It’s clear that the current climate is favorable to convenience. People want things quicker, faster and better than ever before. Gone are the days where people needed to travel to the salon, book an appointment and sit in a waiting room. Now, there are tons of people who book everything from makeup appointments to waxing appointments from their smartphones. Furthermore, they want the stylist to come to their homes. If you decide to make your beauty station a mobile one, you can potentially open up your business to a wider audience of people. Consider the following ways you can work on making your beauty station mobile.

1. Get the appropriate certifications and insurance.

As a traveling stylist, you’ll want to make sure you have the necessary certifications to practice. If you’re operating a bootleg business and wind up causing a client’s injury, you can get sued. Since you don’t have a license or a board to attach yourself to, you can easily end up in jail. Certifications and insurance not only protect the client, but they protect you. Also, make sure that you have safety precautions you adhere to when you’re visiting someone’s home. You don’t know what you’re walking into. As a result, always have a safety protocol to keep yourself away from harm. If you have a certain protocol you require for your client, make sure they know this before they book your services and pay you.

2. Implement a strong marketing strategy.

Walk with business cards to pass out to potential clients. Leave business cards with your current clients. Develop a social media strategy that’s consistent and showcases your work. Make sure that your clients are okay with you showing their likeness on the internet. Maintain a website that you can use for booking and other correspondence.

3. Purchase the appropriate equipment.

Once you’re a licensed cosmetologist, you should have access to different trade vendors who will sell various equipment and products at a discounted rate. Purchase high-quality beauty products to maintain a competitive edge. Make sure you purchase the necessary equipment for whatever service you’re providing. Always walk with clean towels and cleaning products to clean up before, during and after the process. If you’re a manicurist, walk with your own small table, two stools and a bright lamp to illuminate your workstation. Make sure your equipment is small yet efficient because you don’t know how big your work areas will be. If you’re using a standing hair dryer or a portable sink station, use a table that has durable Colson casters. When it comes to your equipment, small, efficient and durable are the traits you’ll want to abide by. If you have a chair that has durable Colson casters attached, you won’t have to worry about asking the client to repeatedly get up and adjust.

4. Plan your workday in advance.

If you are a beauty professional who does everything from hair to waxes, you’ll want to plan your days accordingly. If it’s easier to book all of your waxing appointments on one or two days a week, you can pack the necessary equipment for that day. If you have a variety of appointments, that’s okay as well. Just make sure you have a system to pack all of your equipment and prepare for each client’s needs.

As you work on making your beauty station mobile, it’s also best to remember to be timely. When you’re meeting with clients, they don’t want to take all day to get one or two services done. Look at the amount of time it can take to do a particular service. Then, make sure you abide by the time. As you prepare your schedule, make sure you consider elements like rush hour traffic. When people are looking for convenience, the last thing they want is a late professional. Be consistent with these tips as they will help you become an efficient, professional and booked beauty professional.

Why is it so challenging to grow eyebrows in, yet ear, nose and chin hair seems to thrive?!  It even requires a specific wax to get the best results!  Boom Boom, owner of Boom Boom Brow Bar, says that a hard wax is better for removing the coarse hair around the ears, nose and chin.

Maintaining clear smooth skin in those areas is usually a once a month service, so it should be affordable and convenient, and look as good as possible for as long as possible.  When it comes to strays, or even a well-established crop of hair on the ears, nose and chin, Boom Boom suggests using a hard wax like Boom Boom Striptease.  It attaches only to the hair, not the skin, reducing discomfort and minimizing the possibility of irritation. A thick layer of warm wax is applied to skin, and after it hardens and cools, it’s peeled off with fingers, taking hair with it.  It’s ideal for unwanted coarse stubborn hair.

Ear – Create a wax ball on the end of a stick and tuck it just inside the ear, touching unwanted hair…because it’s a hard wax, it won’t drip.  Then, pull the ball out and the hair will come with it – no pain!

Nose – Apply hard wax to a stick, it’s thicker so it will stay on, then smooth it on the low side of nostrils and pull down to remove hair.

“I can’t tell you how many of my clients send their husbands in for these two services!” says Boom Boom.

Chin – Coarse chin hair is stubborn and needs the strength of a hard wax.  Spread a thick coating onto chin in the direction of hair growth, and pull off in the opposite direction.  Voila, smooth as silk.

“Hard wax has the strength to pull out coarse hair at the follicle, so you can maintain a smoother cleaner look for longer, versus a wax that lacks the strength for a clean removal and breaks hair off, you will always be fighting for a smooth surface with longevity,” adds Boom Boom.

Boom Boom Brow Bar is 11 years strong!! As one of the first walk-in brow bars in NYC, Malynda Vigliotti (aka Boom Boom) empowers others to celebrate their own personal gorgeousness without breaking the bank or making appointments.  She makes brows fast, convenient, affordable and FUN – 26K+ served last year…376K+ since 2008!  She is THE brow expert for the International Beauty Show in New York and Las Vegas!  The New York Times loves Boom Boom: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/23/nyregion/23joint.html;Vogue does too: https://www.boomboombrowbar.com/press/; and Refinery29 named Boom Boom Brow Bar one of the top 10 spots to get the best brows ever: http://www.refinery29.com/eyebrow-shaping-nyc#slide-9. Also seen in In Style, Bustle, Byrdie, PopSugar, The Knot, Nylon, Vogue UK, Spa Week, American Spa, Eye Lash, Newsday, The New York Post…Shop for products, services and gift cards on boomboombrowbar.com.  Instagram: @BoomBoomBrowBar; Facebook: @BoomBoomBrowBar and Twitter:@BoomBoomBrowBar.

