More Than a Stylist: How Beauty Pros Help Clients in Crisis

[0:01]

(SKYA)  Thank you for tuning in. This week's episode focuses on some heavier topics, so viewer discretion is advised. We've linked resources and support in the show notes. 

‍

(JOZ) How important do you think it is for service providers and anyone who is working hands-on with a client, how important is it for them to understand how to approach specific, sensitive topics or conversations—whether it be about the client's health or maybe something that they're going through personally that they need assistance and help with?

‍

(SKYA) I think this is gonna be a really good episode because we've all been in positions in our past lives where we have either been hands-on with clients or even managing a team. This is a very people-heavy industry, and we have to have a lot of emotional IQ. And so being able to look out for things of either, emotional distress, health distress, whatever it may be, not even with our clients specifically, but I think a lot with our team members, our peers.and making sure that we are their guardian angels in terms of looking out for things that we could potentially be support systems for. 

‍

[1:14]

(SHANALIE) A couple of you guys know my story. This holds a dear place in my heart because I've experienced domestic violence firsthand. So, having programs like CUT IT OUT are incredibly powerful. I didn't know about these things when I was starting out in my career. 

So, I was 17 when I started dating someone who, within the second year of our relationship, started to be emotionally abusive and physically violent towards me. 

I think I was about 18 when I started working in salons. While I was dealing with this at home, I was coming to work every day, and still being the manager, and doing the front desk thing, putting a smile on my face, doing all the things. And I have just recently become more comfortable sharing my experience.

I even had a quick talk with Leslie about it, where we discussed how hard it is to really share these things. I don't carry any shame around it. I was basically a child when I met this person, and it was very easy to look at it and validate what was happening. Like, ‘Oh, well, I said this,’ or ‘I did that,’ or ‘Oh, I fought back,’ which was my go-to. 

‍

[2:30]

When I finally got the courage to leave that relationship, I will never forget. I woke up on October 2nd, and he was sleeping next to me, and I was like, ‘He's going to kill me’ is literally how I felt. Like this person was actually gonna end my life one day, and I wasn't gonna make it through. 

So I super calmly grabbed a bag and I started packing his things, right? And for whatever, odd, crazy reason, he just didn't fight me that day, right? It was like a very emotional experience. We were both crying, and, I think there was a part of him that knew that this was it. Like, neither one of us could like do this anymore. And I took him to Greyhound Station, and I put him on a bus, back to the Bay. 

And so last year, actually, I got a call letting me know that he had passed away. And I always knew I was gonna get that call. He had an issue with alcohol. He had an addiction problem with drugs. There were a lot of things going on with this individual. So I always knew that was gonna happen. It was just a matter of time. It was when, and so, in this past year, I've had to really revisit what happened. And I've had to make peace with it. And also understanding that without that relationship and even the abuse that I went through, I wouldn't have my wonderful partner that I have now. I wouldn't have my beautiful son that I have now, you know? And I get to live in this life while he's no longer here.

‍

[4:00]

So when I shared this story, and what happened with a lot of people, and even people who knew me when all of those things were happening. I got a lot of like,, ‘Oh, like well thank God.’ Or, ‘Karma's a bitch,’ or, ‘Ugh, good riddance’ type, you know, responses which is very understandable. But for me, I actually had a moment where I prayed for his soul. I said, I hope he could find wherever he is, the people that made him feel the safest and made him feel loved, you know? 'Cause I've had to spend pretty much the last. 12, 13, 14 years, like undoing a lot of what I learned there.

And I'll finish this with, when I was coming out of that relationship, I lived in a place where my garage was like under my home, and I had to walk up a flight of stairs. And I remember it was week one, and I had a bunch of groceries and a pack of water bottles and all of that. And, I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God, how am I gonna get all of this stuff up to my house?’ I was so weak in how I felt about myself and where I was that I, I didn't know how I was going to get groceries from my trunk up to my home. And, you guys know me, I'm bulletproof at this point, right? I feel like I could do anything in this world. So, I think it's important to remember that abuse and surviving it looks very differently, and it's sometimes a lot closer than you think. And, sometimes it's the strongest person you know who has gone through it. So I'm very grateful for people and places like the PBA creating programs that not only help them identify it in clients, but help, people in our industry get a brand new start if they are leaving some sort of abusive situation.

‍

[5:50]

(JOZ) I always say check on your strong friends also, because you don't know necessarily what they're going through. And yeah, I mean that, and as well as PBA and what CUT IT OUT is doing is gonna be extremely helpful, just because of the interactions that certain people are having with their clients, and they may need help after approaching a conversation with them on next steps and giving resources.

So they're really doing some really good work. And I was just hoping that it was something that you had during that time because it is hard, like trying to figure it out on your own, you know? 

(SHANALIE) Yeah. I was floored to learn that they had been around for \ 30 years or something. I wish I knew that these resources existed, so that's why I'm super excited that we get the opportunity to share this, you know? 

(JOZ) Yeah, exactly.

‍

[6:37]

(AD)  Okay, so you run a beauty business, which means you wear seven hats, right? Boulevard's all-in-one client experience platform lightens the load. Think seamless scheduling, automated marketing, and built-in ways to make more revenue. Less stress, more success.

For a limited time, we're offering podcast listeners 10% off, plus free guided setup. Get started at joinblvd.com/podcast. 

‍

(JOZ) Today's guest is Leslie Perry, Executive Director of the Professional Beauty Association, AKA PBA. She got her start in her mom's salon, where she fell in love with the power of connection and care.

And after building a career in corporate marketing and communications, Leslie returned to the industry that shaped her, now leading the PBA with deep experience and an even deeper passion. In this episode, she shares the PBA goals of the year and highlights, CUT IT OUT, their impactful program that trains beauty professionals to recognize and respond to signs of domestic abuse. And, it's a powerful conversation about advocacy purpose and the role of our industry and what it could do to make real change.

‍

[7:47]

(LESLIE) Beauty professionals really are on the front lines in so many ways of finding out things about our clients, whether it is something like domestic abuse or skin cancer or an illness, or you're noticing signs of like hair loss or things on the skin aren't quite right —that's all our body telling us something.

And so what the training does is help the licensed professional understand what to look for in your client. Are you seeing specific changes in behavior? Maybe they used to be really open and now they're not. Whatever the signs might be. So it goes over what you could look for. And then more importantly, or not more importantly, but very importantly, what to do about it.

A lot of the professionals who have gone through the training have said that they really appreciate having that because now they know how to handle it. 

‍

(JOZ) This was just a taste of everything covered in our full episode. Keep the conversation going on Last Client of the Day, now streaming wherever you get your podcast.

‍