Tag: professionals

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.

 

The Real Hair Truth

~ Joseph Kellner

 

Are you doing something about it in your business?

Yes you can go into these super stores of beauty and just about find anything you want inside of them.  Perfumes, cosmetics, makeup, hair care, even hair color. They have a salon to also get you hair styled and whatever else. But to the real professional who has some form of professionalism inside of them. It is merely a flea market like the hair shows.  So how could you work in a company who sell boxed hair color to the consumers coming into the store. And then at the same time work in their salon. I would love to know. That to me is a sign of being in competition with your employer.

But the days of loyalty are gone. That is from a manufacturer and as I might also say from the consumer also. Pity my profession. A lot of the profession has been sliced and diced. You have nail salons to go to, Spa’s to go to. And now Salons who go ahead and offer Blow-Drying and Makeup also. The day of the salon being the place to get your beauty needs done are over. This also increases a lot of competition with in the industry with the professionals. Too many stores create an over saturation of the industry.

Leaving many professionals with out jobs and too much competition.  Nothing wrong with that but from the studio I work at by myself there must be at least 20-30 booth rental and salon advertisements to compete with. Salons now are a dime a dozen. Every strip mall built-in Orlando has a dry cleaner, salon and liquor store in them. Too many salons and too many places to purchase my professional tools, products etc.  But within my industry there are a few factions who bestow the honor of calling themselves “Representatives Of Our Beauty Industry”.  They want you to think they are there for you, but they are merely representatives of the manufacturers.

These organizations who charge over $300.00 to join say they are the “Professional Beauty Association” To represent you on all and every issue governmental to state rulings and passing of laws concerning the Beauty Industry. Believe me everyone they are a scam also. especially when the are buying the hair shows up. I always thought that if you are an oversight committee that you should remain neutral in your preferences within the Beauty Industry. But sit back and investigate for yourself and you will find out they do nothing for you as a professional in the Beauty industry.  Other than giving you a discount to their hair shows.

So many in the industry are keen to my voice and other voices have raised up to take part in informing the professional what it is all about “NOW”. Many new independent company’s are forming and the  Independent social media has taken a HUGE chunk in the education and commentary aspects of the industry. Bravo!  Informing others who and what is really out there now in the industry and who is for the industry etc. A few years ago I seen this gentleman come out of the shadows and live off his daddy’s coat tails. Selling a new product for all in the industry. Claiming,” this will change the industry” my new shampoo and conditioner.. Take it from me when some one speaks of that nature they are merely a “Snake Oil Salesman”. He made a little money but what sold it was is daddy’s last name. This guy didn’t know the difference from a hair pin and a bobby pin. But since he USED his daddy’s name he sold a few bottles and made his money and “WALLAH” he took a boogie out of the industry. Never to be seen again. I can still hear him laughing.

Times change and so do people, this was a very important to me to say a few words. I don’t lose sleep over these action anymore within my industry. I take it for what it is and how it could have been stopped, but never was.  I hold my “CRAFT’ in high regards but when it comes down to the “ELITES” of my industry there words and praises me little to me.  I used to have mentors but that is a big word to me now, which holds a lot of respect but from what I see none can fill those shoes.. Now I just have one mentor and he is the greatest of them all.

Trust me he wont sell me out.

And that’s how I feel.   The Real Hair Truth

Unsafe Cosmetics Owns The U.S.Government!

~ Joseph Kellner

It is so amazing how little authority federal and state governments have over the estimated $30-billion annual cosmetics industry – even when there is compelling evidence that ingredients are dangerous. And are being sold to consumers left and right each and everyday. Did you know that under federal law, cosmetics companies don’t have to disclose chemicals or gain approval for the 2,000 products that go on the market every year. And removing a cosmetic from sale takes a battle in federal court. The same goes for entrepreneurs in my beauty industry. They will go and purchase a private label hair care/skin/makeup line, stamp their name on the line and promise you the world. Major manufacturers do this everyday, entrepreneurs in the beauty/cosmetic industry are well taught.

The Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, enacted in 1938, doesn’t require FDA approval before a beauty product is sold to the public or give the agency authority to recall a harmful product. One of the biggest topics in my next film/documentary “Beautiful LieS”, involves the hair straighteners in the  beauty industry.  Billions of pounds of chemicals are produced every year to make adhesives and binders for wood products, pulp and paper products, plastics, synthetic fibers and textile finishing.  

