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When a regular client suddenly disappears from your schedule, you can’t help but wonder if they have given up investing in their beauty regime or if they made a switch to a different practitioner. It’s a bummer, but the truth is...most likely when someone leaves us, they are switching to someone new. My years of experience in this industry have taught me that clients will very rarely give up what is considered a low cost luxury investment (eyebrow waxing, haircuts and colors, facials, spray tans, blowouts, manis, pedis and massages).

As a professional hair stylist, you’ve undoubtedly had clients who questioned the differences between the higher priced salon brands and the much more affordable hair products available at big box retailers. Between the extensive training we went through and our hands-on, day-to-day experiences, we understand that there’s a substantial difference between hair products. However, a few minutes of side-to-side comparisons can often clear up any uncertainties clients may have. Here are some of the main differences, as well as client benefits, associated with salon brands versus store brands.

Although she grew up surrounded by an entire family of stylists and barbers, Lisa Scott, owner of LHC Studio in Sola Salons Glen Ellyn, IL, originally had no intention of going into the beauty industry. Instead, Lisa pursued her own interests and career in business. After graduating with a business degree from Dillard University, Lisa went on to work for IBM. Eventually, and perhaps inevitably, an interest in working in the hair industry started to blossom within Lisa.

Whether your clients have curls, waves or teeny-weeny coils, here are 5 styling techniques you can use to keep their texture on trend in summer 2014!

The foods you eat at work impact the way you eat at home and this is never truer than for salon professionals. As you know, working in a salon means that scheduled breaks are a luxury that you likely don’t get to enjoy and finding the time to eat can be difficult to say the least. Unfortunately, this busy pace can be super-stressful and when you combine stress and a busy schedule, it’s a recipe for disaster in terms of your diet and your overall health.

Growing up, Vannora Hawkins always knew she was destined to be a hairstylist; but she didn’t know that her styling business would also become a source of strength during a battle with cancer. As a teen, Vannora would help her mother who ran a styling business in their home in Northern Virginia. “I was always her assistant for updos and bridal styles,” Vannora remembers. “I got so much experience with these styles that I even did my own hair for prom!”

With all the social media outlets available, keeping them up-to-date can feel like a full-time job! But when you have a full day of clients in your chair, there’s only so much time to spend online. The good news is that 10 minutes a day is all you really need. In this post, we are going to focus on 3 social media platforms – Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. These three social media outlets are a great combination of photo, information and status sharing.

One of the many fantastic things about being a salon professional at Sola is having the freedom to customize your own salon space. Each Sola studio comes fully equipped with the amenities and major equipment you might need, including a high-end cabinetry package complete with plenty of storage options. From there, you can customize your studio to your heart’s content with paint, artwork, music and more. As we learned from a visit to Sola Salons in Brentwood, CA, the creative and dynamic salon professionals at Sola are experts at bringing their own unique visions to their space. In walking the halls, we gathered tons of inspiration and are excited to share some tips and tricks for organizing and updating your salon studio this spring:

For stylist Alyssa Manning, Sola Salon Studios has provide her with a place to hone in on her niche while carving out her own passion-driven path in the beauty industry. During her first apprenticeship, Alyssa worked at a salon where her boss was a distributor for Balmain hair extensions. As a result, her early career involved direct, one-on-one training with extensions, giving her early exposure to this growing segment of the hair industry. "I got to work with hair extensions every day," Alyssa explains, "they were all around me in the salon and eventually working with extensions became second nature."

Julien Farel–celebrity hairstylist, haircare innovator and entrepreneur–has been perfecting his craft for over 20 years. Hailing from a small village in France, Farel now owns three salons in New York City, Miami and Cabo San Lucas. He is also known as the official hairstylist for the US Open and has created his own line of anti-aging hairstyling products. We recently had the wonderful opportunity to talk to Farel who shared with Sola some of his vast business knowledge and wisdom gleamed from years of hard work and perseverance.

Whether you’re just starting out at Sola, or you’ve been working for yourself for many years, a Facebook page is an easy way to make your salon visible on the web, help you stay connected with your clients and enable you to share important information about specials or open appointment slots. Chances are, you already have a personal Facebook account, but if you don’t, create an account in order to access all of the features of a Facebook business page. Once you’ve logged into your personal account, it’s time to get started.

