Blog 21: Independent Component 2

LITERAL
(a) I, Ana Barrera, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
(b) Mentor: Adriana Solis
(c)  Here is the link to my Independent Component 2 Log. 
(d) For my Independent Component 2, I did extra mentorship hours with Adriana Solis at Diana's Beauty Salon.  I mostly went on the weekends because that is usually the time she has the most clients. It is also days for different types of parties and outings for people, so clients tend to visit the salon more often. I observed my mentor do hair jobs ranging from kids hair cuts, to adult hair cuts, to styling, and hair dye jobs.

INTERPRETIVE 
     Hair cuts can last up to 30 minutes maximum depending if it involves layers and also on the length of the hair. Dye jobs are the ones that last the the longest. However, the part of the dye jobs that make it last long are when a person bleaches all or part of their hair. It takes a significant amount of time in order for the bleach to take effect, especially in dark hair since it contains orange pigment. I learned that this could potentially run the risk of not creating the right type of blond the client wants. It may also take longer if the client has dyed their hair a dark shade before. When a person wants to get their hair bleached the process from start to finish can take 2-3 hours depending how much they want to bleach it. 
     I remember there was a lady once who had dyed her hair platinum blond. I remember this one, not only because the hair looked gorgeous in the end, but because this was the longest dye job I had seen. It took 4 hours to get the correct shade of platinum blond. These are usually the compilation of my hours spent at the salon during mentorship. While dying one girl's hair half blond and half black (which looked amazing in the end) my mentor had said to the barber working there "This is what we blonds have to go through to stay blond and beautiful." In this quote she was talking about the hour spent in the styling chair. This really stuck with me because I have confirmed this to be true with all of the clients who come into the salon to bleach/ dye their hair.
Here are some blog posts with pictures as evidence of my 30 hours:
Cruella de Vil Inspired Hair
Interview and Mentorship
Mentorship


APPLIED
     Observing how my mentor talked to her clients and how she creates the styles that they want helped support my third answer, communication with the client. I saw that when she listened to what the patron had to say, she would respond to their demands. This allowed her to create the type of look the client wanted. In the end, the client would leave the client satisfied with their hair. Something that I remember happened once was when a new client arrived at the salon. It was a middle aged lady with short hair who was looking for a new stylist because her old stylist quit the salon the lady used to go to. 
     When my mentor asked the lady how she wanted her hair cut, the lady responded by explaining her "style". She wanted the sides and back cut but she didn't want the crown cut. She also wanted the hair at the nape straightened. She mentioned to Mrs. Solis that she didn't like the way her hair poofed out to the sides, Mr. Solis was able to provide a solution to the problem. After the hair was cut the lady mentioned that she would return to the salon to have her hair cut again in the future. During my interview with Adrianna Solis, she kept answering most of my questions with "communication" or "talking to the client".  In the end she clearly told me that communication was the key to keep and make clients happy. 

Cruella de Vil Inspired Hair

I spent my weekend, both Saturday and Sunday (4/20/2013, 4/21/2013), at my mentorship again. There were some people who came in to get their hair done for their prom on Saturday. My mentor has been getting these kinds of requests for hair styles because it's that time of year where there are a lot of weddings, proms, graduations, etc. There were also some of the regular customers who came in to get what they always get. A young lay cale in to get her hair curled, while another lady came in to dye her hair red. This was also the first time I saw someone get fake eyelashes. One girl dyed her hair half blond and half black. She had told me that the Disney Villain Cruella de Vil inspired her hair colors. She also explained that she was planning on dying the blond part platnum blond, but what she has was fine. It was really cool.

At the Dryer

Mentor Adding Bleach To The Hair

Mentor Adding More Bleach To the Hair

Stylist Curling Hair

Stylist With Curling Iron  

Back Hair Finished 

Interview and Mentorship

I just got back from mentorship. I went this Saturday and Sunday (4/13/2012 & 4/14/2013). They were different days than before because not only did I watch dye jobs and hair cuts, but I also got my interview with my mentor. It was also a perfect time for that interview because right now she is working to promote her salon even more in order to gain more clientele. Why is this a perfect time? Well, because some of my interview questions related to this and I thought it was pretty cool that it did. I helped out by making a drawing on a board that they put outside to attract customers. I also noticed a couple of patterns; The majority of the clientele on Saturdays are female; The majority of the clientele on Sundays or male; Male hair cuts take longer than women hair cuts. I wonder why. This is something I should ask next time I go to mentorship.

Front of interview paper

Back of interview paper

Design I drew to attract more customers

Mentorship

I forgot to post this on Sunday (4/7/2013). I went to my mentorship on Saturday and Sunday and saw one of the workers do the hair of a little girl. She braided one side of her head and she curled the rest.  The hair- do looked so cute on the girl. Here are some pictures: