Sierra Trepanier

Prof. Nicole Williams

Writing 102

14 March 2011

Hair’s To You

When you enter Hair’s To You, you are automatically greeted with smiling faces by the

hair stylists that are working. Every entrance into the salon is a memorable experience. You first

enter into a view of the salon as a whole. As you look around you can see the waiting area to

your left and straight ahead is the reception desk and right before the desk is the beloved Keurig

coffee maker. To the right of the salon you have the general stylist section and directly across are

the manicurist tables, then it leads onto the blow dryers, the back where you have the sinks and

lastly you have the bathroom. Hair’s To You is the perfect, cozy salon to get whatever you need

done.

When you are once in the salon you are in the midst of the waiting area. This is a small

portion of the salon that has about seven chairs. This area has an assortment of magazines as well

as a small arrangement of toys that can be used to keep children occupied. It is in this location

that a client can find the perfect haircut or with the use of the samples can find the ideal hair

color. From my experience at the salon I realized that many mother and daughter conversations

go on there, they range from everyday stuff to the mothers explaining

why their daughter cannot get that haircut. The time the client waits in

this area all leads up to the actual experience of getting their hair done.

Dry cut, wash, cut and color. These all determine where your

journey will begin once you leave the waiting area. If you start with a

Figure 1: Client at Hair's To You

dry cut then you by pass the sinks but there is always the possibility that you could revisit it

because of a color. Being behind the desk can change how you are as a person. This area consists

of four stations, three are used for stylists and the last station is for waxing and the chair is used

for pedicures as well. Specifically, one station consists of a mirror and beside the mirror are little

shelf areas that are used for different hair products. To the right of the area are holding sections

for hair blow dryers, flat irons and the like. Lastly, the most important part of a stylist’s station is

their side table. Each stylist has their own side table, which is a moveable storage area, where

they keep everything from combs and brushes to foils and their tools of the trade. You can tell a

lot about a stylist by what they keep in their storage unit, it shows how prepared they are based

on the number of brushes and combs they keep handy. It also shows what type of clients they

deal with; if they had a male client then they most likely will have the clippers out, while if their

client was female they would probably have hair color or a flat iron out. While getting their hair

done both stylists and clients can learn a lot about each other, most of the time the conversation

gets personal. I have observed that the relationship you have with your stylist borders

relationships such as friends. This is the area where the magic happens. In this area of the salon a

client can go from one extreme to the next in just one sitting.

There are two manicurist tables at Hair’s To You but more often than not, only one table

is being used. The wall in which the tables are up against are filled

with the necessities for nail techniques from plain nail paintings to

acrylic nails. There is a case filled with nail polishes, probably more

than anyone has ever needed to encounter. The clients’ choice of nail

polish can vary from the holiday coming up to a special outfit they

need to match to the mood they are in on that particular day. The table

Figure 2: Nail Polishes on the Wall

itself has a bright lamp that is used for detail. Also on the desk are the tools of the trade which go

from polish removers to nail filers and so on. The chairs that are provided for the clients are very

comfortable because getting nails painted or filled is a relaxing experience. The nail style a client

chooses can reflect what type of mood they were in, and after a one on one “therapy session”

with their manicurist, they might leave the salon with a different mindset.

The last stop on the way out of the salon is the reception desk. This is the area in which

you have your final consult with your stylist; it is the last chance before you leave to finalize

your style. This is also the time where you tell your stylist whether or not you liked how they

went about business based on the tip you provide them, although that does not always imply how

the client truly feels. Cashing out their client is one of the most crucial parts of the day because it

is when they make future appointments for their clients. These future appointments can tell you a

lot about the stylists’ clients, whether they are regulars or people that just pop in every now in

then or when it is completely necessary.

Most of the people that enter the salon are locals. Since the owner lives down the street

from her salon many of the people that are clients at Hair’s To You know her personally.

Everyone that walks into the salon seems to have a good relationship with the owner as well as

the other stylists. Many of the clients seem to be regulars, especially the older crowd that come

in weekly to hair their hair set again. These older women often come in the mornings, some with

their husbands, some with their daughters and some brave it and come alone. Most of the clients

at Hair’s To You are female but there is the occasional male client. Another category of clients

are the locals, mostly moms but some males are included in this category. Most of these clients

have children that were apart of sports, schools and other organizations that are in South

Attleboro therefore they have a special relationship with some of the stylists at Hair’s To You
because some are or at one point were from the South Attleboro, Attleboro area. Although clients

can be formed roughly into two separate groups there are also the lingering clients. The lingering

clients can be classified as those that come in once every blue moon and some of the males.

Every client is different and there are many different ways to classify them.

The most important artifacts of Hair’s To You are; their clientele, their scissors (or their

nail polishes if they are a manicurist), their stations, their certificates, and their business cards.

The stylists’ clientele is an important artifact of Hair’s To You because it is the basis of the

salon. Without their clientele the stylists would be out of a job, either that or they would be

fighting over the walk-ins. The clientele symbolizes the hard work each individual stylist puts

into their profession. A stylist’s clientele is the group of people that come specifically for that

stylist to do their hair, each and every time. Without even a little bit of clientele there would not

be a salon.

Another artifact that is important to Hair’s To You is their scissors (or nail polish if they

are a manicurist). This is an important artifact because it is what they need to do their job.

Without their scissors or their nail polishes these professionals would not be able to do what they

do every day. These specific artifacts represent what these women do for a profession; the

scissors would represent a hair stylist while the nail polish would represent a manicurist. Having

these tools reassures their clients that they have a sense of what they are doing and also that they

are willing to try whatever the client asks for.

Another important artifact is the station. The station, much like the scissors and the nail

polish, show that the stylists are acceptable at their job and the fact that they earned the station

they are at because they were hired. Hair’s To You allows each stylist to occupy their own

station which shows how they are independent from Hair’s To You although they are a salon as a
whole. Their individual stations show that each stylist has their own technique and artistic

ability.

Important artifacts at Hair’s To You as well as any other type of salon are the

stylists’ hair styling certificates. These certificates show that these stylists are professional and

had gone through numerous classes and passed numerous amounts of tests to acquire a license to

become a hair stylist. These certificates reassure clients that they are professionals and that they

will not turn your hair blue.

Lastly, important artifacts are business cards. Each stylist has their own business card

since they are independent workers. These cards also show how each stylist takes pride in their

own work. It also tells each client to pass on their work. Giving out their cards can allow the

stylists to build their clientele. The business cards show different clients how as stylists they

differ themselves. These cards show how far the stylist is willing to go by the amount of

information they put on their cards. All of these artifacts are important to Hair’s To You as well

as any other salon. These artifacts show that Hair’s To You is a respected hair salon.

Some customs and rituals that are important to Hair’s To You are getting to know your

clientele and by that, what is meant is what they get every time they come in, whether or not they

get the same color, cut and so on. Another important ritual they have is knowing that if one

person is busy that another who has no client at the moment will

help clear the area. This is important because it shows that no

matter what they work together, as a team.

All in all, Hair’s To You is filled with clients that are both

similar in ways yet completely different which is what makes a

salon unique. As you walk out of this hair salon you will be leaving

Figure 3: Stylist with a client

with a new outlook on your day. You will be sent off with a burst of good-byes and an exciting

story about how your day went. When you leave the salon, you leave it as a different place then

when you first walked in.

Dryers Sink Sink

Manicure Tables

Stations

Reception Desk

Chai Window
Door