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- Lights, Camera, ACTION!

Hey Everyone!

It has been a while! Sorry it took me so long but it's been a very busy few weeks. So a few weeks ago, late on a Saturday night, I got a call to work on a feature film called Sexy Evil Genius. of course I jumped at the opportunity. I called my work told them I wouldn't be coming in and started early Monday morning.

I arrived early to CBS Radford studios to begin my journey. As I walked into the beauty trailer to meet the people I was working with I was put right to work. Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica, 24) was sitting in the chair. As I am getting settled and handed scripts I am thrown into the chaos of film. As the morning continues I spend some time watching my boss do his thing so I can see what I'll have to do throughout the week. I am introduced to the cast as they enter Billy Baldwin (Backdraft, Parenthood TV, etc...), Seth Green (Robot Chicken, Can't hardly Wait, Family Guy etc...), Michelle Trachtenberg (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gossip Girl, Euro Trip, Robot Chicken, etc...) and Harold Perrineau (OZ, Lost, Romeo and Juliet, etc...). All were very nice. They sat in the trailer cracking jokes, making fun of each other, goofing off. It was like a big family. As the week continued I started working closely with Billy and some of the background and later in the week on the rest of the cast. I was on set doing touch ups and when my boss wasn't available I was creating styles and putting the hair together. By the end of the first week I was asked to stay on through the end of the shoot. Of course I agreed (and lost my job at the salon because of it) but how do you turn down an opportunity like that? The days got longer and loner with start times between 6 and 9 am and we finished between 12am and 2 am. One day Seth and some of the cast brought us a Sexy Evil Genius ice cream truck which was amazing!

Come Monday (Seth's last day) we were all tired and loopy, behind schedule and lots to do. Since we had Seth for just one last day the day became longer and longer. I ended up having to paint his nails at 11:30 pm, washing his hair at 12:30 am and moving to the next location.... the BIG sex scene. By 1:30 am we were filming 2 different sex scenes, out of it, tired and laughing our asses off due to the major awkwardness and lack of sleep.

The following few days were very hectic due to being on location. Anthony Michael Hall (Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Weird Science, Dead Zone, etc...) was brought in the last week of filming which was awesome.

I am unable to give too much info on confidentiality rules as much as I would LOVE to share so much with you all. I will be able to at a later date! I booked 2 gigs last week which will come in another blog but for now enjoy some pictures below! :)

Billy:

Harold:

Katee:

Michelle:

Seth:

For exclusive photos find me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/srstyles
Or on Twitter: @cosmoenthusiast
For Booking info please contact me at my email: cosmoenthusiast@gmail.com

I hope everyone is doing well! Until next time.... :)

Life as an assistant - Dreams Come True...

Hey everyone!

So this week I was going to tell you about some funny stories from work and attempt to make you laugh so hard your stomach would hurt! But instead I am going to keep this one really, really short and share some AMAZING NEWS!

I booked my first feature film! I start tomorrow before any of you wake up or have your first cup of coffee. I will be doing hair on set for Seth Green, Michelle Trachtenberg, Katee Sackhoff, Harold Perrineau and William Baldwin (and many others).

The film will be released in 2013 as far as I know. If you would like to know daily details and how the days are going tune into my twitter: @cosmoenthusiast and my facebook: http://www.facebook.com/srstyles to find out and I will try and keep everyone as up to date as possible!

Wish me luck and I will be back to my weekly blogging self next week.

I'm off to set up my set bag!

Until next time....

Life as an assistant - True Blood Edition

So not that long ago I was asked to come help out and check out the season 4 True Blood photo shoot for the new posters. It has to be one of my coolest days on a set this far.

As I nervously entered the trailer around 9 am I was finally able to meet the hair designer in person. I had been speaking with him via email and text. When I walked in he was working on Deborah Ann Woll who plays the young vampire. He was mid process roller setting her hair. AWESOME! LET THE FUN BEIGN! As I made myself comfortable in the trailer actor after actor would step in for hair. Ryan (who plays jason Stackhouse and was awesome enough to get me this gig) came in for a quick hello which is when I realized that the men spend all of 5 minutes in the chair while women spend hours! So unfair btw!

After hair was primarily done I stepped on to set for touch ups and to watch the excitement in action. They had 3 different sets as you can see in the posters. The black room, the white room and the red room. They were UNBELIEVABLE in person!!!!

In between takes I would run back to the trailer to see if I could be any use. Each time a new person would be in the chair. I am not sure if any of you know this but I am actually a major fan of the show! I was a late bloomer but I am hooked! So watching each person go from Anna Paquin to Sookie Stackhouse or Alexander Skarsgard to Eric was pretty freaking cool!

