Phorest FM Episode 193: Ashleigh Hodges On Navigating Wellness, Career Goals & Salon Life
For many of us, 2021 will be a year of rebirth โ a year in which we find new ways to connect and take care of both ourselves and our communities after grief and loss left several of our wellbeing spheres in distress. The hard thing about wellness is that we must find what works for us and our journey. Whether that's making our routine more like self-care, getting better sleep, prioritising our happiness, eating cleaner, or learning how to wind down, we need to accept that we might not always get it right (at least not at first). In this episode, we dive into how Ashleigh's dealt with wellness throughout her life and career, discuss how it can look different for each of us, the implicit weight of the word "should," and question whether salons do enough to support staff wellbeing.
Guests
Ashleigh Hodges
Stylist and colourist Ashleigh Hodges is sought after the world over, from photoshoots in New York, creating chic styles for TV (currently resident hairdresser on The Voice UK and Little Mix The Search) to presenting to packed arenas globally or looking after clients in the salon.
Ashleigh brings creativity and inspiration to everything she does. The multiple award-winning, previous IT Girl winner is making new waves in the industry as co-director of the HAIRDOTCOM Art Team, nominated for British Hairdressing Awards Artistic Team of the Year. 2020 saw Ashleigh win Colourtastic Genius award at the Colour Genius Awards, as well as a nomination for Colour Expert at the Creative Head Awards. Sustainability & Wellbeing is extremely important to Ashleigh, creating #12monthsofsustainability and #WellbeingWednesdays in 2020. Ashleigh has partnered with Davines as their Global colour ambassador, a brand very aligned with her own values. The role sees her support Hair Art Director Tom Connell on collections, education, and show work. Ashleigh likes to spend her time investing back into the industry and was honoured to become The Fellowship for British Hairdressingโs Chancellor.
Transcript
Killian Vigna: And weโre back. Thank you so much for joining us on the fifth season and year, really, of Phorest FM. And to all our new listeners out there, welcome! Weโve got some amazing guests lined up for the first quarter of 2021 already, and we canโt wait to share all of those conversations with you.
Zoรฉ Bรฉlisle-Springer: A couple of things before we get started, youโll be pleased to hear that, first, weโre bringing back the weekly transcripts of our episodes. Those will be available on phorest.com/fm, and our first question of the year: how can we get you more involved? This is the question thatโs been on our minds for the past couple of months, especially during January when we were planning the season. And thereโs a reason why โ actually, thereโs a couple:
- Weโd like to get some of your questions featured in our episodes.
- We want to discuss the episodes and topics further, and weโre trying to figure out a way to do that.
- As always, we want to see how we can better tailor the show to your needs.
At the minute, weโre toying with the idea of joining Clubhouse, the new audio, social media app.
Another idea we had, was to make it possible for you guys to engage with us by text messaging. Now, this would only be available for North American listeners for the moment, but it would soon be available worldwide. And so, those are the ideas weโre playing with at the minute. If any of these options is of interest to you, or if you have another idea, please do send us a DM on Instagram at @phorestsalonsoftware, to let us know your thoughts. Weโre really eager to get this going this year. So please donโt hesitate; weโre only a click away.
The "aha" moment [02:03]
Ashleigh Hodges: As soon as the word โshouldโ comes into your head, itโs because itโs coming from an external point; itโs not coming from inside you. So itโs not very authentic to you at all. So whatever it is that you end up doing, thatโs had that word in it, youโre either not going to follow through on it, or when you do follow through on it, youโre not going to feel the reward that you hoped that you would. You need to be doing something because it feels right, not because you should do it.
Introducing Ashleigh Hodges [02:28]
Killian Vigna: On the show with us today, we have a stylist and colourist who brings creativity and inspiration to everything she does. Davines Global colour ambassador, director of the HAIRDOTCOM Art Team, and Chancellor of The Fellowship for British Hairdressing, Ashleigh Hodges, is sought after the world over, from photoshoots to New York, creating chic styles for TV, to presenting packed arenas globally, or looking after clients in the salon. So without further ado, welcome to the Phorest FM, Ashleigh; itโs good to have you here with us today.
Ashleigh Hodges: Thank you so much for having me! Iโm really excited to be chatting to you.
Killian Vigna: Itโs a pleasure. Youโre kicking off the year in style for us here.
Ashleigh Hodges: Thank you โ what a year to be kicking off!
Killian Vigna: Onwards and upwards!
Zoรฉ Bรฉlisle-Springer: Absolutely. Yeah. Well, actually, before we start talking about what we can do this year, I guess, to keep spirits up and keep a balanced life and all of that, what do you think needs to be acknowledged about 2020?
