Empowering Hairstylists: Navigating the Path to Burnout Recovery

Welcome to the Main Event, the ultimate podcast for hairstylists who are ready to build a thriving career and be a part of a supportive community. We're your hosts, Rachel and Tara, and we're so thrilled you're here. With over 40 years combined experience in the industry and multiple beauty businesses, we're your mentors to help you navigate your journey as a hairstylist where you feel supported, seen, and heard. This is your safe space to connect, relate, and elevate your career. We're here to keep it real. Sharing expert insights, personal stories and strategies to help you grow behind the chair and beyond. Whether you're just starting out or a seasoned pro, we've got your back. So turn up the volume and get excited because we're sharing the latest challenges and trending topics about our industry. Let us know in the comments if there's any topics you want us to cover, subscribe now and enjoy the show. Welcome back to the Main Event. We're your hosts. I'm Tara. And I'm Rachel. Today we're gonna be talking about something that has been in a lot of the Facebook groups that we're involved with hairstylists supporting Hairstylists, and that is burnout. We've noticed that there are so many people that are just, either fed up or they discouraged, are so tired and discouraged, and we wanna be that light in helping you navigate those types of feelings. Yeah. What I mean, when I see these and I read these and I've been in the industry so long, like it really hurts my heart, because. I can totally relate to everything, that they're talking about that they're feeling. Mm-hmm. And hearing people being like, I wanna get outta the industry, you know? And I a hundred percent get the feeling. And I feel like as hairdressers we can obviously relate to one another. I don't feel like we get enough credit for what we endure throughout the day and how much you're chemists. Therapists, yeah. You take on everybody's internalize everything. Yeah. We're super critical of ourselves. We're. Thinking, oh, just, did she really like it or is she just saying that, we, we take a, we've taken a lot, we de with huge empaths. We definitely do. And I feel like that's also the fact that we're artists, right? Mm-hmm. So most artists like you put your heart and soul and your work, you know? And I feel like most stylists have really big hearts. And that's why we ended up choosing the industry we did. And anytime you deal with the public, it's very hard 'cause I've learned, you can't make everybody happy and you're not, you maybe the styles for everybody and that client might not be for you either. It's easier as the years go on. And when I always we're training my girls and stuff, I was like helping to build up their confidence. And it is something that comes with time and eventually, and it does, everyone's different. But I know for me as well, it. Took me a very long time to not have my whole weekend ruined because I was thinking about, oh, I should have did this, or I should have did that. And don't get me wrong, those moments pop up, but I get over 'em like real quick. Like, you know how to handle it now I know how to handle it now, but that I've been in the industry for, mm-hmm. 25 plus years. So that definitely you do raise your, self-confidence in it. A lot of these people, that I've been reading and everything. I'm happy they're voicing it because I feel like we have these platforms now that we can voice it and share versus internalizing it. Because back when I started, like we didn't have that. We didn't have that resource. Now we do have so many things that can be there to help you through it. So, and you know, you're not alone either. You know, you're not alone and you're in a, a group that's like a community that is supportive. Yeah. And I think that that helps. Like I'll either comment, I read the comments, a lot of it is like. Don't worry about that. Like you, we've all been there or this or that, or like they really are building each other up. I even saw one, which I loved and I, something we like when we're teaching, we spread that vibe. We want people to do that all the time. Was like someone had said that she had gotten a bad review and it was from someone that was there like years before and she was like, oh my God, I've never gotten one. And everybody rallied around her like, well, what's your salon name? Okay. Writing in a review right now. And they blasted her with good reviews so that, review was buried. So I was like, that's what we need to do because no one's gonna stand up for us. Like, we're gonna stand up for ourselves. Um, so I think with the burnout, we're gonna kind of go over a few things that, would be beneficial that really help to help build you back up because I feel like it would be. Horrible if knowing that you guys are talented and you believe in this for a few bad situations or people to completely derail you from doing what you love, and I don't wanna see people stopping that or giving up on the industry because, not everybody's a nice person. There's not everybody usually, it's not even about you. It's about something they're going through in their lives. So if we can help with some of the tools we have to offer, some of the things we're saying, I would totally tell you to take advantage of those things because we need each other. Absolutely. I think one of the main things that helped me through some rough patches was journaling. Mm-hmm. And I didn't really start journaling until about five years ago, but it's really such a great source to just. Kind of like word vomit. Mm-hmm. You just dump everything