A long, productive and profitable career in men’s grooming requires an active approach to be a healthy haircutter. Here are my top 5 tips for getting and staying healthy as you put hair on the floor and get guys looking their best.

Wear better shoes – Work from the bottom up. Lay a solid foundation by standing on a floor mat and wearing better shoes. Better shoe choices will support a longer, healthier, more comfortable career. Nurses know this. Food service workers do this. Haircutters should be light on their feet, too. Ditch the spike heels and thin leather soles for sports and athletic shoes. Shoes should be light weight to limit strain on the knee. Soles should be springy and supportive to bear the weight of the days. Runners toss shoes after 300 to 500 miles of training. Your shop shoes should be replaced twice each year.

Drink water – Treat your work like a workout. Hydrate properly throughout the day. Diet soda is better than full sugar drinks and water is better than diet soda or coffee. Keep a refillable bottle at your station and drain it a few times per day. Google the phrase “hydration calculator” of current data on how much you should be drinking based on your gender, body weight and environment.

Block your lunch – Block out and take a 30-minute lunch every day. Do not leave lunch to chance. Do not use a blocked lunch post as catch-up time for squeezing clients. Sit and relax. Eat to refuel for the balance of the day. Touch base with family and friends with a call or a text. This little spot of down time will make you a better haircutter and improve your customer service all day.

Bag your lunch – Few of us have healthy eating choices in close proximity to our cutting chair. The burger place next door and the pizza place on the corner are not good day-to-day options. Bag a lunch. You know you will be hungry at noon every day. You know eating better will have you looking, feeling and performing better. Take a pro-active approach to lunch by shopping early in the week and stocking up on the components of a healthy lunchtime meal. The money saved will make your week more productive, too.

Use your chair – Your haircutting chair is an essential tool for supporting your health and wellness. Pump up the chair when working below the curve of the head. This protects your back and legs from stresses and strain. Lower the chair when blow drying and working above the head to ease the impact on your upper back and shoulders. Remain stationary and rotate the chair to put all the miles on the chair, not the haircutter. Turning the chair also helps you turn out better haircuts as you are better able to use your mirror to assess your work and create balanced shapes and even proportions.

Bonus Tip - Charge more – Yes, pricing is a health and wellness issue! Charging more enables you to slow down and relax as you deliver services. A relaxed pace is good for your physical and mental health. It is obvious that delivering eight, $40 haircuts makes for a very different pace and lifestyle than executing forty, $8 haircuts. The bottom line is the same but it’s impact on your well-being is vastly different. It takes time and strategy to morph your business to this price and pace, but it is well worth it for your long-term viability and vitality cutting hair.

Put these tips into action right away to protect your health and preserve your career.

Ivan Zoot AKA ClipperGuy is your healthy haircutter coach. Get and stay healthy, wealthy and wise with clipperguy support.

www.clipperguy.com