Editor's Note: Take Care of You!

Take care of you.” Easy to say, hard for some to hear, and difficult for way too many salon professionals to actually accomplish.

That’s why we’re here—to help you help yourselves.

MODERN SALON’s Healthy Hairdresser initiative started with a personal plea from a stylist and salon owner who realized the physical toll the beauty career she loved so much was taking on her and her team’s wellbeing.

Our response evolved—from an industry collaboration with the prestigious City of Hope medical center, then into a monthly Healthy Hairdresser column, a weekly e-letter, a new “challenge” series supported by dedicated sponsor partners and now this, the first annual Healthy Hairdresser Head-to-Toe Wellness Guide for Salon Professionals.

Like all of the platforms and outreaches in MODERN’s Healthy Hairdresser program, the mission of this special supplement is to help salon professionals sustain long, vibrant, comfort- able beauty careers by providing ongoing support in three areas: body, spirit and business.

This first edition takes a snapshot approach to seven “head-to-toe” areas that stylists identified as critical work-related health issues they were either currently struggling with or most concerned about facing in their future. We also highlight some of the wellness goals that hundreds of hairdressers documented in the first Healthy Hairdresser Challenge this past January, and industry veterans reveal their “healthy hind sights”—what they wish they would have done differently earlier in their careers.

None of these Healthy Hairdresser programs would be possible without the overwhelming engagement of the professional salon community. The topics, salon struggles and role model success stories we cover each week continue to resonate with our audience, as evidenced by ever-increasing views, clicks and shares.

Please keep connecting, commenting, accepting the monthly Healthy Hairdresser Challenges and sharing your stories. Tell us what else Healthy Hairdresser should cover, where you need more help, what is working for you personally.

We know we are just scratching the surface with this first special edition. We look forward to your help in growing Healthy Hairdresser into an even more vital and practical resource.

In the meantime, we and our sponsor partners will be here every month, every week, reminding salon professionals: “take care of you.”

To your health,

Michele Musgrove, Editorial Director MODERN SALON Media

Rosanne Ullman, Project Editor, MODERN SALON's Healthy Hairdresser