What Happens When the Rules Don't Work
If you’ve been a stylist for a while you have jacked up someones hair. It’s that moment where you followed the color formula and placement you learned at that balayage class to the T or used the exact cutting method we traveled halfway around the country to learn and it fails spectacularly.
In the moment there’s sweaty palms and stomach churning stress about how to “fix” the situation. You want to slowly disappear into the bushes like Homer Simpson. It feels like a red hot embarrassing failure. But once the initial shock wears off, hopefully you can see the moment for what it is, an invitation to the next level.
When a "method" betrays you, it's not always because you did something wrong. It's often because hair isn't cookie cutter, clients aren't a monolith, and formulaic learning was never meant to be anything more than a starting point. You’ve just arrived at the intersection of standardized production and your artistic vision. That uncomfortable feeling is your understanding trying to expand beyond the neat boundaries you've been relying on.
What's fascinating is how differently stylists respond to this crucial moment. Some double down on the rules, convincing themselves they must have missed something or made a mistake. They keep reviewing the class materials and their notes, trying to execute exactly as they were taught. This dogged pursuit of perfection can lead to frustration because the results are still uneven for some reason. This often caused by trying to solve complex problems with simple answers that no longer fully apply to the unique hair situations sitting in their chair.
Other stylists have a completely different experience. Instead of panic, they get curious about why what they learned isn’t working on everybody, all the time. Rather than trying to perfectly replicate what they learned, they step back, observe, and ask questions. They begin noticing things they'd missed before like how texture, density, care history, cowlicks and more can influence the final result. Those questions often reveal the relationship between different techniques and outcomes that previously seemed unrelated. They shift from seeing isolated rules to recognizing interconnected patterns.
This pattern recognition doesn't make the rules irrelevant, it transforms them from rigid commandments into useful guidelines. The “rules” become starting points rather than destinations. This expanded understanding allows them to adapt intuitively based on the canvas and person they’re working with. Eventually they understanding the rules AND the permutations deeply enough to know when and how they need to flex.
The real question isn't whether you'll face moments when the rules don't work, it’s what you'll do when it happens. Will you grip tighter to what you've been taught, or will you allow those moments to expand your understanding? Your choice will influence the trajectory of your professional growth.