In the United States, more than eight billion personal care items, mostly cosmetics, are sold annually for an estimated $54-$60 billion. From 2004 to 2012, cosmetics imports nearly doubled, according to FDA and industry officials. In California, where manufacturers must report chemicals in consumer products that are known or suspected of causing cancer  or reproductive effects, 700 companies reported 17,060 cosmetic products as containing one or more hazardous chemical ingredients. Unlike drugs and medical devices, cosmetics are not subject to pre-market approval or notification. A manufacturer may use any ingredient provided it doesn’t adulterate the product and it is properly labeled – except for 10 types of ingredients, including chloroform, methylene chlorine and mercury, according to FDA regulations.

Under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the FDA doesn’t have recall authority; instead it must start enforcement proceedings in federal court to prove harm. Thats how it all starts. So if you think about mega cosmetics company’s such as P&G, Loreal, Unilever these company’s have considerable financial pockets to pay attorneys. And they will argue their case in court until kingdom come. “Beauty industry professionals think cosmetics are tested for safety. They are not. It’s not like pharmaceuticals or even pesticides where some data are required. All the same, people slather cosmetics directly on their bodies, and absorb them in creams, deodorants, fragrances and shampoos, and ingest them in lipstick and gloss”.

The industry is highly resistant to regulation, and it provides zero information on the chemicals in products. In August, Johnson & Johnson announced it was voluntarily removing some chemicals, including formaldehyde, from its products. By 2015, the company promised to get rid of 1,4 dioxane, which is a probable human carcinogen, and several chemicals linked to altered hormones, including phthalates, triclosan and parabens.  The cosmetics industry has petitioned the FDA to strengthen some regulations. The industry recognizes the law needs modernizing in the global marketplace.  An overarching goal, however, is to avoid piecemeal state rules!

It’s going to be a long, hard haul before anything can happen. The current laws have created a perfect storm for these companies to continue to get away with it. And as long as there pockets get deeper they will get away with all this. And you the consumer are on the short end of the stick. It should shock consumers to hear how little regulation there is over the production and sale of cosmetic products. That the entire burden of proof is on the federal government to prove that certain products are harmful is unacceptable: we need safeguards put in place that require manufacturers to test the safety of their products before they reach the shelves, so consumers and Beauty industry professionals are not subject to poisonous chemicals. At the very least, the labeling of these products should inform consumers about the risks they take by using them. When cosmetic companies are expected to regulate themselves, professionals and consumers lose. We need standards in place to make sure that corporations—whether they are financial institutions, oil companies, commercial fishing companies, or food production plants—behave responsibly and do not threaten our lives.

 

Beauty Industry Professionals Have No Clue!

~ Joseph Kellner ~ Leave a comment

TALK, TALK, TALK is all I hear from professionals in the Beauty Industry. “I am against diversion”, ” I wanna make a change in my industry”. That is all I hear but in order to expose the problems we have in our industry and try to create a unity of professionals we all have to either create an organization, or an entity in the profession that represents the Salon, Stylists, and the Entrepreneur.  Banding together in thug like gangs will only give us a mediocre existence and a short-term life span. Going out to reach all the Beauty industry is no easy task. Start writing on Facebook, or creating a Blog, write a book, or make a film, start an Organization of like-minded professionals who really care about the next generations that will be joining our industry in the future. The health issue is a very large part of our industry now, and getting the word out about ingredients that are in the hair care lines will be helpful to the quality of environment the salon professional works in. It is not hard to investigate matters that concern you in the industry. But just taking the first step to try to change what you feel is important is all the game starter you need. Everything else will follow. NETWORK, with like-minded professionals, and take grasp of the topics and concerns you want to evaluate and discuss. TALKING will get you now where, it is cheap and time-consuming. Make a stand for what you believe in and have purpose in your life. Life is not about making money, having the beautiful car, or house. It is about believing in your idea’s and telling people the real truth about the real deal in their industry. 

Acting like you don’t see the changes in your industry will make you just as guilty as the members using their slick tongues to coerce you in their beliefs. Industry organizations have not CLUE to the facts of the industry only gaining money for the simple acquisition of hair shows. Manufacturers repacking their wares and telling you its new, It’s all a sham, and until you notice the true problems you can TALK, TALK, TALK all you want.  And the time you spend talking will be time they will take to AQUIRE everything they need. So many times individuals will come into our profession to only sit in a chair and watch the 12,000 to 24,000 dollars they spent in BEAUTY School education go down the drain. How many times do individuals in the profession leave only to go to college and not see our professional as a viable source of income. The BIR will report all things are good in the beauty industry, but only for the manufacturers existence not yours.

