Obligations of those in personal care professions

[MaggieB]

That's true, we don't know what he said to the customer when he stopped.  But my point is that he shouldn't have stopped.  This wasn't about a lack of knowledge or training.  According to the OP, he stopped because the job became so unpleasant.  That's what I was referring to.  Of course an employee should be able to go to their boss if they need some additional training, but I can't see a salon owner being happy with an employee stopping mid haircut because their client is too dirty.  Cleaning and styling the hair is the stylist's job.

I'm really not trying to disparage the OP's son.  He's a student, and he made a mistake that his teacher needed to correct.  He's going to be done with the program and ready to look for jobs in a few months.  The teacher (as an extension of the school) needs to make sure he is ready for that.

[Just Lori]

I don't know if this is a consideration, OP, but would your son benefit from a discussion about looking beyond the ick factor to the person?  I understand that certain conditions can turn your stomach.  But maybe for this particular woman, the $2.50 buys a human touch that she rarely experiences?.  He's not just treating her scalp, he's giving her soul a little bit of comfort.

Sometimes when you change your perspective, you can handle a lot more than you think you could.

[Hillia]

That's a really good point, Lori; I'll have to bring that up with him.  We did talk yesterday about everything that's been said here, and he seemed receptive to it, so I'll mention this very important aspect of the situation to him today and give him something else to think about.

Thanks for all the great feedback!

[whatsanenigma]

  Of course an employee should be able to go to their boss if they need some additional training, but I can't see a salon owner being happy with an employee stopping mid haircut because their client is too dirty.  Cleaning and styling the hair is the stylist's job.

(snip)

 The teacher (as an extension of the school) needs to make sure he is ready for that.

Oh yes, I absolutely see your point on this.

I suppose I was seeing it as, being prepared for a "too dirty" client should be a more systematic part of the training.

We don't really know what was going through the mind of the OP's son at the time, of course. It's very possible that he thought he WAS ready to handle this. He heard other students talking about extreme cases like this one, he studied his books for hours, he tried to emotionally prepare himself and was bound and determined to not ever let a "too dirty" client scare him away...

but the first time he saw, live and up close, something this far out of his comfort zone, he got overwhelmed and he panicked, because nothing can prepare you for certain things except seeing them and working with them.

So, maybe that's the disconnect in my thoughts here. The teacher should have anticipated that hair in this condition really is so far out of some people's usual comfort zone that no matter how determined a person is to always show respect for all clients and treat them with dignity and respect, and to follow through on a job no matter what it takes, that those feelings won't always be enough, and actual training to deal with the physical reaction to it is important.

Otherwise everybody (client and student) can end up feeling bad and that's not good-or necessary, if proper training is used.

[Lynda_34]

If this person is a "regular", she is a teachable moment for the entire class and should be treated a such.  She should be given extra attention and all students should be aware of and expected to care for her.

[blueberry.muffin]

While I don't think teachers should "berate" students

Eeeeegh. I'm not trying to ignore the rest of your post, but I'm really really hoping you can explain what you mean by this.

(Without being at the scene, I have no idea if the teacher was correct in his/her guidance or went overboard on the discipline, so I really can't comment at that level. This is more wondering what your statement means.)

I'm not really sure what needs clarifying.     (No snark intended, I just thought that was a pretty straightforward statement.)

"Berate" is the word the OP used.  For the teacher to actually berate the student (to "scold or condemn vehemently and at length"-MWD) is an overreaction, in my opinion.  To me "berate" carries the connotation of a really angry, over the top outburst; of totally losing it on someone.   I don't think that teachers in general should react to student mistakes that way.

*snip*

Does that help clarify?

YES. I've heard "berate" equated to a simple scolding, which as a former teacher I did plenty of times. ("Johnny, you KNOW you're not supposed to light your desk on fire!") I do agree that teachers shouldn't go on and on at length, which was more your definition.

Thanks for the clarification, and allowing me to go slightly off topic.

[baglady]

To clarify: When I said the student "gets a pass," I meant that he probably hadn't been trained to deal with a situation like this, so I understand why his reaction was less than ideal -- not that it was acceptable. And rather than berating him, the teacher should have demonstrated and explained how to deal with it.

[MaggieB]

YES. I've heard "berate" equated to a simple scolding, which as a former teacher I did plenty of times. ("Johnny, you KNOW you're not supposed to light your desk on fire!") I do agree that teachers shouldn't go on and on at length, which was more your definition.

Thanks for the clarification, and allowing me to go slightly off topic.

OK, good!  I didn't think I was being controversial, so I was just a little confused.  It sounds like we are on the same page, though!