Ashleigh Hodges: To be acknowledged about 2020? I feel thereโs so much to be acknowledged about 2020. It was the start of a new decade, and it was kind ofโฆ Almost like a rebirth of everything, from everything thatโs been going on with the environment, the pandemic, the economy, for everyone around the world. And I think, weirdly, everyone felt like they come together.
Because normally, itโs one country thatโs dealing with something, but actually, this has been dealt with on a global scale and even some of the other issues compared to the pandemic when we look at Black Lives Matter and things like that, again, it becomes a more global thing.
So actually, in a weird way, I feel like all of these crazy things have brought everyone together as a community. And I think thatโs what we need to bring into this year, and rather than bringing in thatโฆ Of course, weโre bringing in the intense feelings and the emotions from last year, but if we can bring the community spirit into this year, I feel like we can start actually rebuilding in a really beautiful way.
Killian Vigna: It is really interesting, looking back on it, how it takes a pandemic where the key phrases that we hear is โsocial distance,โ โstay away.โ With all of that being told, itโs almost like weโve become closer right down to the whole shopping local, relationships have strengthened, even though it might all be done from a safe distance on screen. So I think itโs a case of, once the restrictions all lift down, everyoneโs just going to run out, and itโs just going to be mass hugs everywhere.
Ashleigh Hodges: Definitely.
Zoรฉ Bรฉlisle-Springer: Really excited for that moment.
Ashleigh Hodges: I know, me too! I canโt wait!
Ashleigh's relationship with wellness [05:08]
Killian Vigna: So, listen, today, weโre going to be talking about wellness and looking after yourself and whatโs involved in that. For you, where did this start coming about? Like, when I think of myself, my first experience of that, itโs a story Iโm ashamed to tell, nearly, because my first experience of mental health and wellness was in school. We were 16, and it was a class that we had to take.
Now, picture 30, 16-year-old males in a Christian brother school; it did not go down well at all. And it was basically like a joke class, a fun class. Looking back on it, in hindsight, youโre going, โIt was actually so important, and I wish I took it more seriously,โ and itโs not until the working world that I did start toโฆ But youโre so passionate about this. How did you fall into this and start realising, actually, this is much bigger than just a topic that we hear about?
Ashleigh Hodges: To be honest, I probably skirted around my mental health for the majority of my life and skirtedโฆ Although Iโd heard of different things, wellbeing related andโฆ It had just become a buzzword for people to start meditating and things like that. I donโt think I started truly looking at it until I had my own problems. And at the end of 2017, Iโd fully burnt myself out to the point of breakdown. And I had toโฆ There was literally no way for me to keep pushing through. Iโd spent so many years getting to the point where I would lose my voice, and I wasnโt well, because Iโd been traveling too much or doing too much work andโฆ And you can kind of push through physical things, I feel, you rest for a little bit, and then youโre fine. But I think when anything happens with your mental health, it takes a lot longer to bounce back from something like that.
So thatโs when I started to truly take note. And then, in 2018, thatโs when I went completely freelance because I had to just take a step back because I didnโt really know what I wanted anymore. Iโd been running and running towards all these career goals, and I didnโt even know if they were the things that I even wanted in my life. So rather than just going, โRight, Iโm just quitting.โ I just decided, โI just need to pause and realign.โ So I spent the whole of that year just trying to figure outโฆ And saying yes and no to things with more intention. So rather than just saying yes to everything because that opportunity was going to potentially get passed on to somebody else, or because I had a fear of losing out on the money or anything like that, it was really about thinking about whether it was right for me.
And if the word โshouldโ came up, if I felt like I should do it, then it was an instant no, because if you feel like you should do something, you actually probably shouldnโt. You need to be doing something because it feels right, not because you should do it.
Killian Vigna: Thatโs really interesting actually, becauseโฆ And the reason I say that is, when the first lockdown came in, everyone just went straight to Twitter and was like, โOh, you should make the most of this time, and you should try and learn a new skill or learn a language or learn an instrument.โ So in my head, Iโm like, โActually, yeah, thatโs a good idea. Iโm going to learn how to play the keyboard. Iโm going to learn how to do photography, and Iโm going to learn X, Y, and Z.โ And there was so much stuff that I felt like I should have put my spare time to, that it actually had a flip side and then you had thisโฆ I donโt even know how to describe it, but then you started feeling likeโฆ
Zoรฉ Bรฉlisle-Springer: Huge pressure.
Killian Vigna: Yeah, pressure and overwhelm because youโre like, โWell, people are telling me I should do this. I feel like I should.โ So Iโm absolutely taking that bit of advice already, straight off the bat, if I say should, itโs a no.