I spent most my day on the set bouncing around and learning a lot. I learned a lot of on set go to products, styling tips, and so much more. Lots of roller sets and blow drys on set which is pretty normal but always fun to learn new ways of doing it. I wont bore you all with more details but the finished products are below! I hope you all enjoy them!

Until next time...

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...

The Life of an Assistant- My Week at Vidal Sassoon

My Week at Vidal Sassoon

While at work a few months ago I was speaking with a co-worker about Vidal Sassoon, after we watched a video on his life during our Thursday morning class at work. (Incase you haven't seen it, which I am sure most of you haven't, his life is actually kind of fascinating! He is in his 70's or 80's and is in better shape then I am!!!!) They have these advanced courses you can take once you get your license 2, 3, 5 day and 6 week courses on color or hair cutting. We (my co-worker and I) both agreed we needed a little extra education on hair cutting since our classes at work just weren't cutting it!  (Pun intended) As soon as I got home I started my research on these classes and decided that now was a good time to go. I spoke with my boss at work and told him I was going to Sassoon, they would give me a week off for it or I quit. (Yes I really did say I would quit unless he let me go). I'm not saying I threw a 4 year old temper tantrum although that would probably have made for a much more interesting story. Can you imagine I just stomp my feet, cross my arms and pout? The truth is I would've been doing exactly what a 4 year old  does when she doesn't get the cookie she wanted BEFORE she finished her lunch. Anyway he and I had a long talk where he told me the classes were pointless, useless and I would only learn basics but wouldn't be the "most amazing stylist" when I left Sassoon. He also then made it a point to tell me I was replaceable HOWEVER I am one of their best employees and therefore he did not want to have to replace me...so in other words I was free to go back to school for a week. I thanked him for his honesty, agreed that it would take much more than a 5 day course to become a stylist as amazing as him, and told him I hope I learn the basics because I am not really learning them at work. I left the office with a BIG smile on my face ready to prove him wrong! And boy did I....

It turns out my co-worker and I signed up for the same week of school ;) We agreed to carpool so we could split cost on gas and parking. The first morning was filled with a pretty steady nervous yet very excited feeling. When we got to class we sat awkwardly with 6 other people from all over the world and all different ages. Right away this young man from fresno or Freemont latched on to my friend and I. (I think he had a slight crush on my friend!) He is that one kid in class who asks the same question over and over and over again thinking the answer will be different but never is!! By the fifth time you just want to strangle him and implant the answer into his brain through invisible brain waves and hope he shuts the hell up. There is always that one kid who can't help but ask every single thing that comes to mind. What is that about???? Well in this case it was Eric (I changed his name for privacy). Our teacher Leon (name changed again) would tell us that he was demo-ing or lecturing on concave versus convex layers. As the demo was going on he would say "I am working on concave layering right now". Within 5 seconds Eric would ask "Is that concave or convex?" and Leon would respond "concave". 3 minutes later Eric would turn to me..."Are those concave or convex?" My response was "still concave". He would then proceed to ask 5 other people before asking the teacher once again. By mid week the teachers assistant said "Leon a student would like to know if you are working on concave or convex"...his response was "Eric I am still working on concave". Thats when we would all laugh. 

There was also a pregnant student probably in her 30's who would proceed to make very bad jokes about being horny and pregnant but then called my friend and I mean for imitating a client that comes into our salon. The head of the Vidal Sassson Education program in the US came in to teach some of our classes which is HUGE! He isn't what you would expect for the head of the entire US Vidal Sassoon Program. He is a british man who makes noises when he cuts hair, sound effects, gyrates his hips, steps on your feet if your body placement is off, makes cheesy yet kind of funny jokes and is just downright looney! Another character we had was a young girl who had a few tattoos on her body. Now as most of you know I am down with the tattoos but she had one on her back that said 51/50. For those of you who don't know what that stands for it is a 72 hour mandatory hold in a mental institution. I couldn't resist the temptation to ask about this odd yet intriguing tattoo... turns out her old boyfriend was in prison and got it so she got it too so she could honor him.... Yeah.... I had no response either. It was a nod and smile situation. 

All in all I won't bore you with what I learned that week but let's just say my boss was very, very off. I learned more in that week at Sassoon then I have in 8 months at my work. I got to spend a week focusing on and learning something that I love doing. I spent a week being silly with my friend dancing, singing and laughing in the car and I got a Vidal Sassoon diploma! I graduated their program and it was one of the best weeks I have had in a long time! So a big thanks to my parents  and that special someone, you know who you are, for the support and  encouragement to get me through that week. I will post pictures soon so you can all see what I worked on that week since we spent afternoons cutting hair. 