Tips from Umbreen Sheikh, Founder + CEO, Wink Brow Bar

www.winkbrowbar.com

Throughout the decades, brow looks come and go. Full, bushy brows evoke 80s-era Brooke Shields. Super skinny brows scream the late 90s. Recently, the perfectly painted “Insta Brow” has been having a major moment.

For 2019, a more easy-going, lower-maintenance, the natural brow is trending. To achieve this look, we tapped brow guru Umbreen Sheikh for her best tips. As a licensed cosmetologist and Founder + CEO of Wink Brow Bar, Umbreen is a bonafide brow savant. Here’s how she – and her teams at Wink’s multiple locations in New York City, Brooklyn, and London – are helping clients live their best brow lives.

Umbreen Sheikh’s Top 6 Brow Tricks 

1. Assume the position

While you might think you need to park yourself thisclose to the mirror to precision-groom your brows, that isn’t actually the case. “Standing too close can throw-off your brow proportions, and make you lose perspective on the overall shape,” says Umbreen. “For best results, stand at least one foot away.”

2. Break out the brush

Short on time? At the very least, give your brows a thorough brushing. Stroke up and over, and then anchor your arches with a dab of brow gel or clear mascara. (More on brow gel shade-selection below.) FYI, the Wink tool of choice has an angled side and a spoolie on one end, so consider investing in a brow brush of similar quality. You’ll be using it every day, so it will pay for itself in no time.

3. Select your ideal shade

Picking the perfect, slam-dunk shade of gel, pencil or powder is crucial, so this is where you need to spend real quality time. As a general rule, you’ll want to match your hair roots, which are typically one shade lighter than your brows. “Most women want their brows to add definition to their face, and not ‘read’ as harsh or aggressive,” says Umbreen. “Matching your brows to your roots does that.” With one exception, Umbreen cautions. “If you’re blonde, go a shade darker than your roots. Otherwise, you’ll look washed-out.” NOTE: If you opt for professional brow tinting, which lasts for up to four weeks and is among Wink’s most popular services, you can skip this shade-selection tip altogether. How easy is that?

4. Get a little nosey

One of the very best things about next-level brow grooming, whether you master it yourself or pop by Wink for professional assistance, is that it allows you to visually alter the shape of your nose. Thinner, wider – whatever nose look you’re after, beautiful brows can help you get there. If you’re opting for thinner, Umbreen recommends drawing an imaginary vertical line from the tip of your nose to the beginning of your brow and then focusing your shade-filling right there at the start. To make your nose appear wider, do the opposite and focus your shade-filling at the end of your brow, not the beginning.

5. Pencil (or powder) it in

Whichever shade format you choose, the absolute key to success is to follow the basic shape of your existing brow. Go easy, and only add color between hairs, as needed. “The idea is to shade, not ‘draw’ your brows on from scratch,” says Umbreen. “The goal is a soft, subtle look that lends definition. Straight, hard lines are to be avoided at all costs.”

6. Between brow appointments, “cheat” with concealer
   Pressed for time?If you can’t make it into Wink or carve-out 15 minutes to do a thorough DIY bathroom brow-grooming sesh, Umbreen recommends adding a dab of concealer on the most unruly hairs. “Whatever you do, resist the temptation to just yank them out,” she says. “Brows add so much structure and personality to your face that you really want to take your time, and groom properly. Or better yet, head to Wink, and let us help.”

ABOUT UMBREEN SHEIKH, FOUNDER + CEO

The #BossLady of Brows, London-born / New York-based Umbreen Sheikh is on a mission to embrower every woman she comes in contact with.

A second-generation cosmetologist, Umbreen learned the ancient technique of threading from her mother, who owned several London salons. In transferring this centuries-old knowledge to her curious, capable daughter, little did Umbreen’s mother know that she was setting the stage for a brow-centric beauty empire.

Of course, there were plot twists along the way, namely Umbreen’s decision to attend University at King’s College London and obtain a degree in Biomedical Sciences. But it was a post-University move to Manhattan that would eventually bring Umbreen, full-circle, right back to brows.

After marrying in 2003 and relocating to New York with her seasoned financier husband, Umbreen spent time in the publishing world, as the PR Director for a niche magazine. Simultaneously, she was starting a family of her own. By 2011, she had two children. And once her tots were securely tucked away in school for most of their day, Umbreen knew it was time to get cracking on her career.

But what to do?

Like all visionary entrepreneurs, Umbreen started with what’s known in the biz world as a  Need-Gap Analysis. What product or service was she – and busy, demanding, like-minded women just like her  – missing?

It wasn’t long before Umbreen landed on next-level organic threading as the ultimate unmet beauty need. By 2014, she’d developed the concept for Wink Brow Bar. And ever since, she’s been in full-on growth mode – adding locations, services, and products at breakneck speed. Seguing from luxury threading studio to immersive beauty brand, today’s Wink is covering all the bases.

In addition to caring for her family and running her business, Umbreen is heavily involved in philanthropic endeavors. As a committee member of Developments In Literacy, she has helped educate 27,000 Pakistani girls. She is also a Lotus Circle Advisor for The Asia Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to advancing the rights and opportunities for women throughout Asia.

Umbreen resides with her family in New York City.