Editor's Note: Make it Count

As the Editor in Chief of MODERN SALON and First Chair magazines, I get the incredible opportunity to interview our industry's finest stylists and educators, I get the sneak peek at product launches, I get to travel the globe doing photoshoots or attending events like industry trade shows and Fashion Week. I even get to judge competitions and present on stage at awards shows like the North American Hairstyling Awards. I get to interview Ben Affleck and Snooki on camera about their beauty regimens. It's amazing.

But is that the best part of the job? Is this the stuff our industry is made of? No. I know that, you know that. Travel and celebrity events are just a small component.

What really matters is the power you, as a hairdresser, have every day in your salon chairs. What you have every day, multiple times a day, is the opportunity to change lives --to really touch people and have a personal affect on the way they present themselves to the world.

It's an incredible privilege to be a hairdresser: From first hair cuts on toddlers to last hair cuts before chemotherapy. To wedding days, and holidays. Military buzz cuts or the transformational post break-up makeover.

No words ring more true to this profession than the late Maya Angelou's most-famous quote: "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

It is amazing how much power we have as we stand behind our clients, ready to make them look and feel their very best. Be proud of what you do as you change lives one client at a time making the world a more beautiful place.

Here's to you and your success!

Alison Alhamed
Editor in Chief