The BIR will report on  L’Oréal’s INOA hair color! Just to say they are in the boat for L’oreal God forbid they would give you the correct news about L’oreal. Lets talk about the real issues, like the banned chemicals L’Oreal uses. Now thats real news! But why will the industry not tell you about all this foolishness? Easy they want YOU TO BUY IT!! But will they advertise an up and coming Entrepreneur in the industry NOOOOOOO Way! They don’t have a marketable name. Or they were not made by a manufacturer or backed by a manufacturer

“Working in beauty industry without reading The Beauty Industry Report is like working in finance without reading The Wall Street Journal!” Is their favorite quote.  BIR will comment only on the hair care lines, or talking about how retail sales in the industry are going down, but expecting futures to drive upwards in the next quarter. Or as you see they are merely asking for another product to advertise. Or just advertising websites who sell so called professional beauty products on there site! Not really looking at the matters concerning the industry. The PBA is the largest organization of salon professionals with members representing salons and spas, distributors, manufacturers, get it right represent manufacturers. The PBA offers its members Information on their website claiming they are the “LEGAL REPRESENTATION OF THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY”. On there legal TAKE ACTION Page all they inform you about is “Talking about Female cows in Australia”. So if joining the PBA is worth $175 – $7500 as they claim. Who is really the imbecile. All of these groups are for the manufacturers, you know the ones how sell in the Grocery stores, CVS, TARGET, ETC.

Best Regards

Joseph Kellner

Great Reviews for the Documentary THE REAL HAIR TRUTH!

~ Joseph Kellner

The Real Hair Truth Documentary Review

Are you looking to jump in headfirst into the beauty industry as a hair dresser? Are you currently going to a beauty school to obtain your license? Before you continue your journey through the beauty industry, let Joseph Kellner give you some words of advice. His words of wisdom can be found in The Real Hair Truth Documentary, which was put together by him with the help of advice from numerous hairstylist professionals and salon owners. A nearly two hour documentary covering the truth of the hair industry, some facts are a hit, while some parts you’ll wonder about the entire purpose of the film.

What Kellner talks about in this documentary is of how over-saturated and perhaps unethical the beauty industry is today, and why it needs to be improved. Included in the documentary are facts and experiences from real professionals in the industry, from the booth rental based salons, lack of hourly wages and benefits for hairdressers, and lack of education to help hair dressers evolve in their careers. Kellner also brings up one good point of the beauty industry today, the art aspect of the industry is missing and has turned into a show biz, with manufacturers shoving products down the consumer’s throat, entertainment performances taking place at hair shows instead of pure education, and the same hairstylists and individuals who show up at the hair shows and tell attendees the same information previously given the year prior.

Kellner makes it clear that the beauty industry is a very tough industry, and that education is truly lacking, with the government involved to try and get their fair share by providing mandatory license tests with no meaning. So if you’re in a beauty school expecting to know everything about hair and coloring, and expect to make a lot of money once you graduate, think again. Kellner and the professionals in the documentary pinpoint that education is continuous process, and you have to find resources and people who are willing to help you obtain more knowledge to succeed. That source of information provided from the documentary is there to let you know how this industry operates, and what to prepare for.

Three fourth’s of the way through The Real Hair Truth is where things take a different turn. During that time Kellner is talking about product diversion, professional salon products being sold to and displayed in grocery stores, counterfeit hair products, and what people can do with products once they purchase them. It’s during this time you start to wonder if this is a documentary about expecting of what’s to come when starting your hair dresser career, or how the hair industry is from a business standpoint. The real message isn’t told clearly enough, as the part about product distribution and such should have been compiled into a separate documentary.

A few tips provided by the film, like ways to market yourself when starting your career as a hairdresser, was welcomed. A couple of hair academies Kellner recommends in the film was also helpful, but it would have been great to also hear from him or the others involved in the film of how to bring change to the industry in a positive manner, like ways to bring the art back into the hair industry or of how education can be enhanced so people new to the industry can be properly trained to work behind the chair.

From viewing this documentary, it would mostly appeal to individuals going to a beauty school or are looking to start their careers as a hairdresser. Information from the film lets you know that you have to put in hard work, have dedication, be well educated, and be business savvy to survive in the industry. Remember this isn’t a how-to film, but rather an alert message of how the beauty industry is, with many flaws that need to be improved. Though some tips of ways to succeed as a hairdresser or improve the beauty industry would have been welcomed, the hair truth has definitely been told. If you want the truth about the industry, you can’t go wrong with purchasing this documentary.

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