House Of Lilith

Info! Apologies for all the 'ums' - I hate being on video!

And Niamh is Neve, but you get the drift 😆

My recent thoughts, edited for length 😆

With more and more stylists telling us they're feeling overwhelmed/burnt out/overstimulated in salon environments and so many people saying they avoid the salon or barbers because they hate having to chat - we need to have a conversation.

It's long been a stereotype that hairdressers are chatty, extroverted and were always told off at school for talking too much (for reference, I was a quiet, weird loner 😂). For sure, there are many like this and that's great. But the expectation that a stylist SHOULD be chatty is one I'm here to question (and this goes for nail/lash techs/beauty professionals etc).

Hairdressing is one of few jobs where you are expected to do your job and carry out an entire conversation that isn't in any way related to what you're doing. In hair college, we're taught to learn to do this very thing right off the bat. For many people, this need to try and split focus is very challenging. Not withstanding the potential for mistakes or longer service times, for many neuro-divergant or noise-sensitive stylists, keeping up conversations all day can lead to overstimulation, fatigue and burnout.

So, in the same way we're challenging the long-held view of hairdressers being therapists (we're not), let's also challenge this expectation and be mindful of each other's needs.

I love a good chat sometimes, and I love to have quiet appointments too. In our salon, we have chatty stylists, and quieter ones. Pick your stylist based on how they fit your vibe 💜

What's your preference? How do you feel about the 'chatty hairdresser' trope?

Rant incoming 😆

Seriously though, the amount of people crying on the internet about their cut/colour/perm whatever is getting out of hand. 'Influencer' culture is out of hand. Stop shaming stylists online, stop trying to ruin people's businesses for likes and follows.

What's your thoughts on this?