Nerves or do I just hate it?

[Jessica.Rose]

I've been working as a hairdresser for almost 2 and a half years, i finished college in may this year. After i qualified i got a promotion from junior to junior stylist. I can now have my own clients which i was happy about but with the recession not alot of people get booked in with me that often, everytime i see a client in my columm i get nervous incase i go wrong, which is to be expected when you first start out, but then when i'm doing it i sometimes get bored and start thinking why is this taking me so long? I want to finish most of the time and just shampoo or clean. A few days ago i did foiled highlights for a client that normally books in with another stylist but she was off so i had to do it which the client was fine with, then a few days later she rang back and said she wasn't happy with it and that i left too much space from her roots so she came in with the normal stylist she has. The stylist showed me where i went wrong and told me not to worry and that i will get the hang of it. Although I've passed college, we dont have many training nights, we only have one once every 2 months when it should be every week, and tbh i dno how i passed college when i hardly know things the other stylists know. Theres so much to remember and i can't seem to remember what i should when it comes to colours and how to do tricky cuts. I have a client in tomorrow for foiled highlights and i'm really nervous, I'm scared i won't know what colour to put on and for someone else to tell me, they always say i should know this and it makes me feel so bad i want to cry .. i'm slow at things too just because i haven't had enough practice to get my timing right but its me that the stylists have ago at for being slow, i know i should speed up but i'd prefer to do it right rather then fast and wrong. We are getting a different trainer because my boss has realised i need more help but i feel so pressured to be quick and know what to do and i've been feeling really down and depressed. I'm starting to wonder whether i should be doing this job because i don't think i can cope with it anymore. I'm scared to tell my mum because shes a hairdresser too and wants me to do well, i haven't told her whats going on just because i'm scared of her reaction. I've told her before that i didn't know if i wanted to do this but she shouted at me and told me i was being stupid and to carry on with it. Feeling how i do i started to think of other jobs id like to do, such as i'd like to work in retail in clothes (working in like river island or newlook). I'd get paid minimum wage working somewhere else, i don't get it where i work now because i've gone back to college to do the advanced course but being on it has made me realise i dont have a clue really about what i'm doing. I've told one of the girls that teaches me at college and she said shes glad she knows i'm worried and that i shouldn't, but i just cant help it i want to cry just thinking about going to work.

What should i do?
(sorry for the long post)

[Samantha]

I think if you tell your Mum, she may be a little mad, but surely she could help you? Show you what to do and stuff.

Try not to be nervous, think of the positive.

(What I do, whenever someone says something to be like leaving me on a cliffhanger, I think of the worst possible scenario, then it turns out it isn't bad at all. not saying you should do this but it could work.)

Anyway, it's not your fault if you don't know what your doing. The trainers aren't doing their job if you only have a training session every two months, how the hell are you suppose to learn if they aren't efficient and dedicated enough to show you how to do it.

Couldn't you get a new placement?

[Jessica.Rose]

I could try and get a new placement but its finding a salon that will agree to take me on in this situation, which is probably unlikely due to the fact that it doesnt look good if i go in and say "yeh i'm qualified but i dno wtf im doin" lol. how could i tell my mum without making her reall mad at me?

Edit: typo >.<

[Circadia]

You could ask her to give you some tips on how to do some styling and how to get more confident at it. Ask her how she felt when she first started hairdressing and how she dealt with nerves.

[Jessica.Rose]

I think i'm going to talk to her tomorrow after work and see what she says, she told me once that when she started her boss told her to cut HER hair like 2 days into her employment and after that she had great training so i don't think she really got that nervous coz she'd been shown properly so thats my problem i'm just too nervous, my training days are every week coz ov our new trainer now but how can i deal with the stylists that tell me i should know it while i'm learning more? (if that made sence lol)

[Mathew]

Your Mum is your Mum. Despite how scary she may sound, she does really want you to achieve the best in life. If you don't like styling hair, well go and do something else. It's your life and you need to make your own decisions; your Mother will be with you all the way :)

By the sounds of things, your heart isn't in hair styling and you really want to be on a shop floor selling clothes. Well if that's what you want to do, go out there and do it. After all, if you decide you don't like that, you always have your college certificate to fall back on.

[Jessica.Rose]

LOL my mum is pretty scarey >.<

Well i know what i want to do sounds like bull but i find it weirdly interesting for some reason.

You'v made me feel better i'm going to sort this out soon and get happier again (:

[Casanova]

This is precisely the reason most salons stay away from recruiting from college. I think the problem is you've been too guarded.
Personally i'd move salon and try to train at least once a week. Ask your friends to book in salon with you instead of homers, that way you get the feel of the salon. Make sure they are treated as a client and not a customer.

I wouldn't give up yet, of course it's frightening. Its like when you do your first roots on the floor - you think "dear god am gonna **** up!"
Just have more confidence, keep in mind with foils (depending on the hair) it can be difficult keeping it at the root, or the foil slides down (with grease in the hair/spring at the root).

Keep trying :)!

Edited by HotelUser (Forum Moderator): Accidental double posts merged.