Upcycling Your Back Stock

By Randy Clark, Randy Clark & Associates, Dallas, TX

Our salon is in a high-rise office complex and all the style rooms are private with shampoo bowls and sinks.

During the coronavirus pandemic, we were able to maintain the 6-foot social-distancing rules by offering curbside service for our clients. We gave them solvents to take off their systems and provided private rooms to put them back on. We were also able to give pointers to help them along with the process.

But that only got us part of the way home. The rest was due to the fact that our business is 100% custom, and I keep multiple systems for every client, male or female. I have a small fortune invested in systems on the shelf.

We celebrate our 40th anniversay in May, and a key component of my success is the fact that I’ve always ordered, and will always order, custom systems.

And, of course, I can’t forget the great staff I have. They were right beside me through it all.

I believe more than ever that my custom orders got me through this ordeal. My office manager must have pulled out over 400 custom orders that I’ve eaten because a client has died or stopped wearing. I used to complain about the loss, but now it’s come back to me 10 fold. I’m about to use these pieces and repurpose them for other clients.

I have made many mistakes learning the custom side, and no education is ever free.

Let’s face it, a bad system sticks out like a sore thumb. My take on custom verses stock systems is simple. The color doesn’t match, the hair-line looks like a cut-out, and it just doesn’t look right. Also, gray has to be exact, and stock colors of gray seldom work.

Basically, if I get a new client that is wearing a stock system in my salon, I own them.

I’m not knocking stock systems; I had to use my share of them and was happy I had them. My clients spend a lot of money and they understand custom works much better for them.

The fact that I have exclusively used custom all these years has put me in a much better position with distributors as well as factories. They know who I am because of the amount of systems I order each week. I know this has helped me get through these difficult times. My buying power also helps. I’ve ordered the bulk of my systems through New Image. Oscar and Rosmery have been there through it all with me.

Stock pieces are a simple matter of “let’s pick the one that’s the closest fit.” In short, you want a custom-fitted hair piece, not a stock piece pulled from the bin.

Custom-fitted pieces are like wearing a great set of contacts for your eyes. Once you put them on, they are so comfortable; you forget you’re even wearing them.

Custom tip:

If you’re still putting plastic wrap on your client’s head and using Scotch tape you’re still not custom, that’s old school. Like 40 years ago old school! The factory takes your plastic wrap mold, which has been drawn up from shipping, and they have to stretch it out and find a mold that is close to that fit. I use a thermal mold machine, to get an exact impression of the client’s scalp. It’s always a perfect fit, and I get a foam mold back from the factory for reorders. With my mold they blow foam into it so it is an exact fit to the client’s scalp. On a custom foam mold you can show dents, knots or curves in the client’s scalp. I owe my success to a fire in my belly and the personal conviction to do the right thing when it comes to my clients.

“A key component of my success is the fact that I’ve always ordered, and will always order, custom systems”

SOPHIA.

INTELLIGENT. ATHLETIC. COURAGEOUS.