Sorry for the delay in writing another blog (I moved) and thank you all for such an amazing amount of support in my blogs. It has been very refreshing and the positive feedback always helps! If you have any request, comments or feedback (good or bad) please feel free to comment on the bottom, forward my blog follow me on twitter @cosmoenthusiast or find me on facebook http://www.facebook.com/srstyles

Until next time....

Life As An Assistant- State Board

Well Hello Everyone,

So I had a couple of requests to go through the state board process. So I am back to tell you my experience.


While in cosmo school you have an option at 1200 hours to pre-apply for a state board date or wait until your 1600 hour mark and apply (and wait for a date!). You see in order to get licensed you have to pass a state exam. At 1200 hours (My first exciting moment in school) I sent in my pre application and waited an agonizing 6-8 weeks to receive my date. My second most exciting moment in school was the day I walked into class and the woman who works in the office brought me my paper work and date. August 31st! It was official. It was less then a month away. At this point in school I was stressing in state board class. I was going over and over each step, wearing a stupid white lab coat, washing my hands about 300 times  a day (state board is all about sanitation not how well you do a haircut) and at this point was studying my ass off. I was in class form 8 am to 10 pm just to clock in my hours. I called my mom a begged her to be my model by offering free hair services for life. Luckily for me she agreed. The third most exciting day was when I clocked out at my 1600 hours for the very last time. My friends sent me off wishing me good luck, a lot of cupcakes and trying to reassure me that I would be just fine! "Just study. You know the information!" they would say.

Now the pressure begins. I took over my parents kitchen, forced my poor mother to sit still, shut up and time me over and over and over again. There are over 30 applications you need to know for state board form skin care to nails, pedicures (GROSS!), and hair. You see...you need to know them all but you don't find out what's on your test until the morning of. So like I said I made my mom sit in the kitchen with a timer for 6 to 8 hours a day going over flash cards and running through applications (which I would be timed on). I stressed myself out, had emotional break downs, picked fights with my mom and I think had a short psychotic break.

The morning of state board I put on that stupid white lab coat and was in Glendale by 6 am for check in (mom in tow). As we were in the long line my mom asked one of the women who worked for state board a question about the line (she made a comment about splitting the line) and she snapped at my mom. Off to a great start!!! :) We checked in, got into the room and waited to set up. I think at this point I was shaking so bad it looked as though I was having a seizure. The state board examiner gave us a brief tutorial and said GO! I set up, opened my book of operations and panicked. Of course they gave me everything I wished they wouldn't (most of which I don't even remember now). I began. My mom, who granted is not used to being awake that early, in fact most people except me aren't used to being awake before the sun comes up, started to fall asleep during the operations. Models are not allowed to speak, read, listen to music or do ANYTHING. They just sit. So I guess she got a little sleepy. The girl next to me constantly got in trouble for moving the book of operations, which we were told not to do, and the girl on the other side of me cut herself so bad during a haircut I never thought she'd stop bleeding. The girl across from me, who also used her mother as a model, kept quietly yelling at her mother for chiming in and talking back. I thought the craziness had ended at my college experience but I guess not! It was quite an active morning. I was on my last procedure (after messing up a few operations) and the instructor asked to see my last operation, which I had already thrown in the trash. I had less then 5 minutes to complete a press and curl (involves a hot iron, stove, and typically African American hair) and i had to run back to my station, pull everything out of my trash bag (which is when I accidentally dumped everything out of my kit) and find a tiny wax strip with hair to present to the instructor. I rushed to throw everything back into the trash and clean up my station only to have 3 minutes to complete the press and curl. Let's just say I didn't really make it.  Break time! The practical part of the exam was done. And so was my license or so I thought. I walked out of the room in tears convinced I failed my exam. I had 20 minutes to re focus, munch on some power food and re-group for the written exam. I walked in, took a ridiculous picture which ended up on my license (No you can not see it!) and sat down at the computer. I finished the written exam so fast I again thought I failed.

At this point it was about 1:30 in the afternoon and we didn't get our test results until 3. So my mom and I decided to head over to the galleria where I again had a break down. This was NOT an exam I EVER wanted to go through again.

3pm arrives! I sit in the results room. There are probably 50 people in there with me and the woman calls names in groups to come up to the desk and get your license or a piece of paper that says why you failed. First group goes, second group goes...OHHHHH MYYYYY GOOOODDDDDD just give me my results!!!!!!!! After the 3rd group the woman excuses herself for the worst 10 minutes ever! Of course! Finally my group gets called. I walk into line, approach the desk and she says "Samantha here is your license. Thank you. Goodbye. Oh yeah...Congrats". HOLLY HELL I PASSED!!!!! Best moment of my life. I completed 1600 hours and passed a state exam.

