QuoteReplyTopic: Personal Question Posted: September 21 2007 at 12:16pm
99% of the time I order the hair because I know the vendors and what they have to offer. Sometimes someone will come in and they have already purchased hair, and it's usually a very low grade of hair to boot. I really like to inform them on the different qualities and what they can expect from them as far as how long it will last and the work they will have to do to it to make it look good.
As far as the pre-tipping goes, I was tipping the hair with keratin fusion glue, which is not supposed to be sealed. If you are tipping hair for use in microlinks or shrinkies then it should be sealed with something like nail glue, then the tips don't shed after being crunched or sealed. Keratin is supposed to remain pliable.
The prices for 4 oz. of Bohyme if I tipped it were about $130 on a hand tied weft, hand ties wefts are more expensive than a machine weft, but I usually found that the hand ties wefts used seemed to have a slightly higher quality of hair attatched than the machine wefts- it may all be my imagination though!
Pretipped bohyme for 4 oz. is at least $320. I usually use 6 oz. of hair or more on my clients, of course depending on the length and thickness.
I just tried to find a link for Ara's Hair International, and it brought me to a website that refers you to other websites. Weird, because I printed a couple of their pages and have one right in front of me, and I can't find the site! Maybe they are not in business anymore. Hmmm.... I'll have to do a little more searching.
As far as what different companies claim there hair to be, I'm not sure there is any law about what they can label the hair or not. I've certainly received samples from companies that claim that their hair is russian or european, and it is definately coarser and resembles indian hair. You can tell the difference if you have dealt with the real deal a lot. So you really need to know your vendors and what they have to offer because it is your reputation on the line when you install that hair on a client. It's always a risk when ordering from a new vendor, becuase your never sure what it is you will receive, and usually you cannot return the hair. It's sad that there are people out there just trying to make a quick buck and they sacrifice their reputation and morals to do so.
envoy13
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Well, Im originally from LA ( I miss it) but now Im in Tucson. Damn its hot here!
I can imagine a lot was staged, its not reality tv is more like unscripted tv, but its still pretty compelling. I totally see how that can attract new business, your salon looked great, it promoted the fact that you did extensions and everyone there was super cute. Maybe one day when Im visiting LA ill stop by for a haircut
I feel there are too many people doing extensions out there that shouldnt be, and that affects ALL of our business. I cant tell you how many consultations Ive had where the first thing the client will ask me or say is "I heard extensions damage the hair". The fact is, with an experienced stylist , and IF THE CLIENT FOLLOWS THE DIRECTIONS, there should be no damage.
The way I normally do it is that I have the client leave a deposit that covers the cost of hair and supplies. That way if they cancel or change their mind , Im not stuck having to pay for their hair. If they decide they want to buy there own hair, Im ok with that too. But I make sure that they know I dont guarantee the quality of the hair they bring to me. I can only guarantee the hair I purchase because I trust the companies I use. Im surprised to hear the bad stories about Socap, one of the companies I use is Socap, and Ive never had a bad experience with their hair (knock on wood) .
As for how much money you can make, it depends on the area and the salon you work for. Thats my experience. I would also recommend that you become as knowledgeable as you can, learn to
do one method as best possible but keep taking classes.I use all kinds
of products, rings, shrinks, protrac etc.
Bridget
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Is it more of a "norm" for your client to bring their own hair and you can tell them where to order from... or are most stylists ordering the hair for thier clients. If you do order the hair, is there a mark up on the price?
Definately call around your area to see what salons are charging. The rates are SO different based on location. I started my prices well under what everyone else was charging, but once I became established and people knew I did a good job, I raised my prices a bit. I was originally tipping all of the hair myself!! 3 to 4 hours of extra work the day before! The plus was they never shed, but my time became too valuable to keep doing this so now I am ordering pretipped which costs almost twice as much, so that's where the price increase comes in, but my personal profit has stayed the same. I do a lot of russian installs and I can't find a vendor that sells pre-tipped russian except for Ara's hair International, has anyone ordered from here before? It is a good price if it's truly european/russian hair and is pre-tipped!
Hi Holland...so much great info. Thank you so much.
When you pre-tipped did you also seal the strands? I talked to the guy we bought the last kit from and he said that sealing is always a good idea. We didn't seal but so far no shedding.
I can't believe you pre-tipped yourself. That is so time consuming and tedious.
I would also be very interested in Ara's hair link. I have talked to so many people that wholesale hair and they have all told me that it is so hard to validate where hair is really coming from these days.
Which is a good question for the forum. Is there any US requirements about this sort of thing? There are such tight restrictions about labeling on so many things that come into this country. Do they have any way of making vendors prove where the hair is actually coming from?
Thanks again for all the great info. I would be very interested in whatever else you might care to share.