out on paper so that it's not in your head anymore and you don't have to think about it, or you can go back and, and read it. Mm-hmm. So that, you can reflect and be like, okay, so this is how I'm feeling. What can I do and what are the steps that I can take? To move forward from this? What lessons do I have to learn? Really reflect and dig deep. So journaling has helped me in helping like the state of gratitude for the clients that I do have. Because we can. Wake up and our minds immediately start racing. I have to answer that email. Mm-hmm. Or I have to confirm this time with this client. And we, we are doing 1,000,001 jobs. Yeah. Juggling so many different things that it can get very stressful and you can burn out fast when it's not handled properly. So that's one of the things that I've made a absolute priority. To do in the mornings for me to overcome this. And I'll share with you some of my favorite journal prompts and the free resources below. Yeah, I think that is the whole point. Some people too, like you don't get it out and I feel like that's a way to get it out. Yeah. And. To look at it and be like, okay, what can I do to protect myself the next time? Or how can I work on the feeling that I'm feeling? I think it's almost just bringing you kind of back to it and you can just express yourself, which is good. 'cause not everybody has someone they feel comfortable to. And even if you have a husband, a partner or wife, like mm-hmm. They don't necessarily get it. You know what I mean? We get it. I feel like journaling's a huge thing. I think meditation is a good thing too. For me sometimes, just that. Like calming myself and like really getting into a different mindset. It kind of sets myself up for the day. Mm-hmm. Um, I think that's huge is again, it's like it's self-care, right? And we do have so much on our plates now because you have to be a videographer. You have to be a photographer, or you have to make sure that an, you're requesting an editor requesting reviews. Then you have to keep on your game of knowing the latest trends and working with all different hair types. So it's a lot of pressure. It used to be you could just. Do your job behind the chair and you can enjoy it. Now, it's also this comparing yourselves, I don't want you to compare yourselves to each other because I feel like we all bring different things to the table, but it is very easy to look at somebody's social media like, oh my God, like, why? She has this, or she has that followers, or this one has that. Like, why maybe I'm not good enough, or I'm not doing that. No, everybody just has different things. Like everybody that knows me knows, like I do not enjoy that stuff. I don't enjoy videoing stuff and I don't enjoy social media and having to do, like, I just don't, I love to create, I love to connect one-on-one with people. I love to connect with my clients, so those are my strong points, but it doesn't mean that you know those people instead of feeling and comparing yourself, maybe reach out to them and be like, Hey. I, I love how you do this and I love how you do that. Maybe would you, wanna help me into that or take a social media class, if that's something that interests you or a photography class to see how you could maybe, and help in that, those areas. And if it's something that doesn't interest you, don't sweat it. There's so many other ways to build clientele and I think a lot of it is still one-on-one connection with people and genuinely. Having that, offering that great service and making them feel good about themselves. So little things like that of just little reality checks. Sit down with yourself and find out what it is that you do enjoy. And also, I always feel like you gotta, someone told me this once, consider the source sometimes people will say stuff to you and you have to really look like, where's this coming from? Is this person miserable in their lives and they're just being nasty to me? You can't take that stuff personally because again, it's not about you and there's plenty of other clients. And it is hard because I feel like, and this is with a lot of different industries, people in life, all the good things you hear, it doesn't matter. And you hear one bad thing and that's what you hold onto. Mm-hmm. And so sometimes I feel like. With the journaling, also journaling, like positive things that happened or a client that was like, oh my God, thank God for you. Like you've helped me so much and I love my hair. Write those down to look back when you are feeling down and being like, okay I remember this one. I remember that I made this person feel so important and so special, and try to bring your mind back to that. Another thing that works for me is, exercising. Like I remember in my first business being stressed out and I would go to the gym after and I would literally take it all out there and I would feel so much better. I and I think that can also help. So it's finding your thing. It could be taking a walk, it could be journaling, it could be meditating. Those are all things, and sometimes it's hard to do that, and it's hard to find the time to do those things, but trying to make it a point, or, making a goal list, things that you have to look forward to and being like, okay, I wanna do this. I wanna do that. reshape it. Like our minds are really powerful. So if we're in this spot, and I'm not saying it's not gonna happen, it happens that you're down and you feel really, really low, try to change that pattern. Like instead change your thoughts to something that's happy and positive, keep doing that. Eventually it'll just become a habit. So I would definitely tell