The holiday season is upon us, Tribe, and that means a lot of last-minute cancellations and appointments, decorating your salon space, stylists taking time off, and preparing your holiday promotions and gifts for clients.

As the holiday frenzy kicks into high gear, it’s important that you’ve got everything all set up and ready to avoid the holiday season burnout we tend to feel this time of year. Here are some tips and tricks on how to successfully conquer the season like a champ.

1.     Plan salon tasks ahead of time.

Is your salon ready for the holidays? Now is the best time to start putting up decorations and planning your holiday specials. These tasks can take so much time and energy – doing them early will take away a lot of the stress and burden off your shoulders. You know what they say, failing to plan is planning to fail.

If you are managing a team of hair stylists, delegating tasks to your staff not only enables you to have more time for other important things, but it also enables them to learn and grow as hair stylists. Create a committee who will do the decorations, events planning, gift wrapping, etc.

Pro Tip: Have a team meeting prior to the first week of November. During this time, you should set expectations and standards for your team, as well as a clear plan and schedule. Accomplish this, and you’ll bring yourself, clients, team and business more success and less stress.

2.     Resist the urge to overbook your schedule.

The last quarter of the year is the busiest time of the year for hair stylists. Many clients want to get their hair done before the new year and booking each one who requests for an appointment can be tempting. Because let’s be honest – who doesn’t want to make an extra buck or two during the holidays? Unfortunately, this will only put you on the fast track to burn out.

Overcommitting can leave you and your staff with a feeling of being overwhelmed – which will only make the situation worse. Be realistic and accommodate only those that can reasonably fit into your schedule. Encourage your clients to pre-book months or weeks before their intended appointment so you can get your schedule all sorted out before the holiday season kicks in.

Pro Tip I: Now is the time to ensure your text, e-mail and phone call reminder system is up to date! This will ensure clients show up for their appointments on time (well, mostly), and you avoid those dread “can’t you just squeeze me in?” conversations.

Pro Tip II: Let’s face it, most if you will ignore our tip to avoid overbooking, so here’s how you can get grey coverage in 25 minutes or less with our Oway Hcolor line. The secret is Hypercolor Accelerator Drops!

3.     Diffuse essential oils.

We all know the many benefits aromatherapy can offer, but its ability to quickly relieve stress and anxiety is perhaps the main reason it’s very popular among hair stylists. Hairdressing is a very physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding profession.

Diffusing calming organic essential oil blends like lavender and chamomile while you and your team are attending to clients can help ease some of the stress. They’ve been proven to help calm the nerves and reduce anxiety. Bonus: Your clients will feel the calming vibes, too!

Pro Tip: Start the salon day with an energizing essential oil blend to uplift your team and help them start the day right! In the evening, try diffusing a more calming blend like our Relax Essential Oil.

4.     Treat yourself to a time out.

After a hectic day, be sure to treat yourself and your staff to a time out. This will allow them to recharge and come back to work totally rejuvenated.

Have a spa party at the salon where you and your team can enjoy a relaxing massage or bath. Our Oway De-Stress Kit is not only the perfect gift for clients, friends and staff, but yourself, as well. 😉 It contains our Oway Materia, a versatile 100% organic soap to be used alone to purify and decompress, or made into calming bath melts.

5.     Celebrate small victories.

Many salons usually wait for the craziness to be over before they start celebrating. While it’s important to focus on the tasks ahead, keeping yourself and your staff motivated is also essential. No matter how hectic your day is, set aside time to talk to your team and compliment them for their hard work.

If a team member successfully hits their sales goal for the week, giving them a prize, like Oway’s De-Stress Kit, for a job well done will motivate them and their peers to reach their goals. This keeps the positive energy in the salon flowing, resulting to improved work performance.

How does your salon handle stress during the holiday season? Share them in the comments below!