looked like he was in horrible pain. (Picture below is to give an idea of the face but not the actual client:

I ignored it for a moment and was in a very, very confused state. Do I say something? I am barely touching him so could I be hurting him? So about 2 minutes later I got up the courage to ask..."Sir is everything all right?"

"No! I don't like to be touched" was his response.

So now I am standing behind a shampoo bowl, hands full of suds, his hair is full of suds, and a very unhappy man. Did anyone feel like letting me know he didn't like to be touched? Why would you ever get a shampoo if you don't like to be touched?????? I am also now praying the owner of the salon doesn't walk by because if he sees this guys face I will get fired for abuse. So I stood there for a minute with a confused look on my face trying to figure out the best next move. I had to endure this "funny face" for another 3 very long minutes while I rinsed out all of the shampoo and nicely turned to him and say: "so I am guessing you'd like to skip the head massage?". Lets just say he skipped the massage and I never saw him get shampooed there again.

So for all of you men and women out there who don't like being touched...just shampoo yourself at home. Assistants feel just as uncomfortable when you make those silly faces as you do.

Until next time...

Life as an assistant - photoshoots, PSA's, Oh My

Well hello everyone!

Over the past couple of weeks since the film finished I have been working on a few things to keep me busy until I find a job. I worked on an amazing PSA directed by Ron Howard for the Boys and Girls Club. What a fun yet chaotic experience. I also had the pleasure of doing a few photo shoots. The first was for a top secret new CW show (which sadly I can't give too much info on yet) and the second was an amazing shoot to build my portfolio.

The PSA was quite an experience. I had a 7 am call in the middle of Glendale with a cast that was unreal. I showed up and was shuttled to the location and was left standing in the middle of this parking lot by myself with my kit. As ready as I was it was a bit of an overwhelming experience. I stood there with hundreds of people running around me with ear pieces, walkie talkies and cell phones all looking like their heads had been cut off. No one would stop to direct me to the beauty trailer so I just started walking around. There were about 30 trailers so it was not an easy journey. Once I finally found it and met the rest of the beauty team I placed my stuff down and went straight to crafty for coffee. As I went back to the trailer the young kids (prob ages 10-15) started coming in to get their hair done before the celebrities arrived. They were all adorable and talking about how excited they were to see Ron Howard in person. They weren't excited about the major A-Listers coming but Ron Howard was the one to see. As we got their hair and make up done and went to set the big guns started to arrive. I watched Denzel Washington, John Paul (of Paul Mitchell), J Lo, Cuba Gooding JR, Ne-Yo, Shaq, Magic, Shawn White, Sugar Ray Lennard, Ashanti and so many others start to roll on to set. Most of the pictures were posted to my twitter account as an exclusive so if you would like to see them you'll have to add me @cosmoenthusiast.

The photo shoot I did for the top secret show was lucky enough to come my way form my cousin Jenny (THANK YOU AGAIN!!!) who hired me to do hair for 8 different people. The hair I did will be seen in motion and still posters. I will keep you all posted on that when more can be revealed.

The most exciting for me was the photo shoot I did just a few days ago! I got together a group of 3 other girls. One was a photographer/makeup artist who also needs to build her books like I do and the other 2 amazing young women were friends of mine I brought in to model! We shot all over my area in Hollywood and did 3 hair changes. The shoot went better then expected. We shared a lot of laughs and had some pretty awesome pictures. I have included some of the "behind the scenes" photos that I personally took. The finished shots will be available soon (as well as the rest of the "behind the scenes shots posted currently) on my facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/srstyles

The Life of an Assistant- Lifestyles of the Rich and Inappropriate...

Ok So it's time for a new blog!

As I have now been at my work for about 8 months you can only imagine the characters i have come across. I not only work with some characters but our clientele can be quite funny. 

In my experience I have noticed a few different types of hair dressers. The first is someone who talks the entire time about themselves, their lives, families, friends etc.. Appropriate or not it doesn't really seem to phase them. Then there is the type who listens and nods the entire time because they cant stand what their client is going on and on and on about. Then there is the silent type. They stay quiet and so do their clients. The last type is the one who constantly gives out advice. Right or wrong they always have an opinion on their clients lives.

 I think my personal favorite is the one who talks about themselves non stop. I say that because watching them go on and on while their client looks bored to death, down right offended, or totally about it is quite hilarious to me. I once worked with a stylist who actually told a young client (early 20's) their whole sex life from start to finish. About mid way through I saw her look at me through the mirror with that "please god help me look".  This stylist was so into his story he didn't even notice she was mortified. The client and I just started to laugh at the craziness of the whole thing. He then went on to talk about fairytales/princesses...lets just say the conversation ended early due to the client and stylist getting into an argument. (Yes they really fought over something silly)

There are also different kinds of clients... First is the insanely rich. I am talking so rich they don't even know what to do with all that money. Then there are the ones that are very business and either pretend to be very busy and important by talking on the phone, emailing, reading paper work and checking out magazines all at the same time just so they look "busy" or "important". There are the clients who can't really afford to be coming to our salon but love their stylist so much they save every penny they can. Those are usually the nicest and also tip the best. The last type are the weekly clients. They come in once a week to the salon and know every person that works there and their life stories. In this group I think my favorite is the "business" class. They are the ones that walk in and don't say hi but in a whisper while covering the phone will demand "sparkling water" or "iced tea" which we don't carry. When I give them the bad news they look at me as though I am insane even though they been in the salon 50+ times and know we don't carry either drink. 

This week we had a client in who is beyond rich and brings in this massive beast of a dog. The dog spreads out while I rush to bring it water (by the way it's not even her dog. Its her friends but she takes it everywhere)....The client loves to gossip so talked to me for the next couple of hours about traveling, houses, her daughter being in stanford after going to Harvard. Blah, blah, blah... So I asked the client if she brings the dog on these lavish vacations and she said yes. I asked how the dog handled being put under the plane and her response "oh no dear we take her on the private plane". EXCCCCUSEEE ME! So as the service came to an end and it was time to pay and tip she hands me $3. Now I am personally so beyond grateful for ANY tips I get and I am not complaining by any means but when I have clients who are unemployed tipping me $20 and this woman who could afford my rent for the rest of her life and still be ok gives me $3 I can't help but laugh a little inside. 

Anyway I'll be back with better stories next week. I'm a little under the weather right now but had to get out a weekly blog :)

Until Next Time...