I ran downstairs to the parking structure where my mom was waiting for me, and of course who made friends with the parking attendant, and they 2 of them looked at me while holding their breath. "I failed"..I said. Yes I know this was a cruel joke but since this was over I couldn't resist a little joke. My mom was crying and I just smiled and said I passed! I pretty much called everyone I knew to give them the great news and let my friends, who hadn't yet taken the exam, and tell them it really wasn't that hard. "Just breathe and you'll do fine. it's a piece of cake!"

So I know this wasn't the most exciting blog but it's hard to take a very emotionally draining day and make it entertaining. But for all you students out there who are waiting to take the state board exam...it really isn't that hard. If you can breathe through it, trust yourself and study you'll do just fine!

On another note I took the week off work this week and went back to one of the best Hair schools in the world to take an advanced one week cutting class. So far it's been the best week! I've learned a lot and get my diploma tomorrow. Pictures and that blog to come....

Until next time...

Life as an assistant - The Beginning

My journey began in 2009. I was working at a production company during the height of the
economic crisis. I had just moved back from New York and was acting as part receptionist 
and part production coordinator who spent most of my time answering phones and surfing 
the web (as most fellow desk jobbers do). As the company was starting to go under I had 
this epiphany that I needed a BIG change. Since i had a strong feeling my position was not 
going to be needed very much longer I woke up early one Friday morning, drove to work, 
walked into my managers office and said " Since you're probably going to "let me go" any 
day now, would it be possible if you did it today?" The answer was yes! It was a beautiful 
Los Angeles morning (still pretty early) and i had the day off. Many days off actually... 
Now what?????? Back to the job hunting I went along with thousands of LA people. Then it 
hit me. I really wasn't a fan of sitting behind a desk. Although all of my jobs consisted of a 
creative background they also involved a desk and some web surfing. I was very bored to 
say the least. I started my quest of trying to figure out what I really wanted to do. I 
decided on going back to school (scariest thing I have ever done) It was sink or swim, now 
or never. I narrowed my choices down to 2. Culinary school or Cosmetology school. Both I 
loved! I closed my eyes, pointed and prayed for the best. Cosmetology school it was!!!


I am starting this blog to tell my story (stories) of becoming and being a hair stylist. Well an assistant hair stylist. This is my journey from the beginning through the decision making process, school and now my every day life. I will include funny stories (did you know hair stylists act as second therapists???), pictures, models I may need for the week and specials or deals for services I'll be providing. I hope you look forward to reading these as much as I will have fun writing them!


Until next time....


"Life is an endless struggle full of frustrations and challenges, but eventually you find a hair stylist you like."  ~Author Unknown

The Life of an Assistant- The Job Hunt

The joys of job hunting... As I was completing school I knew it was about that time to find a job. You see when I first started going to school I assisted the owner of this adorable little salon in Studio City, CA. The coolest part of this job was that my boss would allow me to bring in my own clients and she would help me every step of the way through my procedures. Problem was haircuts took me 4 hours and lets face it...who has that kind of time??? I had zero experience and no idea what I was doing. She was kind enough to take me on anyway and show me the ropes of hair styling. The other assistants tried to show me how to set up trays, do shampoos, clean, formulate color and so on. For the life of me I could NOT catch on. This went on for a few months as I tried my very hardest to do everything perfectly. Clients would come in and I would shampoo them (some celebrities as well) and I was so nervous at the shampoo bowl I'd occasionally spray myself with water. I managed to embarrass myself every chance I got. The number one complaint (yes there were a few since I was clueless) was that my shampoo was "too soft". My mother was actually the biggest complainer in this area. I guess most people really like their head to feel scrubbed and cleaned when they leave the bowl. Who knew???? i just didn't want to hurt them! Or at least that's what I kept telling myself since I was beyond freaked that I'd mess up once again. Like I said this went on for only a few months. As time went by we (my boss and I) both realized this was just not going to work until I got some more hours completed at school. So I narrowed my days from a few to 1 until I just decided it was best to focus on school.

