Tips for the traveling stylist

As a traveling hairstylist I have come across a few tips I want to share to other fellow traveling stylist of the world. Throughout the years, I have learned that we do not make mistakes, we make discoveries.

Here are some things Jess discovered the hard way while traveling trying to make this world a better and prettier place. 

As a stylist I realized we have to pack a little differently than the average traveler.

1: Shears

We can NOT bring scissors on the plane ...

You have to check in your bag if you are traveling with shears. We cannot travel with scissors in our carry on bag for safety precautions. If you do not check in your bag they will throw the scissors out. Professional shears are pricey and I would hate for that to happen to you. Check in your bag if you are traveling with scissors, or mail them ahead of time.

2: Professionally organize your shit

As an Aquarian artist I’m guilty of tending to be all over the place, but when traveling -especially for work it’s very important to try to keep clean and organized.

Keep your tools and products organized in separate compartments, this looks more professional and it will help when you are unpacking and trying to set up.

I like to keep styling tools together in one bag, and another compartment for products, hair clips, combs, etc.

Pack extra zip lock bags , just in case you get any products that leak, or if you need extra storage compartments for Bobby pins.

3: Liquids, products, and colors

Make sure you wrap and tape up any bottles to avoid any leaks due to the air pressure and movement from traveling.

If you are not checking in a bag make sure all of your liquid products are TSA approved and less than 3.4 ounces.

I recommend keeping color tubes in a hard case container and in a ziplock bag to avoid a color mess.

One time while teaching a color class at Arte Corte in Cuba I brought a few Pravana color tubes and somehow one got punctured while traveling and it leaked EVERYWHERE. Imagine Pravana violet dye everywhere, it looked like I sacrificed a unicorn. It was hard to clean because of how much direct dyes stain, but luckily I had it stored in a ziploc bag.

If you have powdered bleach, try to keep it in it’s  original container or measure out approximately how much you think you would need,  fill a travel container with it and label it. Some airports will hassle you for powdered products. (Example if you are traveling from Peru with a bag of powdered bleach, they might question you since that can look like drugs )

5: Lastly don’t forget to pack some positive energy and an open mind, especially if you are traveling outside of America.

You attract what you project so positive energy comes a long way. I’ve traveled to salons outside of the country where there is no hot water or power!

We have a gift to use our hands to make people look and feel better, sometimes we have to think outside the box in those situations.