Whether she has hair styled in a slicked back bun with pale pink lips, or she’s rocking a fedora and just-got-out-of-bed hair, Jessica Alba always manages to look gorgeous. Favoring glowy skin, penciled-in brows and sexy hair, she manages to incorporate trends (hello neon pink lipstick and icy blue eyshadow) while still retaining her own personal style.

Hairstylist Cheryl Johnson of In Vogue Hair Designs at Sola Salons Victoria Promenade in Rancho Cucamonga, CA is an industry veteran of more than 20 years. Cheryl found her way to the hair industry through her love of fashion. After being accepted at FIDM for fashion design, she ultimately decided it made more sense financially to attend Citrus Community College to study cosmetology. Hairstyling was the ultimate way for her to combine her love of fashion with her creativity into a highly profitable career path.

A lot of people may think that a successful salon has everything to do with image. A successful salon actually has everything to do with customer loyalty. Think about your favorite store or coffee shop. Whether you’re loyal to big corporations like Starbucks and Nordstrom or your neighborhood coffee shops and boutiques, it’s likely they have two things in common – a well-defined identity and a loyal customer base. Consumers have more options now than ever before. The way to make your salon successful is to create client affinity – or a bond between you and your clients. Client affinity equals loyal, long-term customers. At Sola, you have the freedom to create your own identity as a salon professional. Use these three steps to create your identity and capture client affinity.

In today’s fast moving technological market, having a strong online presence is an absolutely essential part of any business. Small business owners in particular can expand their earning potential by engaging in online communities. As stylists, a day in the salon can generate plenty of postable content which if managed wisely, can make great strides in supporting and growing your business. Alison Groves, of Raven Internet Marketing, shares some advice for how to best represent your business online.

Watching the latest celebrities go from a chic angled bob to voluminous long hair within a day can cause serious hair envy. If you’re considering adding hair extensions to your repertoire as a Sola stylist, or are simply an adventurous hair chameleon, here are the fast facts on the different types of hair extensions so you can go from shorn locks to full Rapunzel in a matter of minutes or hours.

So, you’re new to Sola, and you want to grow your career? Let’s face it: When it comes to business, learning lessons the hard way stinks. That’s why a few of Sola’s esteemed and seasoned stylists were excited to share their best business tips—benefit from their tribulations and get ready to take your salon business to the next level.  Read More

This month, it’s out with the old, and in with the new, which in Indiana-based stylist Kandas Denton-Owen’s case means elevating a standstill career in some pretty unimaginable and exciting ways. “I didn’t know just how big I could get,” admits Kandas before settling in to tell me about her career trajectory...

Start the new year off right with the resolution to give your beauty business a digital makeover! These digital tools will modernize your salon, giving your business a digital presence that is robust and easy to manage as well as making booking and processing payments easier on you and your clients...

This Christmas, it doesn’t matter whether clients have been naughty or nice because Santa (Julie Santa, that is), along with partner Nicole Darabi, is giving Alchemy Hair Studio patrons a holiday season full of style — all from the swank Sola Salons Lake Oswego in Portland, OR...

’Tis the season, and there’s no better way to say “happy holidays” than by helping those in need. Yet with all the hustle and bustle of the yuletide, there isn’t always an abundance of time or money to spare. So, what if you could give back with resources already right at your fingertips? Embrace the spirit of giving this holiday season with these beauty-centric charities...

Hair, skin and other beauty services are especially popular during the holiday season, as many people groom and prep in anticipation of visitors from out of town or traveling to see friends and family. With a surge in customers, it’s the perfect time for stylists and other beauty professionals to increase sales of retail products and services through special offers...

Mishi Nova, owner of Morphic at Sola Salons San Francisco, is thankful for many things: her family, the Bay Area’s idyllic weather, and the iPhone that enables her to run a thriving business at the touch of a finger. This year, Mishi’s also thankful for Sola for making her entrepreneurial dreams a reality...

Seeking inspiration for a client’s new hairstyle or fresh makeup look often requires digging through endless images on Pinterest or scouring countless videos on YouTube — but if you’re looking for a fanciful reference that will terminate the tech and fit in perfectly among the mountains of magazines in your studio, look no further than these five stunning books...

No-shows and late cancellations can be a polarizing topic in the beauty industry, and policies can be challenging to enforce. However, they do serve a purpose and, ultimately, can strengthen the client-stylist relationship. Expert stylist, colorist and cosmetologist Crystal Rivenbark owns Hair Architecture in the Midlothian, Virginia Sola Salons and is not shy when it comes to implementing a no-show policy...