The hair and beauty industry is not regulated and your therapist might be doing a few things which give the industry a bad name and also be putting you at risk.
It's really easy to spot those who are letting the industry (and you) down.
Here are just some of the things to look out for:
Are they qualified? In our industry, there are different levels of qualifications. Diploma, NVQ is the most common. Make sure they have an ACCREDITED qualification and look for NVQ's over diplomas.
Most therapists will not be alarmed if you ask to see their certificates. (Maybe insurance as it might seem like you are looking for a fake payday). I have my certificates on Facebook and Instagram. If they don't have the paperwork they cannot be insured. In a salon you can be 'in house' trained. Again although this is above board they may not have had a qualified tutor make sure they are up to standard.
Google them: Type the company name into Google, I recently looked up one of my competitors and found she was offering more to the men than the women (to be polite). I now realise she is not my competitor at all as she is only masking as a massage therapist. Personally, I wouldn't want to go to someone who had just had her hands 'up' places! If I hadn't of Googled her I would never have known as it certainly isn't on her website (which was just the normal massage list).
Prices: If their prices are really low. Well there are two reasons for this 1) they are recently qualified and they are trying to build up confidence or 2) they have brought fake branded products (so you a lot of this in nails) putting you at risk. Remember when we price treatments we have to include tax, overheads, ourselves (at least min wage). If the prices are too good to be true it means it is! Bargains are good but 'value for money' is even better. Remember it is a 'service' pay/tip well and you will properly get 'above and beyond'.
Patch Test: Not asking for a patch test? Again if they are cutting this requirement what other corners are they cutting? No therapist should be putting your convenience and their profit over your safety. There's a reason it is in place. Every time you switch therapists you should be having a patch test.
Reviews: Don't be put off by bad reviews. Read between the lines and most importantly what was the therapist response? This will show the level of professionalism you are dealing with.
Have some common sense, if a salon is quite new and has hundreds of glowing reviews chances are they are fake. Look at the quality of the review, is it just stars or do they say what they had and why they liked it?
Location: Don't be put off by location...I work from home. Many therapists who work from home will have better standards than those who work in a salon (or so I have found anyway). Again, if they are paid more or it is their name, the standards will be higher than those who earn minimum wage for long hours. Look for pictures on social media.
Remember it's your money and your body, don't abuse it.
Ask questions: Don't be afraid to ask questions, this gives you an idea of the level of professionalism and knowledge of your therapist. Although most general information can be found online.
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