Some of the toughest things to discuss with clients are common scalp and skin hygiene issues. When is the best time to speak to your clients about their hair problems or how long should you wait to speak to your clients about it? For starters, we should always make the first effort and attempt to speak to our clients about these issues. You can earn the trust of your clients the moment you confidently address their needs and concerns, but more importantly, by providing your expert advise on their current situation. The reality is that most clients won't talk about their hair problems until they feel the relief of knowing they're in the care of their very own specialist. Sure, they will tell you what they want as the final result but we can all agree that clients are a bit more hesitant to speak first about hygiene issues.

Let's take a look at some identifying factors and best practices when speaking with clients to identify whether or not they're knowledgeable about their hair care.

• Look: The first step you want to do is take a look at your client's hair to see if there are any visible signs of debris, flakes, too much matte or shine, etc. Believe it or not, things like too much matte and too much shine are signs your client will need your professional input more than you think. Too much shine could be lack of daily cleansing which causes the bodies natural oils (sebum) to build and distribute throughout the hair while too much matte could show signs of dryness which is due to lack of moisture and maintenance provided to the hair. Now, the hair could appear healthy from afar which is why you would want to proceed to the next two steps.
• Feel: The second step would be to (with gloves and prior to the wash) run your fingers through the hair, separating the strands to view directly into the scalp. This will put you in a position to physically see whether or not on the outer layers of the skin (epidermis) have any redness, flakiness, irritations, etc. and also allows you to see if your client has any scars, moles or anything that could either get caught within a tool or could cause further discomfort for your client during service. Services like a shampoo wash, scalp scrub/treatment, etc. can be offered but you must first identify the level of care needed. 
• Rinse: Now, the last and final step (which is more important prior to any service and the key identifying factor in the type of service needed for your client) is the rinse. Yes, the RINSE! Prior to shampooing the hair, take about one minute with high pressured warm water and just rinse the hair and scalp and as you're rinsing, take a look at the water running off your client to see whether or not there's discoloration. (Note: If your sink is black, stainless steel, etc. then immediately pay close attention to your drain). All the signs of low-maintenance will show up and form a bubbled thick residue around the perimeter of the sink. If it's white, this means that the client rinses their hair but will need to be educated on a more frequent wash, rinse, & condition routine. If it's brown, this means the client is leaning more towards a serious issue in the future due to lack of maintenance and will need a thorough conversation about hair care. The rinse will be able to help you identify how frequent and/or consistent your client is with hair care and also put you in a position to prepare for service. This will be a little tough for your clients to hear but I would recommend writing down the best way to say it- and don't forget to incorporate the key benefits as a result of proper hair care along with the best options. 

Tip of the Day: A white sink (whether porcelain, etc.) will show a greater degree of impurities from the hair/skin/scalp than a black sink would.

Products and proper product usage is the best way to either help control, alleviate or eliminate any of the issues noted above. If you struggle in the area of identifying hair problems, don't be afraid to ask your questions in the comments below or seek continuing education and advice to study the best results per situation. 

Photo: Nejron Photo

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