[MissRose]

I would have thought the students were given lessons in the classrom prior to real life experiences like the OP's son has just experienced.

I've been to the local beauty school place where senior students get the valuable experiences supervised by their teachers.  I've seen people from all walks of life receiving services like hair cuts, manicures, etc. from the senior students for a much lower cost compared to most salons.  The students do not get to pick their clients, they are assigned.  The school is a walk in place with hours for walk ins.

Skin and/or hair issues are not just for poor people.  I am sure the OP's son will learn that if he has not already.  My sister had a friend that was a stylist, and she told me about the wide variety of people she had worked on, and she worked in more of a high end salon where haircuts started around $20 / color for about $50 as a few examples not lesser expensive haircut chain store type place.

[Cattitude]

Sorry but if I was hairdresser I would not be interested in dealing with that at all.  That is a condition that is going to take prescription medication and repeated shampooing with prescription shampoos over quite some time to get the situation under control.  A single or double shampoo is going to do little.

For the teacher's information your son was 100% correct for wearing the gloves and if she thinks they are unnecessary she is dead wrong and needs some education on biohazards.

Dandruff and dried skin are biohazards?  There is no further information than this in the OP, the person's hair *could* just be incredibly dirty.  OP I completely understand your son's feelings but he does have to get past it.  I am a health care professional and I remember all too well the sights and smells of my first "bad scene" so to speak.  I was a student too and I had to hold back my dry heaving.  It's hard but tell him to hang in there.

Yes I consider those things Biohazards as does my place of employment.  In this age of Universal Precautions gloves should be put on before touching anything out of the ordinary.  Unless a doctor has diagnosed it it's hard to be certain that it actually is dandruff.  It could be a parasitic or fungal infection of some sort.  Scaly, flaking patches of human tissue is not something I want to contact my bare hands. Workers have the right to protect themselves from possible health hazards.

But if it's only dandruff and dried skin then it's not a biohazard as it poses no threat to another human though I understand the ick factor.  If one doesn't know what it is, sure go ahead and wear protective gear.  But remember, the dirty client could be perfectly healthy while the well dressed, clean  client could be carrying a communicable disease.  Looks are very deceiving.

[Jocelyn]

One time I opted to have a colleague of my regular stylist cut my hair, because my regular stylist was not available. I ALWAYS wash my hair the morning of a cut, but I don't blow it dry because my hair is very curly and if I blow all the curl out of it, the cut will not be accurate. The other stylist took the band off my ponytail, began to comb my hair, and made a face like she was combing slime. She asked (demanded?), 'What do you have on your hair?' I told her I'd washed and conditioned it that morning, but it was a wash-out conditioner. She insisted on shampooing my hair before continuing.
She's worked there since I started going there, so this wasn't a brand-new stylist. Why she couldn't have said, 'Did you use leave-in conditioner today? I'll need to wash it out to give you a good cut' or 'I don't think you got all the conditioner rinsed out', I don't know. But the impression I got was that she thought I hadn't washed my hair, and it was greasy and gross. I would have thought a stylist could tell the difference between recently shampooed and still damp hair, and sweaty, greasy hair, but apparently not.

[LadyPekoe]

I have very fine, very thick hair.  It's almost waist length and it tangles badly.  In fact, if I'm not careful, it mats.  It also accumulates buildup amazingly no matter what I do.  I can't tell you the amount of times hairdressers have berated me.  The tip decreases as they go on and on. 

[whatsanenigma]

DS had gloves available, and he wore them while shampooing her hair although she gave him an 'odd' look when he put them on. 

You know, I'm wondering if this was part of the problem too.

Now, of course, the OP's DS had every right to wear these gloves. I'm not saying he shouldn't have put them on, odd look from the client or not.

But I have to say that if I walked into a salon, and there were many people around me getting haircuts and shampoos by ungloved stylists, and my stylist put some on to deal with me, I might be a little put off. If I was getting a color treatment or perm or something else chemical, I probably wouldn't even notice the use of gloves, but for a cut and shampoo? I would feel uncomfortable, I think, if I was the only one that seemed to require gloves-even if in my heart of hearts, I knew that yes, my hair or scalp condition required them.

Now, of course I'm not advocating that no stylist wear gloves ever. What I do think is that it would be better if everyone in the salon always wore gloves, if some did sometimes. This would be more respectful of all clients, and also it is true that some scalp conditions might not be as obvious as others and you might want gloves even if you don't think you do, KWIM? It would benefit both client and stylist, I think.

Not that the OP's son had any control over this in that situation but maybe one day he will, when he gets out into a job in a salon or even his own salon, and might want to consider a universal glove use policy.