Hair by Richie Araish

Imagine asking to further your education and being told you’ll never be good enough to do the very thing you’re interested in. 😂

That actually happened to me.

Years ago, I asked a district manager about taking extension classes because I knew that was where I wanted to take my career.

Today, extensions are a huge part of what I do, and I get to educate other hairstylists on something I was once discouraged from pursuing.

I’ve learned some incredible things from incredible people throughout my career. But I’ve also learned that being in a position of authority doesn’t automatically make someone’s advice right.

Especially when you’re young, ambitious and still figuring out what kind of hairstylist you want to become.

Challenge people. Teach them. Push them to be better. But don’t make them feel ridiculous for having bigger goals.

Hairstylists, what’s something you were told in hair school or your first salon that turned out to be complete bu****it?

I KNOW we all have a story. 👀

These aren’t even real problems. They’re just the extremely specific little things that happen behind the chair that every hairstylist somehow understands immediately. 😂

The head lift at the shampoo bowl.
The full-body movement when I say “look down.”
Forgetting how to pose the second the camera comes out.

None of it bothers me enough to actually care… but does my hairstylist brain notice it every single time? Absolutely.

Hairstylists, please add your weirdly specific one in the comments because I KNOW I missed some.

And clients… be honest. Which slide personally attacked you? 👀

Send this to your hairstylist and see which one they pick.

Tiny extension bonds are everywhere right now, and honestly, they can look beautiful.

But I think we’ve become so focused on how small the attachment looks that we’ve stopped talking about something way more important:

what is actually being attached to the natural hair?

Great Lengths has been developing pre-bonded extension technology since the early ’90s, and their GL Keratin isn’t just random keratin melted into a cute little pearl.

It’s a copolymeric compound designed to behave similarly to human hair, expanding when wet and contracting again when dry.

That technology matters to me.

Can I customize bond sizing? Absolutely.

But I’m never choosing an extension method just because the bond photographs well.

Tiny is cute. Knowing what you’re putting on someone’s hair is better.

Be honest, did you know all “keratin bonds” weren’t necessarily the same? 👀

Off the clock looks a little like this.
Toronto, travel, martinis, slow mornings, Chloe, and doing absolutely nothing once in a while 😂

I feel like everyone has their own version of a reset.

What do you actually love doing when you’re not working?