you to reach out and do that. Another thing that we're very, very passionate about is coaching. I'm sure a lot of you styles have clients that do different types of coaching for different. Pass, you know? Or corporate? Well, coaching for hair is a huge thing and it is something that there's value in. So whether you're a business owner, whether you're starting out, whether it's just you wanna talk to someone about, Hey, I'm experiencing a lot of this, or maybe you had X amount of people canceling, and you wanna be able to talk and vent to someone that knows what you're going through. Coaching can help 'cause coaching can help you build those steps. To help combat this burnout. And I feel like that would be a huge asset. It's always nice to talk to someone that can relate and I think with hairdressers, nobody can really relate besides other hairdressers that get it and they get dealing with clients, good ones, bad ones, all of 'em. We also have, we did go over a bit. We had another episode where we talked about red flags of clients and this and that, so. Recognizing those can kind of eliminate these situations from happening. And the other thing is boundaries. Mm-hmm. You have to set boundaries, with your. With your clients, with where you're working, you have to set personal boundaries. Those things are there in place to protect you from getting burnt out. Take it from us. I didn't know what a boundary was until like three years ago. No. Well, and too, when you're like starting out and you're new and you're building, or maybe you relocated, it's like you feel like have to everybody and you have to take every person and you have to do everything. And you really don't. Life is about balance and I feel like it is high paced right now. Everything's so go, go, go. And I feel like if you can find some form of balance in your life where you're like, okay, I am done for the day. I maybe, maybe you posted. Not as many times as you wanted to. Oh, well, so what? Enjoy your family, enjoy your friends, enjoy being able to take vacations and doing little things for yourself. Maybe you pick a day outta the week that you're like, you know what, it's Sunday and I'm not thinking about anything work related. I'm not doing anything work related, and that's okay. Doesn't mean you're not lazy, doesn't mean you're not, you don't have drive doesn't mean you're not working for your goals, but your mental health is the most important. If you are burnt out and you crack, you can't give and do your job to your best ability. So this is, again, something that you're doing to like further yourself. So it's taking away the shame of that. And I have a theory too. I remember having this conversation with you like, oh my God, I don't wanna book this trip because I'm afraid I'm gonna miss out. Mm-hmm. On really cool clients or something. And you were like, just take the trip. Yeah. Like you need it, you need to re refuel yourself. Yes. And re reignite that motivation. And then once I booked that trip, it was like I had four new people reach out and I was like, wow, I'm so glad that I did this. So if you are thinking about booking that trip as a reset in your mind. I highly suggest doing it because it's going to bring more good things your life. Yeah. You have to invest in yourself. Yes. And your wellbeing. You can't get drain yourself all day and give everything you have to your clients. Yeah. And then you go home and you really have nothing left to give to your family and your loved ones, the ones that are gonna be there all the time for you and support you. Right. So you have to take those moments for you and realize that's you investing in yourself. I feel like too, and obviously I've been in the industry a while and certain things have changed and it used to be, hair shows were huge and there's still some, but it used to be on another level and that would really pump you up and inspire you and it would, you'd go back in like ready to go, So I encourage to, we both encourage and we teach just in our classes to continue education because it's so important to be around. Fellow stylist. Mm-hmm. Because I feel like the energy that stylists bring when you're all together in a room, it's so powerful. It's so uplifting because now instead of a 12 hour day building your clients up, you're all there building each other up, you're talking, you're having a great time. So definitely communicate with other stylists. Go to classes, get inspired, that really helps to code back. We get so used to. Day after day after day, client after client, the weeks just end up blending together. And it's like, if you can go and you take a class and you come back and you're like, oh my God, I just love this. It was so nice. I, I learned this and that. Now you're pumped up, you're pumped up for your clients. 