Ugh, y’all! I LOVE my job, but i’ve got to be honest, the hair and beauty industry has set some crazy standards, and I feel lately like it’s viewed as a profession that a lot of people feel is ‘a hobby’ for us.

I’d just like to point out that like medical doctors, hairstylists are licensed to touch other humans.

I know many of my colleagues in this industry feel under appreciated and, like myself, so guilty to have time off and even able to enjoy their days off.

It seems we feel we need to justify every day we have off, why we can’t come in at a particular time, or why our hours are what they are. I know my doctor, dentist, and other licensed professionals aren’t justifying anything about their business to me. 

Just as with other professionals like attorneys, doctors, even teachers with office hours {who by the way are not licensed to touch humans}, we have schedules too.

I know myself and many of my colleagues work longs days so we can work less days just so we can have a few days off in a row.

Story time. I’ve had potential guests reach out on social media and because it’s so easy to just drop a message 24/7 and hope for, or even expect, an instant reply, I’ve actually had a few message again about seeing me on stories, but not getting a reply until 2 days later… 

I think it’s so easy to feel guilty seeing messages while posting a story or what have you online, but while I may choose to be active socially while spending family time/down time, for my own sanity as a small business owner, I have set working hours and will respond during those hours.

When I leave a message for my dentist, who by the way office is not open on friday’s, i don’t get a response until their next business hours… I understand that, but I don’t understand why the beauty industry expectations are what they are.

I know I can speak for everyone in the hair business when I say we love our job and we love our clients so much… we wouldn’t be able to do it without you! And this is not about them. We do, however, need time to switch off from work and our work hours should be respected.

I’d love to hear your thoughts…