Your Salon Guest Has Cancer. Now What?
By Kim Becker Of Hello Gorgeous | May 16, 2024
I remember the day that I was standing behind the chair. I took a look at my schedule for the day to see who was coming in. I am sure that I am not the only one that has their favorite salon guests. I was excited that day because one of my favorite guests was on my schedule.
I remember noticing something different when she sat in my chair. Of course, I asked I she was ok. I watched her eyes fill with tears. She grabbed my hand and shared that she had just been diagnosed with cancer. Now my eyes were filling up with tears. At that moment all I could think to do was hug her.
This all took place very early in my career. I knew nothing about what to do and how to safely take care of a guest in my salon who had cancer. I realized that I had never been instructed in beauty school to take into account someone's compromised immune system.
I know now looking back that I made mistakes. I am sure I made a lot of mistakes.
For the last 18 years, I have performed makeovers on women battling cancer. Through that time, I have learned a ton of dos and don’ts.
Top 5 Mistakes and How to Correct Them
Mistake #1: When shaving her head, I had her face in the mirror. This is one of the biggest mistakes that I made and it was common sense that told me that I should have done it differently. No one wants to watch large clumps of hair falling on the floor when they would rather keep their hair.
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