salons

Tipping is a custom that allows you to express appreciation for a job well done. But when it comes to salon, spa, and nail services, it can be hard to decide who and how much to tip — especially on a color job gone wrong. And while tipping is at your discretion, here are a few suggestions on amounts to give in a variety of circumstances. See the guidelines when you read more.

When it comes to salon etiquette, we all have a general idea of what to do. Don't run with scissors, keep your clothes on under the styling cape, and never ask the stylist why his hair color is so weird. But what about the finer points of in-salon behavior? Fouling up subtler salon social mores can really annoy your stylist, making it hard for her to do her job, and making it much more likely that you won't get the style you want. So how can you tell if your stylist has reason to be PO'd? To find out, just keep reading.

The recession has adversely affected salons across the US, but it's been disproportionally hard on small, locally-owned salons that cater to African-Americans. Apparently, with clients going longer and longer between appointments to save money and the popularity of formerly profitable treatments like relaxers on the wane, hundreds of shops have been forced to shutter. Their stylists then head to larger salons, often corporate owned.

It's already bad to have locally-owned businesses closing, but salons can be community anchors, and their loss is deeper than simply no longer having a neighborhood beauty parlor. Hopefully, the closings will finally get large salons to actively hire stylists who can work with very curly hair. But, being able to walk into your nearest salon and be sure that they can work with your hair no matter its texture still seems a long way off. What do you think the fallout from losing so many community salons will be, and do you think they'll make a comeback?

If you're a hairstylist, scissors may not be the workplace hazard you should be most concerned about. Recently, a British stylist's septum actually collapsed from infection created by years of constant exposure to hair. Apparently hair fragments can lodge themselves inside your nose, causing irritation and eventual infection. And if you're a stylist, the daily irritation can prevent any wounds in your nose from healing, leading to painful long-term injuries and eventually necessitating surgery.

Stylists can avoid the problem by wearing masks, but salons often won't let them do so, fearing it'll scare customers off. Would you be OK with your stylist wearing a mask, or would it just creep you out too much?

Like the Wii but saddened by its lack of salon-centric games? Then mope no more, my compatriot, for Redken has created Busy Scissors, a new game that "allows consumers to perm, color, shampoo, cut, blow dry, and style hair." You work your way up in the digital salon by helping "unlock each client’s inner potential by finding their unique outward style." The game hasn't hit stores yet, but you can check out the video below for a preview. Do you think you'll be getting busy with this game later, or not so much?