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How can I overcome common brow lamination troubleshooting issues?

When doing brow lamination treatments, a consultation is not only a legal requirement, but a great way to build a rapport with your client. It’s a chance to get to know their likes and dislikes, so you can tailor the service to their individual needs. A consultation is imperative to check that your client is safe to have the service. It also gives you the opportunity to manage the client’s expectations, so they get the best experience from the service.

Among the things to check before a treatment include whether the client has any scar tissue in their brows, the texture of their hair and if there are any gaps that need to be addressed. All this information will help you tweak your service and deliver brows that complement the client’s face shape.

Some clients can have incredibly thick, layered brows, so if you’re only applying product on top of this hair, then there is a risk of missing the lower layers. Only laminating the upper layer will result in a brow lamination that isn’t smooth or even. My best advice is to apply the product against the growth first, and then with it, so the hairs are sandwiched in between the product and are sufficiently covered.

If the hairs are resilient, strong and tend to stand up straight, then place clear wrap over the brows once the product is applied, because this replaces the need to glue, and keeps hairs flat and coated in product, ensuring a good process.

Aftercare is important too, so give clients a list of things they need to do, such as avoiding getting wet, no heat or steam sessions, and not applying make-up for 24 hours. Clients need to understand that the hairs will move during sleep, so their brows will need to be brushed back into that perfect position daily.

How can I help male clients to open up and talk about their mental health?

People genuinely don’t want to suffer alone, and in our industry we are in the perfect position to make a difference. It all starts with being able to recognise changes in behaviour.

We get to know our clients well; it is easy to notice if there is any change in their weight, sleeping patterns or skin, topics of conversation, and even the choice of words they use.

If you notice these changes in their behaviour, then it is important to ask the right questions. ‘How’s it going?’ has become a greeting and nothing more, so you need to ask again.

But what should you ask? Some examples of good questions are: ‘How are you feeling today?’, ‘You don’t seem yourself, would you like to talk to me?’, ‘How have you been since I last saw you?’, ‘What are you doing this weekend?’ and ‘Do you have anything you are looking forward to?’.

Try to use open-ended questions when talking to your client; use their name, and add a timescale to the questions. This will ensure that you are directly speaking to them, and genuinely care and want to know what is going on with them.

Once they open up, it’s vital you respond well. Thank them for telling you, and be honest if you don’t know what to say, but don’t tell them you know how they feel or relate it to your own experiences. Direct the questions back to them all the time, and don’t fear silences. Give them time to think and they will fill the silences by telling you even more detail about their situation.

Listening is incredibly powerful and often empowers those in need to create their own solutions to their problems.

Finally, it is important to know about places that you can signpost people to, to keep both of you safe.