Category: Industry News

The industry is ever changing here are some various topics in the Industry! Good and Bad

The Value of Cosmetology Licensing

~ Joseph Kellner ~ Leave a comment
 All cosmetologists, barbers, manicurists, skin care specialists and makeup artists in America are trained and licensed beauty professionals from accredited cosmetology schools. Professional beauty programs offer courses to teach individuals skill sets to enhance clients’ appearances hair, nails, skin, and makeup and maintain a safe salon environment.
One of the most valuable features of all professional beauty programs ,from a comprehensive cosmetology program to a shorter nail technology program, is safety and sanitation training to minimize the transfer of infectious diseases and risk of accidents for clients. Upon completing their training, students who pass their exams are awarded certificates and licenses to work in hair salons, barber shops, nail salons, spas and other personal care service facilities. Currently, professional beauty licenses are set and administered by state offices and the requirements vary from state to state and specialty to specialty.
Among the various disciplines with in the beauty industry, cosmetologists and barbers usually undertake the most comprehensive programs that cover multiple teachings and skills from safety, sanitation and technical skills to customer and business management skills.  Full time programs in cosmetology and barbering range from 9 to 24 months and can lead to associate’s degrees in cosmetology. Professional cosmetology schools also offer shorter, more affordable programs such as nail treatment, skin care and hair styling designed to teach specific skills to work in the beauty industry. Upon completion of study, beauty professionals take exams to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and capabilities required to perform their jobs. After passing required exams they are awarded with certificates and licenses to work at hair salons, barber shops, nail salons, spas, nursing facilities and performance art centers.
Registered professionals are proven to be accountable for the benefit of the consumer. Professional beauty licensing is an essential component to the health of America’s economy and to the health of its citizens. Beauty professionals touch nearly all Americans across every demographic in large and small communities. These professionals acquire their special skills to provide safe, high quality services to their clients through extensive training, certification and licensing. The professional beauty industry is a critical element in America’s economic landscape and professional beauty licensing is an essential component to the overall health of American consumers and beauty professionals.
Ultimately, licensing of beauty professionals supports an industry of over 2.2 million workers who earn $31.6 billion in wages and contribute $85.8 billion in goods and services to the U.S. economy. The beauty industry is dominated by small businesses, self-employed individuals and exemplifies gender and ethnic diversity. The beauty industry touches almost every American in large and small communities. These trained professionals attend accredited institutions to acquire special skill sets, including hair, nail, skin treatments, business management, sanitation, hygiene, human anatomy, and infection control to provide safe and high quality services for their clients. As with other professional education programs, participants have to pass standardized course exams to demonstrate their knowledge and ability to perform their skills in the marketplace.
With a higher level of training, beauty professionals are able to earn higher wages. Licensing safe and well-trained beauty service providers protect customers from unqualified beauty workers. To ensure consistency from state to state, industry professionals are pushing to harmonize the requirements and  processes to obtain professional beauty licensees to strengthen safety, remove barriers and ensure economic performance of the industry.

Is Ulta Repackaging and Reselling Used Makeup to Consumers? A New Lawsuit Says Yes

~ Joseph Kellner

A new lawsuit filed in Chicago last week alleges that beauty giant Ulta has been repackaging and reselling used makeup to its unsuspecting customers for years.

Attorney Zimmerman represents Meghan Devries, a Chicago woman who works in the beauty industry. She became suspicious about some of the products she purchased from Ulta.  A woman claiming to be a former Ulta employee first brought the allegations to light in early January. Posting under the Twitter handle @fatinamxo, she wrote that whenever a customer returned a product, employees were instructed by Ulta to repackage or reseal the item and put it back on the shelf for sale. This practice, she said, included everything from makeup to hair and skin-care products, fragrances and hair styling tools.

She said that makeup palettes, for example, were cleaned up so that they looked new and returned to the shelf for reselling, unsanitized. She then shared screenshots of other Ulta employees making the same claims. Those tweets were cited in the class action complaint (pdf) Zimmerman filed in Cook County, Ill., last week. The suit also cites the claims of former employees that Ulta has a limit on how many returned items can be thrown away. “Managers will take used products out of a damaged bin, and if they look good enough to resell, they’ll put them back on the shelves and resell them so they don’t exceed their quota,” Zimmerman told ABC7.

He said that some of the products purchased from an Ulta store on North Michigan Avenue in Chicago seemed to have been previously used, including eye shadows missing a brush and face cleansers that were already open. Those products, he said, could have pathogens on them that remain for weeks. “There is E. coli and Klebsiella bacteria, which is commonly found in intestine and expelled with fecal matter,” Zimmerman said.  Zimmerman told ABC7 that the goal of his lawsuit is to change the alleged company practice that limits the number of items that can be thrown away, as well as to provide compensation for customers who may have bought used products.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics

~ Joseph Kellner

We at The Real Hair Truth were more than happy to endorse the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics on there recent cosmetics safety discussion draft bill. They had 120 organizations endorse the letter. Including The Real Hair Truth and Bravo to them for the well done job they constantly do for the consumers of this country!

