If you feel as if you’re the only person in American who hasn’t uttered the sentence, “This is change you can believe in,” it’s not too late! After all, change is what it’s all about in the beauty world. As this short February ends, marking the two-month point after the winter holidays, even clients who are stretching their appointments must be calling to schedule. They’ll demand value for their money, and in this business that translates to a fresh look. Change is in the air, so be ready to respond.

There’s another reason I believe clients will be looking for something new this season. For a while now it’s been, “Bob? No prob!” But the chin-length bobs are getting old, folks. And if your clients have let an extra couple of weeks go by without a hair cut, they very well may be thinking that slightly longer hair is kind of a kick. Mid-lengths, I think, have a good shot for spring.

When I checked out the cuts we’re showing under the “foundation” category here on ModernSalonLearning, I was happy to see a couple of very cute collar-brushing looks. When clients don’t flat-out ask for something new, it’s always a good idea to have several suggestions. They may jump at the chance to have a whole new look without losing length. If they don’t go for it right away, maybe they'll think about it and say yes next time. Hairdressers have always believed in change, so don’t stop believing now!

No surprise: I'm reviewing last night's looks on the red carpet at the 2009 Academy Awards. Regarding both the hair styles and the fashions this year, one word says it all for me: "safe." To agree that nobody looked terrible means that not one celebrity took a risk, thumbed her nose at the fashion police or went with her less-than-unreliable gut. It felt as if all the stars had received the same memo.

That memo undoubtedly said: "Please wear a designer dress in either white, black, red or pink, and limit your jewelry to a maximum of one stunning piece. Keep your makeup natural. Either gather a loose back-do, tie back a sleek pony or let your hair tumble to your shoulders without fuss. In both hair and clothing, asymmetry is preferable to symmetry."

While such uniformity made the evening a bit boring for us hair watchers, at least it offered some direction for the upcoming prom and bridal season. If last year we could—and we did, right here—have a discussion about whether the back-do was replacing the piled-high updo, after this Oscar season I don't think there's much doubt that the traditional updo is at least temporarily out of sight. But you'll still stir your creative juices this spring by coiffing the tipped chignon or styling a wavy backdo and that inevitable loose piece on one side. The client can't do this herself if she wants the results achievable only by a professional, continually educated stylist like you.

In this economy, even the largest beauty product manufacturers are looking at ways to save money, and trade show attendance is certainly on the table. As you plan your year of continuing hair education, keep in mind these possible changes to your trade show experience, based on comments supplied to Skyline Exhibits:

1. Fewer exhibitors. Companies are looking hard at the dollars that each trade show generates. Some product lines plan to hit only the major shows, while others will do the just the opposite and limit their participation to small, targeted events. Still others will either reduce attendance to every other year or cut travel expenses by exhibiting at shows within a designated geographic radius of company headquarters.

2. Smaller—or larger—presence. For shows that a company does attend, the size of the booth will be reconsidered. If a show regularly delivers a big bang for a company, you may see that product line blanketing the show floor with banners, announcements and freebies. If the show offers a moderate payoff, you may have trouble finding the line over in some remote, dimly lit booth.

3. Harder sell. You can bet that every company at the trade show will want you as a customer. The most generous way to say this is that your business will be appreciated!

Me? I’m planning on attending America’s Beauty Show (ABS) in Chicago as usual. Hope to see you there, and I’ll have more on that as we get closer to the late March event.

I finally figured out what all the fuss is about hair extensions. Sure, you can charge a lot for them. Yes, some clients will forever want to copy celebrity styles. But even though I've encouraged stylists to include hair extensions in any ongoing program of hair education, I still considered it a bit of a fad dependent upon the popularity of super-long hair. But I get it now. It's not the length; it's the volume. And with hair extensions, the hair stylist is the hero.

You know how clients are always bringing in photos of styles they want to have, and then you have to break it to them that they just weren't blessed with the texture or mass of hair for that style? For the first time in history, you don't have to be the bad guy anymore. You can say, "Sure, I can make your hair look like that. We have some great hair extensions that will give you the volume you don't quite have with your own hair. Let me show you."

Instead of designing a style that only approaches what they want and instructing them in ways to pump up the volume with products, you can send them off with a look they've never been able to have before—and certainly something they can't create on their own. I think extensions, with the technology always improving, are here to stay. Check out this informative article, learn to do hair extensions and have all of your clients love you!

