How-To: 6 Ways Stylists Can Boost Their Well-Being

Escapism can be defined as a penchant for seeking distraction and relief from less-than-pleasant realities. The entertainment we end up chasing usually takes this shape, a desire to get away from our day-to-day lives because they’ve become overwhelming.

There is another option, however. What if your everyday life didn’t feel like a prison? What if you weren’t facing restrictive circumstances on the daily that cause you to constantly control your flight-or-fight reactions or battle burnout?

There is a way to create a life that is consistently exciting and fulfilling, one that you won’t want to escape from. By introducing some relatively straightforward changes into your daily routine, you can manifest a rewarding reality. One that doesn’t demand that you offset exhausting your salon workdays with thrill-a-minute vacations.

1 Get A Look You Love 

As any stylist knows, hair is the most noticeable part of our beauty, whatever gender we identify with. A good hairstyle can accentuate your personality and it’s a vital element of your appearance because it sets the tone for whatever look you’re going for. 

Ensuring your hairstyle makes you feel amazing will simply add to your natural charm and charisma. It will also make certain you’re being perceived as the professional you are and influence how the people you come into contact with end up engaging with you.

If you’re dressed to the nines but your hair’s not looking great, your entire look will go down the drain. In the salon world, bad hair days reflect badly on whoever’s suffering through them, so making sure yours looks good with minimum maintenance can reduce your stress levels significantly. 

2 Build a Beauty Routine That Makes Every Day Feel Great 

Come on, people. You know the drill. The knowledge you’ve acquired working your way up the stylist ladder is unequivocal, as far as the importance of looking good for your clientele goes. Creating a daily hair care routine is a task you cannot ignore. Make sure you’ve got one that works and is as simple and straightforward as possible. Put your best foot (i.e. hair) forward for your clients. 

3 Practice Self-Care 

You need to keep your own cup full before you can give your all to your clients. Institute small self-care routines that guarantee that you feel taken care of, and you’ll be able to give that much more to your customers. 

This can take the form of always wearing the right gloves when you’re handling potentially irritating dyes or products. It can be keeping a nongreasy, scent-free hand lotion that you love at your station for you to use between appointments. Or it may be learning how to banish those negative thoughts that creep in while you’re behind the chair. Find what works and do it consistently. 

It’s also important that you limit salon fatigue as much as possible. Days of back-to-back appointments that seem to stretch into infinity will definitely take their toll. While you may not be able to clear your calendar, you could invest in top-tier tools that have been specifically designed to save your stylist strength! 

Implement five-minute rests between clients, too. This can go a long way to reducing swollen feet and easing the other types of strain that long days inevitably take on your body. 

4 Make Yourself a Priority 

When we’re talking about work, the most important tool at your station is yourself. This means that you need to do what you can to safeguard your mental health and actively promote positivity in your workdays.

The World Health Organization lists several factors that are no-nos in terms of good mental health at work. The list includes inflexible working hours, poor communication, restricted participation in making decisions, substandard team cohesion and harassment and/or bullying. 

Take whatever steps you need to and eliminate what’s working against you at your job. Your first priority is you.

5 Build a Balanced Life 

There’s extensive research that confirms the importance of a good work/life balance. But are you practicing it? Are you overbooking yourself? Are you taking the breaks you need? What does your diet look like? Are you following good health trends and getting the vitamins and nutrients you need? How are you sleeping? 

Avoid burnout by putting boundaries into place and making sure it’s not just other people who respect them. You need to step up, too. 

Make sure you’re actively scheduling downtime by planning your week ahead of time and removing activities that drain you. That colleague who’s always whining or gossiping is adding stress to your environment that you don’t need. Start avoiding them and make space for people who give you energy instead.

6 Be Your Best You—Always 

Actively practicing self-care, in whatever form it may take, is something you should absolutely get on board with. When you begin, it may take some time for certain outcomes to manifest—but there will be others that will become obvious almost immediately. 

Letting go of negative thoughts may take time and hard work. Getting enough sleep, on the other hand, will see you arriving at work with far more energy almost at once.

Working hard is the name of the game in this industry. However, this doesn’t mean that you have to sacrifice your emotional, mental and physical health and let your general state of well-being fall by the wayside. 

Settle for nothing but the best from yourself and always put 100 percent into whatever you’re doing.