If you follow the hair industry at all you may have noticed that hair extensions are having a moment. As a salon that specializes exclusively in extensions, we’re obviously pretty passionate about their place in the industry. So on the one hand it’s exciting that our niche is experiencing the spotlight. On the other hand, as a salon who specializes in extensions, we know just how much time, energy, and experience is involved in offering a high-quality extension service. Which is the part about extensions gaining popularity that makes us feel a little cautious. Not all extension brands and trainings were created equally.
For us, hair extensions are about changing women’s lives. Candice has been specializing in extensions for almost two decades. She has poured countless hours and money into certifications, advanced education, and most importantly, hands on practice. The entire culture of Garnish is built around offering the highest quality of service. And no matter what, for every guest, our focus is on how we can offer a solution through hair extensions that will change the way our guest feels about herself.
The popularity of hair extensions has come about for several reasons—some good, some less so. There are those stylists, like all of us at Garnish, who truly connect to the service and how it changes women’s lives. Then there are those who just see it as a way to bring in additional income due to the higher cost of extensions. There are also those who just want to be a part of the trend and post “pretty” before and afters on social media. We’re big believers that there’s room for everyone who wants to be able to offer the service of extensions; however, offering hair extensions with integrity is super important to us.
You can technically get certified in some methods of hair extensions in just a day, but just because you have a certificate from a company doesn’t mean you should just start offering the service right away. No matter what the method or brand, they all take time and practice to truly master. Putting in the time and energy to practice is absolutely vital with hair extensions because if not done properly, they can really do damage to someone’s hair. Even when you are still learning, you never want to compromise the integrity of the hair you’re working on. This is why it’s our practice to only begin performing an extension method on clients (even as models) after extensive practice on mannequins.
Through our NBR training we learned a method called “power practice” that all of our team members employ. Power practice consists of 15 minutes of intensive practice every single day. Our employees do this for several months before ever working on an actual client. We’re not looking for perfection, but confidence that you will not damage someone’s hair while performing the service. This is why it’s important to find an educational experience that not only certifies you but offers you a consistent platform of advanced, ongoing education—so you can get over any hiccups in learning and continue pouring into your craft.
Whether you were initially attracted to learning hair extensions because they are currently popular or because you were already passionate about them, we encourage you to be passionate about learning your craft so much so that you’re willing to put in the work to uphold the service.
We believe if we all have that mindset, everyone can win.
