September 19, 2007 I'm going "spa" in my salon now

I'm going "spa" in my salon now

I recently went to Chicago to a grooming show. These shows are held around the country and have seminars for groomers on all kinds of grooming subjects, business subject and offer demonstrations for grooming certain breeds of dogs. I’ve been attending this show in Chicago for the past 6 years. Every year no matter how much you think you know, you always come away with new tips and tricks and get that breath of life back into you so you can’t wait to get back to your own salon and use them. I’m sure hair shows for beauticians are similar.
The shopping for products at the shows is amazing! New products to try out, new shears to try on, grooming equipment, shampoos, conditioners, rinses, mousses, texturizers, volumizers, de-tangling products, tools, books, grooming clothes, as well as some fun gifts and things to sell in your salons. Well, all I can say is, I shopped ‘til I dropped. I always buy my shampoos and conditioner to last the entire year. Shows usually have specials and you don’t have to pay shipping when you can bring it all back in your car. It wasn’t until I added up my receipts that I realized how much money I spent! ACK! Guess I’ll be busy grooming dogs to make up for it.
I did discover a new product recently, and tried it out, and luckily, the company was at the show and had more of it for me to buy. It’s called “South Bark’s Blueberry Facial” for dogs. Oh my, the dogs turn into wet noodles when I use it on them. It works wonders on the nervous dogs, the blueberry aroma calms them down and I simply wash their face in it, and massage their faces and the dogs are in heaven. It has been a Godsend for the anxious dogs! I’m so impressed by the product I’m going “spa” in my salon now. Everyone gets a blueberry facial with their grooming. Dogs that hate baths seem to relax with this product, which makes me feel good too. That’s the entire point of grooming, not only to make the dogs look good, but feel good too! Happy dogs make happy owners and happy groomers. I’ve always kidded my clients about bringing their dogs to the doggy spa, but now, it’s not a joke. I only wish I could get the same treatment for me!
There are grooming competitions as well, and I can only dream of having a dog that looks that good, most are retired show dogs that the groomers use, which does give you an edge when grooming. After all I can’t make my poodle with her faults (albeit not noticeable to most people) look as good as a show dog. So while I can’t make her look perfect, (she’s perfect in my eyes anyway), I can enter her in creative grooming competitions. In the creative grooming class, you aren’t trying to make your dog look like the breed standard; you are trying to create something off the wall and unique! You get to use colors and dyes, and carve designs in the coat! You can even turn a standard poodle into an entirely different animal! I’m truly in awe of the creative groomers I’ve watched over the years. I’ve even entered a few contests myself, I turned a client’s standard poodle into a Clydesdale two years ago and won third place, and the year before that I won second place with my dog groomed to look like a tree with fall leaves, not an easy feat to color a black dog! Last year my dog Jasmine was turned into a “lobster,” complete with background of a restaurant, and I was dressed like a chef serving her up to the judge. Unfortunately, we didn’t place last year, but the competition was FIERCE! I would hate to be the judge of that class, because you are judging on the creative aspect, plus the execution of the design and the background or skit, and it’s an art. Art is in the eye of the beholder. In a regular class a judge is comparing the trim to the breed standard, did they show correct angulations of the rear legs, etc. However, creative grooming is an entirely different and fun class, and while I didn’t enter this year, because I’m saving my creative entry for Dallas, Texas in November, the entries were FABULOUS! The bad news is I will be competing against them in November and I’ve been wracking my brain to come up with something to top them. This is NOT going to be easy. They keep raising the bar and it gets harder and harder to compete! I’m enclosing a photo of two entrants in the creative class. These groomers are fabulous and wonderful people with a lot of talent!
On the left is “Wild, Wild West” a horse…and on the right is “Hoochie Poochie”…well the name speaks for itself!
And you thought groomers just scrubbed dogs….