That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger or drives you totally insane. :-)
malibu
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Holland, I haven't heard of Ara's hair. Can you post the link? You're paying close to twice as much for the hair to be pre-tipped? I would think if you have a better source your customers would have a better price or you would at least make more of a profit. I'm sure you know this already.
hollandbluejay
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Definately call around your area to see what salons are charging. The rates are SO different based on location. I started my prices well under what everyone else was charging, but once I became established and people knew I did a good job, I raised my prices a bit. I was originally tipping all of the hair myself!! 3 to 4 hours of extra work the day before! The plus was they never shed, but my time became too valuable to keep doing this so now I am ordering pretipped which costs almost twice as much, so that's where the price increase comes in, but my personal profit has stayed the same. I do a lot of russian installs and I can't find a vendor that sells pre-tipped russian except for Ara's hair International, has anyone ordered from here before? It is a good price if it's truly european/russian hair and is pre-tipped!
Ah, you are welcome and I completely agree. I have a lot of respect for the people that really research what they are doing and are not just out to make a quick buck.
I had my So Cap done in Colorado. I have heard that as well, Karen. I am not sure how all the So Cap companies are related or even if they are. I just checked out their website again just now.
On the homepage, it says it is unprocessed hair. If you click on the "hair" link though and read about it, it says it is free of the cuticle, bleached, and dyed. That sure sounds like processing to me! LOL
Anyway, never again. My professional installs were no better than what I could do on my own.
I once met this hair extension "expert" hairdresser who had been doing GL since almost day one. He did absolutely beautiful work and I actually went to his studio and watched him many years ago. I asked him the secret to spectacular hair extensions and he said.....the expertise or lack of expertise of the person putting in the extensions.
This made so much sense to me, especially when I became the unwitting victim about 2 1/2 years ago of a "hair colorist" who really was just a hairdresser who dabbled in color. My hair turned orange and my scalp burned for days and peeled. She would not return my emails or calls. It took about 2 years to get my hair back to where it looks good again. When I told my friend Robert Hallowell about it he said.....the results of great hair color lies in the hands of the person doing the color and many hairdressers say that are experts but really are not.
I think the same is true with extensionists. Some like our very own MetalGirl and others here have make the committment to take classes (on their own time & out of their own pockets) to learn as much as they can. Then they do tons of research and work hard to be really great at their craft. I have a lot of respect for that. Those classes are NOT cheap either.
Then there are people who do not really put the time and commitment in to become "experts" and unfortunately they may not do the best job for their customers.
Unfortunately whatever "system" they use may get a bad rep when it is really the person doing the installs and their lack of experience or training or committment to doing a great job and not necessarily the hair system.
Whatever the reason, again, I am so sorry you had a bad experience. I know the pain and suffering having your hair treated badly can cause. I developed a new empathy for anyone having a bad hair color experience after my own hair turned orange and it cost me $150 to boot.
Thanks for sharing your story with us. It helps all of us.
Edited by Karen Shelton - September 16 2007 at 10:40pm
That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger or drives you totally insane. :-)
Thanks for the link. I will check that out! Anyway, I don't want to completely hijack the thread, but, my overall experiences with So Cap were disappointing. I even have a couple lace wigs that I got from a vendor in China. Even those are better quality than the So Cap, in my opinion.
I am loving my Bohyme French Refined also and it is far cheaper than So Cap.
sherrie215
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I had my So Cap done in Colorado. I have heard that as well, Karen. I am not sure how all the So Cap companies are related or even if they are. I just checked out their website again just now.
On the homepage, it says it is unprocessed hair. If you click on the "hair" link though and read about it, it says it is free of the cuticle, bleached, and dyed. That sure sounds like processing to me! LOL
Anyway, never again. My professional installs were no better than what I could do on my own.
sherrie215
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I am also sorry to hear about the SoCap install. It is always disappointing when you invest time and money for any type of hair treatments and it doesn't turn out as you planned, hoped, desired.
I have actually heard there are three different SoCaps out there. The original SoCap, SoCap USA and SoCap Europe? Do I have that right? I did hear that SoCap was started by a family that split apart and each took a slice of the company.
That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger or drives you totally insane. :-)
Bridget
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So Cap is fusion. My opinion, as a customer, is that it is just not worth the money. I have had two So Cap installs and would never do it again. I am not saying it is "bad". I just think that, for the price, you can get much better hair. In fact, the Bohyme that I have right now I think is at least twice the quality of the So Cap.
I also have some questions about the actual So. Cap. hair. I noticed a few weeks ago that their website says the hair is free of external cuticle. I take that to mean that it is not remy hair. The reason I read over the website again in the first place is because some of the hair I had in felt very rubbery like synthetic. Anyway, I also noticed on the website that they state that their hair is human hair and all natural fiber.
So, what is So. Cap. exactly? Is it a non-Remy synthetic/human blend? I am not sure. The positives I found with the hair were the color selection and I personally also loved the wave to the hair. That being said, I also found that it shed significantly and tangled.
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hollandbluejay wrote:
