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| So whatchu sayin.... |
I grew up in Cleveland and I am proud of it. Many people plan and live for the day when they can say good bye to this place. Me, on the other hand I love it. I grew up in the best location in the best location in the nation; the King Kennedy Projects. Growing up there did not require me knowing my address. Nope, all I had to know was what color projects I lived in. Let’s see, there were the browns, the blues, the reds the greens and yes the yellows. I lived in the yellows. One of the best things about being brought up in the projects was the culture. Let’s see again, there were the nicknames and last names such as Beebow, The Berry’s and Mighty. To make the claim that you were brought up in the ghetto did not require being able to fight, steal or get on drugs. Nope, all you have to do is, know Mighty! The other thing I loved about my upbringing was the language. The language in the hood required a blending of words, the cutting off of consonants and taking one word that was meant for bad and turning it into something good. For example, Now and Later was spoken Nowinlaters. Ask was spoken axe. And, dope meaning good instead of a narcotic. Now of course that is my experience and while I have fond memories of my upbringing I have come to learn that not everything I picked up from King Kennedy needed to be brought out of King Kennedy. The language in particular is something I had to put into perspective.
Language is a body of words and the systems for their use common to a people who are of the same community or nation says Webster. With that being said, the language that is used in the street, laymen’s, your house or your community should not be generically applied in the world of beauty.
Nothing makes the job of a cosmetologist more difficult than language. Many people enter a salon using street or laymen’s terms requesting a service or making a complaint. They often confuse laymen’s terms with correct cosmetology terms. This confusion in using laymen’s terms is so prevalent that beauty professionals use them in the work place as well. Laymen’s terms are good for relaxed scenarios but when it comes to work in the hair, nail and skin care business; it is a no-no.
For starters, laymen’s terms dumbs down the profession, cheapens the service and credibility definitely flies out the window. As a matter of fact one should be leery when a professional avoids using correct technical terms and speaking proper English in the work place.
This may seem a bit harsh, but how credible is police officer who arrests someone and says, “Now shut your mouth. You’re cold busted.” While it sounds good in a song, it does not when a legal arrest is taking place. Try visiting your OB-GYN and she tells you, “Girl you done got yo’self knocked up.” I am certain the term “knocked up” is okay when chopping it up with the girls, but not from your paid OB-GYN professional. In the beauty industry popular laymen’s terms such as, “ends clipped,” “ends trimmed,” “a rinse in your hair,” or “a hook up.” are not professional terms for hair service. After all, don’t you clip and trim the bushes, rinse clothes and hook up lights?
Buyers beware, there is something not quite right when a licensed professional cannot honestly tell you that when they open their shears; they are indeed cutting your hair? Refrain from a “hook up” on a free “ends” trimmed simply because the stylist is using pleasantries to either mask what they cannot do or tell you what your hair really needs. It does not matter if the service is complimentary, if the stylists have one second or one year of experience or if the salon is a suburb or not; professionalism speaks in volumes. It especially speaks in volumes when coupled with honesty, talent and great customer service.
In the end the choice is yours. Do what you like and what eva floats yo boat!