It's nice to have a well-rounded hair styling education, so if you have the chance to take a class in doing hair for photo shoots, I encourage you to give it a try. Or, if you enjoy flying by the seat of your pants, schedule your own shoot and learn by trial and error. By trading out everyone's services and making sure all involved get pics for their portfolio, you should be able to line up a couple of models, a photographer and a make-up artist. If you use your own salon or find someone to donate a space for your project, this does not have to cost all that much.

To get an idea of how a photo shoot works, check out this video to watch a shoot that a stylist did with "cyber celebrities"—regular people who've built a following on blogging sites or youtube. These cyber celebs agreed to do the shoot and regularly talk about their experiences at the salon in exchange for services.

When you get back the photos from your shoot, try to be objective, and ask people you respect to give you an opinion. Once you're confident that you can do hair for a shoot, you can give your name to local ad agencies, and you never know when they might be short a hairdresser and give you a call. Learning how to style for a shoot is just one way to shake up your career a little and keep your motivation high.

You’ve heard Vidal Sassoon’s name throughout your hairdressing education and beyond, but if you’ve never seen the father of modern hair cutting talk about his work and life, I invite you to watch the video right here on ModernSalonLearning.com of my colleague Alicia Liotta interviewing Vidal, with photos of his iconic shapes as the backdrop. Remember those 1960s black-hair bobs? That was Sassoon, who single-handedly replaced the entire weekly wash-and-set salon routine with blow-dry precision cuts. Today Vidal spends much of his time on philanthropy, including his “Hairdressers Unlocking Hope” initiative to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina.

“We give joy and happiness to so many people,” Vidal tells Alicia about his profession. Yet he seems to be concerned that while today’s stylists understand the power they have to delight clients, they may not personally be fully experiencing the passion for the art and the career that, at 80 years young, Vidal himself still feels. Dismayed at seeing hair artists not bothering to hold practice nights at the salon, he notes: “Passion creates vision....You must work at it.”

Somewhat ironically, Sassoon believes that technique is better than ever because hair education has risen to perhaps fill the passion gap. He admires the new, talented cutters who are being trained and guided by a host of schools and advanced programs, including of course his own Vidal Sassoon Academies. Add to your technical skill some individuality, passion and desire to give back, he suggests, and you’ll reach the heights of hairdressing.

Maybe you had the opportunity to attend the Professional Beauty Association’s (PBA) most recent International Salon & Spa Expo (ISSE), which took place in Long Beach, California, this past weekend. If so, send me photos and I’ll post them! You were one of 33,000 beauty professionals who nudged the 2009 attendance numbers well beyond last year’s. And if not, you missed out on some quality hair education.

I always urge you to attend any education you can afford, and I completely understand if a trip to the west coast was out of your budget in this rocky economy. Hey, I wasn’t there, either! But, especially in this economic climate, it’s heartening to me that so many did attend. Some people show up for the great deals you can get on products and equipment, but I’m pretty confident that most professionals are there to learn, not to shop. This year they had more than 50 additional classes compared with last year’s show. In all, 250+ classes covered various hair, skin, nails, massage therapy and business topics.

Live education is so motivating, even exhilarating. You return to your clients invigorated and enthusiastic to design great styles for them. It’s also a way to earn continuing education (CE) credits and, for the first time, massage therapists were included in that little perk. If you want to put next year’s ISSE on your calendar, it’s scheduled for January 30-February 1, 2010. Again, I invite you to send me photos—of any hair show!

We’re very excited, because this past weekend our newly expanded version of ModernSalonLearning.com went live. Please take a full tour! While we are still adding content—notably, our business-building courses are not available yet—there’s plenty of education and information to keep you busy on reviewing, practicing and upgrading your skills. The fun thing about talking to all of you is that, if you’re here at all, you’re passionate about your art and serious about your own continuous improvement. I know I’m reaching the best and the brightest in this industry!

What you’ll probably like most is that the courses are video-based, so you can watch the instructor go through the entire cutting, coloring or styling process and listen to him or her tell you everything that’s going on. Simultaneously or even instead of the video, you can click “next” on a series of both photos and diagrams that show each step. You can go back and watch it over and over if you choose. From the home page, click on the demo, and you’ll get the idea very quickly.

To celebrate the launch, for a limited time we’re offering these courses, normally priced at $45, for the reduced rate of $26.50. Gather a small group of stylists around the computer, and this online hair education becomes even more affordable. Then each of you can review it again individually during your down time. I hope you find the site easy to work, and I’m confident that you’ll learn a lot!