Since 2004, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has used smarts and sass to pressure the cosmetics industry to make safer products.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics coalition, a project of Breast Cancer Prevention Partners (formerly the Breast Cancer Fund), works to protect the health of consumers, workers and the environment through public education and engagement, corporate accountability and sustainability campaigns and legislative advocacy designed to eliminate dangerous chemicals linked to adverse health impacts from cosmetics and personal care products.

The Campaign has educated millions of people about the problem of toxic chemicals in cosmetics, which has led to an increased demand for safer products in the marketplace. Now hundreds of cosmetic companies fully disclose ingredients and avoid the use of cancer-causing chemicals, reproductive toxicants and other unsafe chemicals, demonstrating these practices are not only possible, but profitable. Retailers, too, are becoming part of the solution by requiring the national brands they sell to eliminate chemicals of concern and practice a higher level of ingredient transparency.

There is no doubt that the multi-billion dollar cosmetics industry is safer now than before the Campaign was launched. But there’s still more work to do to get toxic chemicals out of the cosmetics we use each day. Bravo!!!!

Read More about there Bill!

15 March 2018 Campaign for Safe Cosmetics Public Comment on HELP Cmte Cos Safety Discussion Draft(1)

How Can You Make A Living?

~ Joseph Kellner

Today I went on an Interview for the “Hell of It”, to a new business in the Orlando area.  I am currently employed and have my own business. But from time to time I go out and see what the industry is offering in the industry employment wise that is.  Today I went to a new business it is a “Blow Dry Bar”. And my appointment was at 11:30 so I arrived 20 minutes early and the manager took me and started the interview with me. She was very nice and informative, the decor of the salon was beautiful red and grey colors. When I was told to take a seat the salon chair was ready to fall apart. This is where services and clients are seated on. Not a good sign for me, right off the bat.

My interview started off with the familiar questions, “How long have you been in the industry, What are you looking for, Blah Blah. I was informed the salon is open for only one month and there are 12 employee’s in the salon. There are three shifts and the salon opens at 7:00am to closing which is at 9:00pm. The salon offers blow-dry’s, makeup, and keratin treatments. The manager told me we are a “Finishing salon”. No other services are offered. So if you are hired you are expected to clean, clean and fold towels. There is no wages only a cut of you $39.00 blow dry. Which was only $15.00 dollars. HOW DO YOU PAY YOUR BILLS? How? While is was being interviewed there was only one client in the salon. I asked the manager “If there are twelve employee’s in the salon they all need to be built up, client wise. So how can I offer you my loyalty if I am being used to clean, promote and do makeup without any formal wages. So If I go to work and I do nothing, I get nothing. CRAZY.” And then on the flip side of it all. How does a salon employer expect to keep professionals. And of course keep motivated driven people. Theirs no way at it. Its like a candle lite on both ends, sooner or later the business is gone. Crazy.

I went to see their makeup counter and there was hardly anything to work with. And cleanliness was something to be wanted in the salon. They teach you for 3 days how they want the hair styled and there are no other ways to do except their way. So there are only six looks you can leave with. That’s it. No makeup training at all. And a very somber atmosphere in the salon. So if you want to go in debt try this place out. So many professionals in my industry are not paid a minimum wage for their time, the salon owners want free labor.  They want to have a love overhead. At the expense of the employee’s. Which is so sad. And so many people come and go in the industry. I have seen so many talented professional leave and get discouraged. In a constant worry of how they can even get gasoline money and food. Basic housing is another story. How can you concentrate on your work if you have no way of paying your basic needs. The industry is famous for it.

A college graduate will get a job and receive a wage, if you walk into Burger King you get a wage, WalMart will give you a wage. Also sick day pay and vacation pay. When will this start in my industry.  But in my industry there is still the old Gothic way of paying you. Commission that’s it. This has to be changed.

This can no longer be. This is FREE LABOR.

 

Monat Hair Care Interesting Situation

~ Joseph Kellner

It seems as though a few plaintiffs in the beauty industry have filled a restraining order against the hair care product manufacturer MONAT.  Trisha Whitmire and Emily Flores have filed in the state of Florida a restraining order against MONAT Global Corp in the Courts of South Florida.  Monat sells its products using a direct sales model, under which it engages a number of independent sales representatives, referred to as “Market Partners,” to market and distribute its products. The two individuals claim that MONAT Global Corp have been harassing, threatening, and intimidating the potential class members in multiple ways. Interesting, I may say.  Whenever MONAT becomes aware of criticism of its hair care products, the defendant quickly moves to silence it all.  REALLY. Read More My Friends.  Interesting situation.

10.MotionforProtectiveOrderTROandPreliminaryInjunction