"You'll never have more time to devote to education than you do right now, when you're new to the industry," says texture expert Francie Sorem, who works with Joico/ISO. "You can't be creative if you don't understand the technology behind texture. But if you study texture, you'll like it!"

For a quick lesson, Sorem offers these top three texture service rules:

1. 1. Know how to read a curl pattern. There's no shortcut if you want to achieve the best results possible, says Sorem; you have to take a test curl, and you have to "push it in" to really read the "S" formulation of the curl pattern. "Today, usually the hair is colored," she explains. "So there are all different levels of porosity. You want to find the perfect window of opportunity for the optimum result." Take the test curl as soon as you're finished wrapping and applying the solution, Sorem recommends. "You want to know the second the curl starts to take," she says. "Otherwise, the hair will be overprocesssed."

2. 2. Understand the different techniques that apply. You already know this in cutting. For example, says Sorem, when you do a bob, you understand that you'll end up with width on the sides and flatness on top. Similar guidelines apply for texture.

3. 3. Pick your technique first and your technology second. "Suppose there are three different ways to curl color-treated hair," Sorem explains. "Once you decide that you should do a condensed wrap, which is what most people want to do and use just four to eight tools, you'll need a stronger technology to deliver more punch."

Once you know your texture stuff, you can charge for that expertise. Says Sorem, "If you already have the client base and start doing texture on one client a week, you'll add $400 a month."