As I got closer to the end of my education I decided I wanted to do hair on films and TV. I heard you can make a lot of money that way! I was READY!!! Unfortunately it's a bit more complicated to get into the hair union then I had originally thought. So in the mean time I decided to apply to several salons. One in the valley and several in Santa Monica. I began my interview process which is never fun. I called my first boss mentioned above to see if there were any salons she recommend that had a good education program as well as assistant positions. I called them and set up appointments stat! I narrowed my list down to 2. One in the valley less then 10 minutes form my house and one in Santa Monica an hour and a half to two hours in traffic. Got to love rush hour on the 405! Sadly my first choice was the one in SM.  I ended up going through 4 rounds of interviews for my first choice salon. It was a Saturday and I was being the usual clutzy self that I am and fell flat on my elbow. As I was being rushed to the emergency room, praying to god I didn't just blow my entire career and 1600 hours worth of school by breaking my elbow, I received a call saying I got the job at my first choice salon!

The manager: "Sam I'd like you to know that we would love to have you as a part of our staff"
Me: "That's AMAZING! I'd love to join your staff but can I call you back? I may have just broken my arm. Call you when I am out of the ER"
The Manager: "Ummmmm....."

Yeah needless to say I did end up fracturing my elbow and needed physical therapy, a lot of advil and there was the lack of ability to use the arm I really needed so I could do hair. Perfect! Way to start a new job. The good news is when I called back my salon they said they were willing to take a chance on me anyway...as long as I was able to recover in the next two weeks (the doc said four!). I HAD A JOB!

I started that week and have been there ever since. I was lucky in my job hunt and I was determined to have a job fast. So now that you are all caught up to speed on how it began, why I did it, how I did it, the job hunt etc... I can now tell you about all of my crazy day in and day our experiences. Trust me my days can get pretty nutty and even funny. There is a saying that stylists are like therapists and they are right!

So until next time....

Life As An Assistant- The Journey Through School

And we are back... Oh the joys of searching for the perfect beauty school. When I started my journey to hunt for "the best" school I had no idea where to start. I started speaking with every hairstylist I could about which school was better, who would get me to pass the dreaded state board exam and who would make me the next Orlando Pita (For those of you who don't know he is one of the top 3 best hairstylists ever! He does Madonna...) I got various responses. Oh you MUST go to Vidal Sasson or Paul Mitchell is the best! i looked into those schools and they were right. They were amazing. I walked into them going "I have to be here". That was until I heard the passing rate for state board at both schools not to mention the amount of money that both charged with no financial aid. Third best it was going to have to be!  So the next bet was community college. I checked out a few of them. One more "ghetto" then the next so I asked around and was told SMC (Santa Monica Community College) was the way to go. I enrolled, with the help of a past student, and was ready to start my journey. My first day of class began 4/20/2008. (Yes the one day of the year that most students ditch school I was beginning my journey)

As I nervously waited outside the department on my very first day (with my mom. Yes my mother walked me to my first day of school like I was in kindergarten at the ripe age of 25. Cue laughter now!) I met my first 2 friends at that very moment who would later bring me lots of laughter, at them and with them, followed by drama and more drama. (I will not be sharing names for privacy).

At cosmetology school I learned very quickly that a school full of women and gay men means a shit ton of DRAMA! So much so the police were not only enforced to stand in our department every afternoon but they were soon enforced to be in one of my classes every Friday all day! My time at SMC became more and more like a Jerry Springer show and less and less like a class room environment. We had schizophrenics, just plain crazies, fist fights, cat fights, chairs thrown, girls peeing themselves in class (yes they were adults and yes it happened on more then once occasion) "straight" men hooking up with gay men, announcements asking students to "please stop smoking marijuana and coming to class drunk", girls stealing color and supplies from the color room only to resell them at school and so, so, so much more! By the time I was nearing my 1600 hour mark I had teachers asking me how to formulate color. All in all I would say my school was pretty fascinating. I learned more about myself in that year and a half then I have in 5 years. I not only learned about state board wet sets, blow drys, color formulation but I learned about sanity, patience and what I do and do not what in a friend.

I was able to survive SMC and receive my state board license about a week later. That was one of the best days in my entire life. It was also one of the scariest days of my entire life. State board was an experience all on its on. For those of you who don't know much about the subject its intense. I had to be in Glendale by 6:30 am with my model (I brought my mom...thanks mom. You get free hair for life!!!) We arrived groggy and early (for those of you who know me you know I was EARLY!) with coffee in hand. My mom was yelled at by staff before the exam got started for asking a simple question (not the nicest staff) and thank god we did not get that woman as my instructor. I had to complete the practical and written exam and then wait over an hour to get my results at 3pm. I PASSED! WHOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO! I could finally breathe!

Now that I have passed state board, survived beauty school and kept a portion of sanity the next step in my journey was to find a job. But that's a whole other story... Until next time.... Feel free to comment on the bottom and to follow me on my new twitter @cosmoenthusiast