'cause you're like, Hey, I wanna definitely try this. Or I just learned this new extension technique. I think you'd be the perfect person for it. So it inspires you again. Mm-hmm. And our industry now at this point, it's so creative and there's so many other options and different avenues, so it really is. Stuff you can get excited about, so I feel like when you're not in that, or, if you're in a salon suite and maybe it's only you, like you need to be around other stylists, it helps pump everybody up. Yes. And build yourself up and inspire you. So definitely take classes, do coaching, because that's something that you can then talk to that coach about. This is where I wanna be. This is my goal for two years. This is my goal for five years. And the coach is gonna be like, okay. Tell me what that looks like and then breaks it down, like, how can we get there? And again, let somebody who understands you help be your coach and your therapist. It's, you can have a therapist and they're great and they can try to relate, but talking to someone that's been in your shoes that you're gonna get way more out of. So look at all of those things and go, choose what would be best for you. And also just kind of. Take a step back and really look and see what it is that you enjoy. What is you wanna change? Maybe it's like, you know what, I'm burnt out. I'm working 12 hour days and I really don't have time for my friends, my family, and the years. Just keep passing. I'm late for, we've all been late for birthday parties and s and all sorts of stuff, and everyone gets mad at you. Show up. So think about how you can change that. What can I do? That I can still make the money I need to make, but I can also be a part of my family life. Sometimes you do have to take that step back. Sometimes that might mean it's time to raise your prices. If you're really that busy, maybe raise your prices a bit and start working, smarter and not harder. And that's okay. But I think that's the, we feel bad, we feel bad for our clients. Like we can't, we cannot, we have to. This is our livelihood. Yes. We're professionals. We have the experience exactly to back it up. Yeah, I really feel like that's the, the thing, like you can't be concerned. I'll see some posts where they're like, oh, I'm worried like about raising my prices, $2 or something, or. No, absolutely not. Just do it. Yeah. Because sometimes it's like the ones that really love your work and respect you, they'll have no problem with it, but they're not gonna come to you and be like, I think you should raise your prices. I did have one client that did that to me where he is like, no, I'm paying more Rachel. This is ridiculous.? But I'm like, well, I wish all my clients were like that. But especially now with cost of things being so expensive and everything, really take a step and evaluate. Where are you making money still? Are you losing money by your prices? Because I think that could be a lot of 'em. Guess what? That's gonna cause burnout because now you're working 10 times more and you're making less. So I think we're all happy when we're making good money and we can, pay our bills comfortably. True. And when it's not that way, that leads to big burnout. So definitely reevaluate. Look, see what your actual costs are. See, maybe it is time to raise your prices. Maybe it's time that you're like. You know what? I really enjoy doing extensions, so I'm going to start focusing more on that, and I'm still gonna do my clients that are my bread and butter, but I'm really gonna start booking more of that or blocking out for more of that. Think about what it is you really like to do, and in this industry, we'll see a lot of posts. What else should I do? Right. Or what are, what's everyone doing as a side hustle and stuff like that. Mm-hmm. In our industry, there's lots of different avenues you could go down, whether that's, being a Cosmo teacher, whether that's working for one of the companies, whether it's being an educator for one of the companies brand deals. Yeah. There's all different things you could do. Maybe it's you know what? I wanna work three days behind the chair, but I also wanna manage a salon because that way I can do that and I can still do my clients. Like really think about the other areas that you can, go in that might, you might find more joy. It's about getting the joy back into your life and also being authentic to who you are. Because if you're pretending to be somebody that you're not mm-hmm. You're gonna burn out faster and burn both ends real quick. Yeah, because it is hard to show up. For example, there's something that happens within your life that really affects you and your mood and you just have to shove it all down mm-hmm. And pretend like everything's okay. It's hard and it's hard to, bounce back. So we totally understand where that comes from too. 'Cause you have to. Pretend literally everything's okay. It's like you're on a stage essentially that's on stage. I deserve a freaking Oscar sometimes, but, and it is, and it, the tough part about that is mm-hmm. Um, when you keep doing it and doing it for so many years, sometimes Yes. It's like a mask almost. Well, yeah. And it's also if you're putting things down, putting things down, and what I've personally noticed, it's that you become so good at it that you start doing it in your own life, not even realizing it. Mm-hmm. And that's not healthy. It's not healthy. And yes, we are in those situations. I had, I was doing, one of my clients and I had gotten a text that one of my close friends had passed away who had been really sick, and I'm in the middle of doing her color. So what I really wanna do is be with my friends, reach out to my friends, go cry my eyes out, and I can't, I have to be like, okay. So yeah. So that vacation you're going on, you know? And until I was done and all I wanted to do was be done because all I wanted to do was. Let loose and feel what I was feeling. So I find, and we're, we're gonna do another episode talking about this too, because I feel like, again, it's so important is, again, checking in with yourself because I've noticed that I can totally do that a lot where I end up just. Keeping it in. Keeping it in. Yeah. And you're just, again, you're on stage. So whether that's, a fight with your significant other or it's something that's bothering you, you might be like, okay, I don't have the energy to deal with this. Okay, I'm just gonna pretend everything's fine. And you don't wanna