A haircut is about more than style or manageability. Whether you’re going to a corner barbershop for a quick trim, or getting your hair done at a fashionable salon, there’s also a social aspect to the experience. People chat, linger, and relax. The Varsity spoke to Karissa Barnes, a stylist at Blonde Salon (82 Power St.) to find out what it’s like to cut and converse at the same time.
THE VARSITY
How do you start off a conversation with a client?
KARISSA BARNES
I guess you just start with the basics because you haven’t met them before, right? So I guess you start asking them about what they do, if they live in the city, different things like that, maybe about their family or their friends. And you just kind of take it as it comes, you just kind of feed off of their answers… And then with existing clients, it depends. If there’s something you knew they were having in their life going on or there was something special like an event coming up, then you could just ask them that…
THE VARSITY
How many of your conversations carry from visit to visit?
KARISSA BARNES
Quite a bit. If you can’t remember what’s going on they’ll usually let you know if there’s something exciting, like you would with anyone in your life, right? You tell them that there’s something going on [in your life]. So then if you remember, you ask about [it] and I definitely have clients who come back to me after four weeks, and they want to know about a certain thing they knew was coming up in my life.
THE VARSITY
That being said, what kind of relationships do you prefer, close relationships or relationships with more distance?
KARISSA BARNES
I would say close relationships, just because it does make it that much better for both of you. I mean, there’s just more to talk about when you are in the salon, and makes them feel more comfortable, more at home. They like coming back because they know that you have a friend as well as [a hairstylist].
THE VARSITY
How do you relax a client who feels uneasy about something, whether that’s their hair or life?
KARISSA BARNES
I guess for their hair, you would just do a thorough consultation, make sure that you ask a lot of questions about what they want done, what they want as an end result so that you’re covering all of your grounds, and then just be sure that you show confidence … And with their life, I guess you just talk them through whatever they’re having an issue with, I mean people do come to you for advice.
THE VARSITY
Do hairdressers talk to avoid boredom or to make their jobs easier?
KARISSA BARNES
I would say neither of those, really. I would say that they talk just because they enjoy the company of their clients. I mean, it is really the clients that make your day when you’re working, and it’s the conversation.
THE VARSITY
What about the days where you’re not in the mood to talk? How do you deal with that?
KARISSA BARNES
I guess everyone has those days where you don’t really want to talk a lot, but once you get into the salon like, I feel… I wake up, I kind of have a quiet morning to myself and then once you get to the salon you just kind of feed off of the vibe that the salon gives. I mean, you come in here and it’s nice and bright, and everyone is talking, and chatty, and the music’s going and it just kind of lifts your spirits if they’re
a little bit down.
THE VARSITY
What’s the craziest story you’ve ever heard?
KARISSA BARNES
The craziest story I’ve ever heard … well … I’m actually not allowed to share that with you, because we believe that everything a client says, we [should] keep in confidence, and we don’t go around telling all the client’s stories and happenings, and what’s going on in their life. Hairstylists, the good ones, don’t typically cut, colour, and tell.
