March 2012

Stopping Your Money From Walking out the Door

Your shelves are meticulously stocked with the most luxurious and tantalizing salon and/or spa exclusive products on the market. Yet, salon and spa owners routinely report that their staffs are uncomfortable selling these lavish necessities used just minutes earlier on clients – even after the desire to purchase has been communicated.

Simply put - this challenge creates a loose-loose scenario for both clients and owners.

For clients, they walk out the door without their prized new purchase(s). When this happens, the items are typically bought elsewhere or the impulse to buy is redirected to something completely unrelated.

Either way, their money just walked out your door.

It’s obviously that the loss of soft sale revenue means less money in your bank account. What may not be as obvious is that over time, this revenue loss can create wider ripples such lack of money for improvements and expansions (e.g. location space, equipment, and expanded staff and services) and/or salary increases. And, if your business incents product sales with a commission structure – it also means less take-home money for your staff.

So the questions are – What’s the real problem and how can it be fixed?

You’ll find that some on your staff are reluctant to “make the sale” because they feel it’s tacky, or they lack training on your after-service products. For some, it’s a matter of personality – they are just down-right uncomfortable asking.

For owners, the answers become that of:

- training and routinely re-training your staff on all products available for purchase - those that can be sold individually and those that work best when paired.

- empowering your staff to accept the role as the expert. After all, who better to recommend than the professional who just finished the treatment.

- allowing them access to tools like the Indigo Viewer high-resolution scope and analysis system, which after skin or hair analysis is complete, makes it easier to recommend and sell products used during treatments, clearly track clients’ results and progress, and anticipate the need make additional sales recommendations.

The bottom line is - your clients can spend their money with you or someone else. With preparation, the decision is controlled by you and your team of experts.

Gayle Ray
Marketing Director
Suntek Global

February 2012

Diabetic Hair Loss

“Anyone can be confident with a full head of hair. But a confident bald man - there's your diamond in the rough.”
~ Larry David, executive producer of “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm”

It’s been said that beauty is only skin deep, but your hairstyle is a cut above. All humor aside, hair has always been one of the richest symbols of beauty in our society. But hair is also a barometer of health. It can expose slight changes in our body, including nutritional deficiencies. It is difficult for most people to believe how significant the impact of our systemic health has on the growth of our hair. Often time, patients suffering from hair loss desire quick topical treatments to reverse the hair loss or they will search for issues in their external environment to determine the cause of their hair loss.

Unfortunately, often time hair loss is not caused by an environmental problem. There are a number of diseases and disorders that will affect our health, and in turn, impact the hair cycle. Nutritional deficiencies, in particular, affect the strength of the hair strand. Ultimately, the health of our hair is a reflection of our overall health.

Hair loss is the first sign of disease; therefore, it is important to check with your doctor to determine if your hair loss is health related. An early symptom of Diabetes is hair loss. When glucose levels become high in the blood and are not properly regulated, it interferes with blood circulation. When the circulation of your blood begins to decrease, this affects the ability of nutrients and oxygen to reach the follicles. As a result, a follicle not receiving enough nutritional support leads to brittle strands that break and snap.

Poor blood circulation also makes it difficult for the body to heal from infections making those who suffer from diabetes more susceptible to fungal infections in the scalp. This can also lead to hair loss if left untreated. It is important to mention the loss of bodily fluids. Diabetic patients are prone to dry skin and eczema because the body looses fluid. Dry skin on the scalp causes discomfort and itching. Hair breakage can occur with excessive scratching of the scalp. Hair follicles are sensitive to changes in our hormonal levels and Diabetes is a hormonal disease. When androgen and estrogen are not balanced there is an onset of hair loss, especially in people who are genetically predisposed to hair loss. Stress exacerbates this form of hair loss. Individuals with Diabetes take on added stress due to insulin injections, monitoring blood sugar levels, watching diet, exercising etc. Therefore, Diabetic patients are at an even higher risk of hair loss and should take extra steps to monitor and remove stress.

It’s important that you monitor your blood sugar levels. If you do have elevated blood sugar levels, take steps in the beginning towards regulation to not only prevent hair loss but to prevent other symptoms of Diabetes, some of which can be life threatening. Doctors tend to aggressively treat Diabetes because it severely impacts other parts of the body. Managing a disease like Diabetes includes choosing nutrient rich foods and exercising which are excellent steps to not only overcoming the disease but also overcoming hair loss.

By Dr. Kari Williams
Trichologist
(Reprinted with permission, HappyHair Blog)