get in the habit of doing that and suppressing your feelings because they really will eat you up. So be aware of that because like to me, I didn't even realize I was doing that. So sometimes yes, it's sometimes what we have to do. Obviously you can't just. Let it all out behind the chair, but making sure that maybe it's journaling when you get home and you can let those things out. Maybe it's talking to somebody that you're close to. You know, maybe it's like I'm scheduling a call with, my therapist or my coach, or I'm gonna call my best girlfriend I went to beauty school with and just let it out. So really try to do that and process, because I just think it's something that can build up that's not healthy and it's not normal, right? It's really not normal that people have to do that all the time. So. Of course. keeping things bottled up and then one day you just implode and explode. It's not, it's not healthy. And I know that's easier Yeah. Said than done. But handling your emotions, especially being in this industry is huge. Whether that be in, in work or in life, like, it's just that, again, that matter of balance. Mm-hmm. But taking care of yourself because. There's only one you, yeah. Self-love. It's really like self-love is important. It's, yeah. And making sure that you're making yourself a priority. Mm-hmm. Because if you can't take care of yourself mm-hmm. Then how are you going to take care of all your clients? No. You're gonna run yourself ragged. Yep. And I think exactly to making sure you're in the right positive environment. So if you're working in a salon, making sure that's really the salon for you, that's the environment for you. You feel supported there. Check in with those things. 'cause sometimes the energy could be dragging you down and you don't even realize it. Mm-hmm. If you did have a client that complained, or a client that did this, are they supporting you? Are they standing behind you? Is the owner being like, no, I, she's an amazing stylist and this, this, and this. So you wanna make sure you're supported. That definitely can help a lot in these situations. Absolutely. There. I mean, there were, before I found loyalty. Yeah. I would think I was in like. Four or five different salons and I almost quit. Yeah. 'cause I was like, am I just not cut out for this? I don't, I don't know. Whether or not, and again, this is something you guys can probably relate to, where you just felt like the environment in that salon was toxic. And you are like, how can I be around this and be in this type of career for the rest of my life? I can't handle it. And. Be like surrounding yourself with people who inspire you and motivate you and uplift you and support you. Having that community mm-hmm. Especially during a cycle of burnout is so important. It really is. And I've had styles that have come from other shops and like the stories they would tell me mm-hmm. And the things they experienced. And I had two that were amazing stylists. They were. Very professional and the owner actually showed up at my salon and she was cursing them out. She was getting their faces and she was, a grown woman and these were girls. They were in their early twenties. I, I was livid. I went right to her. I kicked her out and said, you should be ashamed of yourself. You have a salon full of people, and if you treated them right in the first place, they would've stayed. But they were so beaten down by this particular owner that would just nothing was enough and yelling at them, and you have to do this, and you have to sell more, and you have to upsell. Like that's not, we're creative people. You need to be around your people, your tribe. So if you find yourself in that environment, maybe it is time to start looking around. And you can go and just go into other salons and just, they don't have to know you're a hairdresser, but really try to feel the energy because that's a huge, huge thing. And we're here to support you on your journey too. So if you are. Feeling like you're nervous to make the jump. You can always book a coaching call with us. We give a complimentary first half hour to you. Mm-hmm. Your time is just as valuable. So if you wanna feel uplifted and motivated and supported, we would love to support you and encourage you and motivate you to keep going on your journey. Absolutely. And to just help you through things and. If you are thinking of leaving, balancing out, like what does that look like? What's really important to you? What are things you definitely need and where you're going, we can help work you through all of that. And even if it's just event session, that's fine too. But we're here for you guys. Always feel free to either, reach out to us, there'll be links below. Even if you just want to send us an email with a question like we're, we're open to answering anything. So we're here for you guys. Thank you so much for watching. I know this was, uh. An emotional topic. It's, it's a sad one. It, was, it was something that definitely needed to be discussed. Yes. 'cause we really, truly care about other artists and their journeys too. That's a wrap on this episode of The Main Event. We're all about empowering our community and supporting each other, so if you love today's conversation, share it with a fellow stylist and let's grow together. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review and connect with us on Instagram. At the Main Event Show or our YouTube both linked in our show notes below, got a topic you want us to cover, send us a dm. We'd love to hear from you. Until next time, keep creating, keep growing. And remember, you're a part of our family now.