Trusting someone new with your hair is a big ask. Especially when you finally have color you love, or you’ve been burned before by a stylist who didn’t listen.
So when we suggest one of our Fresh Talent stylists, I understand the pause. Here’s what I want you to know before you decide.
At Salon Secrets Spa, a Fresh Talent stylist is a licensed stylist who has completed our certification for every service they offer you. They only take guests for the services they have earned.
Many of our Fresh Talent stylists are still training in other skills at the same time. Kylie is a good example. She’s certified in all of our color services and takes color guests every week. Haircuts are still in training, so you won’t see them on her menu until she passes.
That’s the rule for everyone. If a service is on a stylist’s online booking menu, they’re certified in it.
A stylist earns certification one service at a time. Each service takes six graded model appointments, a timed final assessment and a master stylist’s sign-off.
The assessment isn’t partial credit. They have to pass every model within our time standards. If they don’t, they keep practicing until they do. Only then does that service go on their menu.
Consultation gets the same attention as technique. Our trainees take a consultation class every week, then rotate into formulation, then back again. Listening well is a skill, and we train it like one.
Our newest stylists were trained from day one to slow down and ask. What do you love about your hair right now? What’s not working? What has been done to it before?
Then they repeat it back to you, so nothing gets missed. They explain their plan, what’s realistic today and what it will take to maintain. You’ll leave knowing exactly when to come back and which products will keep your color looking like it did in the salon.
Our guests have noticed. This year, our Fresh Talent stylists kept more of their new guests and rebooked more often than a stylist with many more years behind the chair. Experience matters, but so does being trained to listen.
Before a stylist earns a service, they practice it in our New Artist Salon on Wednesdays. These appointments are priced lower, and they come with extra eyes on your hair.
A master stylist reviews your consultation and plan before anything starts, then stays with you through the entire service. Every appointment is timed and graded, and the feedback form you fill out at the end gets read.
Many of our New Artist guests keep coming back for new services. Some have watched our trainees grow from their very first consultation, and now they cheer on each new group.
Veronica started here as an assistant. She came up through an early version of this program, and today she’s a Master Stylist and one of our trainers.
Her favorite part is watching a nervous trainee surprise themselves. “When they’d finish, they’d say, ‘Look, I did that,’” she told me. “And I’m like, yeah, you did.”
Right now, the next group is in the middle of it. Here’s what they told me.
Valeria chose us for the team. “I like how we can all help each other grow and the amount of opportunities that are given here,” she said.
Marisol says working as a team takes the pressure off. “It gives you more opportunity to fall back on other people, and you won’t get as nervous or as scared to do something new.”
Esme loves the hands-on part. “I get to do hands-on, meet new people and build my own clients out.” In three years, Esme sees a full book of color and haircuts, with men’s cuts as the top priority.
Is it safe to book with a newer stylist at Salon Secrets Spa?
Yes. Every service a Fresh Talent stylist offers has been certified through six graded model appointments, a timed assessment and a master stylist’s sign-off.
What’s the difference between Fresh Talent and the New Artist Salon?
Fresh Talent stylists are certified in the services they offer and book on the regular salon schedule. New Artist Salon appointments are for services a stylist is still learning, are supervised by a master stylist, and are priced lower.
How do I know which services my stylist is certified in?
Check their online booking menu. A service only appears there after they have passed certification.
Not sure who to book with? Take our quick stylist quiz and we’ll match you with the right person for your hair. Find your stylist match!
Ready to book? Reserve your appointment online, or try the New Artist Salon for a lower price.
or see New Artist prices.
