The hair styling industry is a competitive one, and starting out could be challenging. If you feel like you are ready to put yourself out there after lots of hard work, practice, and patience, you need to be sure you’re well equipped.
Whatever your specialty is, it will be better to have hair styling tools and supplies that can help you do more than just styling. Here is a list of everything that you’re going to need as a professional hairstylist.
1. Blow Dryer
There are tons of blow dryer options on the market, but what exactly should you look for as a pro? As a hairstylist, you need to be able to work quickly. Look for professional blow dryers. The high wattage is necessary for quicker drying time, and most especially for clients with thicker hair. For thin and coarse hair, you can use a blow dryer with less power and heat. The low heat and power are also good for clients with damp hair only and not full-on drenched.
Make sure your blow dryer includes a cool air button. The cooling feature helps set the styling, such as curls. Also, pay attention to the control buttons. The more options you have, such as multiple settings for temperature, the better.
Consider ceramic blow dryers because they distribute heat more evenly without damaging the hair. This technology is from the non-damaging infrared heat it emits, which dries hair gently and protectively.
2. Combs and Brushes
A fine-tooth comb is an essential tool for parting hair symmetrically. This is also used for teasing sections in the crown to achieve a volumized look. A round boar-bristle brush is gentle even on delicate hair types, and the rounded shape can help add volume. Spraying this brush with a static guard can help the hair resist flyaway as you use the brush for blow-drying.
3. Treatments and Protectants
Applying a heat protectant to the hair before giving it a heat styling is important to prevent heat damage. Heat protectants can come in serums, sprays, or lotion products.
Having a thickener in your kit is also essential. Find ones with body-building wheat protein and use this before applying other styling products. As for curls that need to be held together securely, a curling cream is a solution.
4. Styling Irons
There may be some single versatile irons that can do more than one styling, but as a professional, you’d have a better reputation by having different types in your kit. Curling irons with different barrel sizes can achieve many forms of beautiful curls in different lengths. It’s important to have different barrel shapes, too, so you can present your clients with more styling options. Available shapes are the wand, clamp, conical, and double or triple barrels.
5. Shears
Your clients may need some trimming, so it’s good to have shears in your kit. A pair of all-purpose shears will be necessary, and the one that’s 6.25 inches long is a perfect, versatile, and ergonomic shear large enough to achieve many styles, such as layering and one-length cuts.
A blending shear is also necessary for quick removing of weight, texturizing, and softening lines. Blending shears have an evenly spaced teeth on one side and a straight, solid blade on the other. For the ultimate professional and best-performing blending shear, opt for the one with convex blades and opposing grip handles that are reversible.
Now that you’re equipped with the most important tools, don’t forget about the rest, such as clips, rollers, and more. As a practiced hairstylist, you need to be equipped with as many tools as necessary. It’s a huge amount of money, but doing something that you love is always fulfilling, and you’d be able to get a quick return on your investment when your clients are happy with your job.
