There is, without a doubt, something very special about a salon chair. When someone sits in it, something happens to the filter they keep their words sifting through on a daily basis. It’s almost impossible to pinpoint when the relationship between a guest and a stylist dives further into a vulnerable space and further away from that filter. As a stylist myself, I’ve experienced it happening on the first visit with a guest, and for others, it takes closer to three to four sessions. The magic of the chair, though? It hits the majority of guests in a salon at some point.
There is a thought among several stylists that it has something to do with the physical touch that happens between them and their guests. There’s an intimacy when there is a physical connection between two beings; so there might be some truth to that.
In a 2012 article* on the website for “Psychology Today,” The Psychology of Hair Salons & Stylists: Therapy for Free, Meyers writes his thoughts about why people decide to open up about personal experiences to their hairdressers. He includes the reason, “the physical positions a stylist and client maintain during a session: they’re not facing each other.” He continues with, “…it’s far less threatening than the dynamic in psychotherapy in which the therapist… looks directly into the client’s eyes.”
A Redken Artist, Laura, said something profound at a class at The Redken Exchange in New York City recently. She said, “We are one of the only professions where people come to see us on the best and the worst days of their lives.” Is it because stylists share weddings, breakups, babies, miscarriages, promotions, layoffs, and other life events that there is a connection, or is it because of the connection that guests choose to have stylists involved in these pivotal moments? It’s unclear which comes first- the connection or the events in a client’s life, but either way, this is an idea that can’t be ignored.
Something guests maybe don’t know, though, is stylists also feel the magic. Not only do we spend your life’s ups and downs with you, you spend our lives with us. The comfort you feel when you sit down in our chairs is felt by us standing behind it just as much. You’re loyalty, trust, advice, experience… it’s all cherished on our side. I think I can say for most of us; it’s a privilege to take care of your hair and your heart while you’re with us.
– Stephany Luithly
*To read the full article, visit:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/insight-is-2020/201207/the-psychology-hair-salons-stylists-therapy-free