How Salon Owners and Hair Stylists Become Stress Masters at Work 

Summary: Here are ways to identify and change the stress in your life for personal growth and stress mastery.

Stress sucks! Especially when it follows you to work. There you will often meet various versions of Debbie or Don Downer.  

Trust me; they are everywhere. 

For example, you know the type—the guy or gal who always sees the rain and never the rainbow. They are so annoying as they frown to complain that the color is a shade too dark or the cut a tad too short. They are impossible to please. 

Self-doubt is a leading cause of stress for most adults.

Above all, you know at least three of your clients will make you doubt your talents today.

Did you know that self-doubt is one of the leading causes of professionals failing, even if they love what they do? 

As you prepare your work area, you wonder how you will keep your cool. 

In addition, no one knows that your brother was in a car crash last night and is in the hospital with a broken leg. He’ll be okay; it was just the shock that kept you up most of the night. 

It’s a myth that you can separate who you are at home from work. 

However, your nature is to separate home from work, even though that is impossible. 

You think to yourself, it’s nobody’s business, right? You’ll better concentrate on cuts and color and keep your mouth shut. 

You take a deep breath and look around. You’re there to serve, just like your other colleagues.  

You are ready to stand on your feet most of the day, booked without a break for the next six hours.  

Clients run the gamut of moods from chatty to sullen to angry or aggressive. 

Some days are more complex than others. And it looks like today may be a mess. 

But it doesn’t have to be that way. 

Most importantly, there are methods to help you stay in your safe stress zone and lead others there too. 

Magazines like Beauty Launchpad and Modern Salon have excellent articles about wellness to keep those in the beauty industry on the sunny side.

We all know that stress has increased over the past few years. Also, hair salons are known as a place of not just beauty but also a place of comfort. 

Hair salons, the entire beauty field, are part of a “feel good” industry. 

And your job, along with the technical knowledge of color and style, is to help people feel happy and relaxed. 

Here are ways to ease your anxieties and make a difference. 

• Breathe: Do some belly breaths. Deep breathing can calm your nervous system and make you think more clearly. 
• Speak: Tell someone you like and trust about your situation. When you smile and keep your worries to yourself, you lose the opportunity for connection. Just a few sentences will help.  
• Eat: There are stress-reducing foods that can calm you. Did you know blueberries are good, and dark chocolate and green tea can help? 
• Move: Excuse yourself and find a private place several times a day to stretch. And if possible, take a short walk. That’s it; reach up to the ceiling and down to the floor. 
• Sing: Some songs have a way of making you feel better and boosting your mood. How about “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong, “Happy” by Farrell, or “About Damn Time” by Lizzo. Sing to yourself or shout it out, both ways work. 

Now for the payoff. Once you have added these stress reducers to your life, you can be amazingly helpful to co-workers and clients. 

Share ways of helping de-stress with others to make a positive difference.  

In addition, research indicates that when we ask for help and help others, these acts of kindness link to increased feelings of well-being. 

Last thoughts: you all know that a “runner’s high” happens when you do a three-mile run. Did you know there is also a “helper’s high,” a euphoria that comes from asking for or giving positive ideas to others? 

Give yourself the gift of a “helper’s high” that increases positive feelings. 

In conclusion, let me get a “helper’s high” by suggesting you get a copy of my best-selling book “Invisible Stress (It’s NOT What YOU Think).” 

We are working with salons to offer tools and tips for healthy ways to enter the safe stress zone and “practice safe stress.”  

Ultimately, it’s good for you, me, and the planet. Contact Sylvia at ceoptions.com or call 570-233-1042 we’d love to hear from you!