Carlos Valenzuela
The holiday season is a bonanza for us. Clients compete for our time, bring us gifts and everything seems wonderful. The truth is we work ten-hour days, stress over running late and may show up to Christmas dinner late and exhausted.
This year, make yourself a priority. Place your personal wellness at the top of your list. After all, when you are well, your capacity to serve others is at a high point. Here is a quick reference guide to salon professional wellness.
- Resolve to follow through on taking better care of yourself first in order to better care for others and enjoy you career longer. You are not invincible.
- Don’t diet this time around, instead, resolve to eat healthy and smaller portions.
- Make Sunday a day to pre-cook meals to take to the salon and save money.
- Steer clear of break room sugary, high-carb snacks that keep you on a rollercoaster of highs and lows.
- Bring your own snacks.
- Sip water all day long during working hours.
- Don't stand in place more than thirty minutes without moving or walking around. Especially if you are carrying a few extra pounds.
- Go outside--walk around your neighborhood (or use a treadmill) 30 minutes a day.
- Wear support shoes with inner soles. Maybe not fashionable, but prevent feet, leg and back injury.
- Stand on a cushioned matt placed around your chair.
- Shampoo with your arms and legs not with your back—don’t hunch over.
- Sanitize your hands, tools, chair, capes and area continuously.
- If you are the round brush king or queen, think about counterbalancing with light weight strength training.
- Use, buy and endorse ergonomic tools that minimize the impact of repetitive motion on your body.
- Always wear gloves for color, perms, texturizing and all chemical services.
- Get a massage routinely. You so deserve it. Put some of the extra money you earned to good use—save it.
Make 2019 your year of wellness. It’s OK if you break your resolutions. Just start over, nobody is watching. Focus on long-term benefits and plan on being a healthy salon professional for years to come.
Happy New Year!
Carlos Valenzuela is a hairdresser/educator, ex-salon & school owner, author and corporate spokesperson with forty-five years of beauty experience. His focus today is raising wellness awareness and assisting salon professionals in developing a fulfilling career via his podcast “Tiny Steps for Salon Pros” www.anchor.fm/carlos-valenzuela and at industry events, seminars and in-salon workshops.
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Originally posted on Modern Salon
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