Ashleigh Hodges: Yeah, the thing is, as soon as the word should comes into your head, itโs because itโs coming from an external point. Itโs not coming from inside you. So itโs not very authentic to you at all. So whatever it is that you end up doing, thatโs had that word in it, youโre either not going to follow through on it, or when you do follow through on it, youโre not going to feel the reward that you hoped that you would.
Killian Vigna: Itโs like youโre not doing it for yourself.
Ashleigh Hodges: Yeah, exactly.
Zoรฉ Bรฉlisle-Springer: So, during that year of transition, of putting your boundaries and deciding yes, no to different things, did you find something in particular was more difficult? Like, did you just start saying no to loads of things that, in hindsight, you went, โHmm, maybe I could have said yes to this actuallyโ? Or was itโฆ Was it easy for you to manage that work-life balance?
Ashleigh Hodges: No, it was hard. It still is. Even after that, Iโm not perfect at it. Thereโs still things that I do, and in reflection, I go, โI really, probably shouldnโt have done that.โ Or, โThat wasnโt as right as I felt like it was.โ So nobodyโs perfect with any of this. I got better. I got so much better, but I still have dips and dives where Iโm like, โOh, Iโve let myself down there.โ But that year, in particular, Iโฆ Hairdressers, in general, weโre people-pleasers, and weโre bought into an industryโฆ And the reason why weโre in the industry in the first place is because that aligns with us. And we want to make people happy, no matter whether itโs your clients, the brands that youโre working with, the people in general that youโre working within your community, the reason why youโre there is to make them happy.
And itโs really hard to flip that and try and make yourself happy in the same way, because quite often, saying no to someone, you know thatโs not going to make them happy, but itโs going to be good for you. So itโs a really, really hard thing to get your head around. And there was one job, actually, in particular, that I took that year, that sounded really cool, and in reflection, it wasnโt right at all and, actually, I almost relapsed back toโฆ It was just awful. And I took that job because I liked the person. So I was like, โOh, Iโll do that. Thatโs fine.โ And then I did it, and afterwards, I was like, โThis is the worst job I think Iโve ever worked on.โ But we need those lessons. We need to make those mistakes to realise what is right and what isnโt right.
Making space for check-in moments [11:28]
Killian Vigna: I get the feeling that when we talk about taking care of ourselves, itโs something that we take for granted, really. Like, we know weโre supposed to exercise, weโre supposed to eat clean, weโre supposed to get a good nightโs sleep. Reality isโฆ
Zoรฉ Bรฉlisle-Springer: We should?
Killian Vigna: Weโre not able to do thatโฆ [laughs] Yeah, we should! But I feel like, when it comes to the realisation that you go, โOh, I need to actually start taking care of myself.โ Itโs probably because itโs ad hoc and something in your life has happened. So do you have a process in place where youโre not reactive, youโre more proactive? So letโs say, do you evaluate your life every couple of days or every week or something? Do you force yourself to have a re-evaluation or check-in moments?
Ashleigh Hodges: Yeah. I think check-in moments are really important. I donโt necessarilyโฆ I thinkโฆ I do many check-ins on a daily basis. And to allowโฆ And not to, like you were saying, where you feel like, if youโre not feeling a hundred percent, quite often, we want to just flip that, and we want to feel better straight away. And we always have thisโฆ How do I want to explain it? Thereโs almost a negative-positive, so itโs detrimental for us to want to be positive all the time because thatโs not healthy for us.
So quite often, when we are feeling low, we wonโt allow ourselves to sit in that; we wonโt allow ourselves to understand these feelings. We will instantly want to go out for an exercise, to kick up the endorphins, weโll feel like, โOh, we should be meditating because thatโs going to make us feel better.โ Or, โActually, I should have a really healthy smoothie, and thatโs going to boost me.โ Orโฆ Thereโs all these things, like we said, that you should be doing. And actually, sometimes we have to justโฆ
During that check-in, we just have to absorb how we feel, rather than checking in and trying to fix it. So during those check-ins, you should absorb how youโre feeling and start working through it, rather than trying to instantly fix it. So Iโll do those. And then, just generally throughout the year, if Iโve got goals or if Iโve got something, I will check in with those goals to make sure that theyโre still right for me. Because quite oftenโฆ
Like what happened to me is, Iโd started making all these goals for my life, and I was like 18. And I got to 27, and Iโd hit a load of those goals, but then I was like, โActually, 18-year-old me had a completely different mindset to how I am now. So why am I still trying to get the same thing?โ
So itโs really important for us to check in with all of those elements of our life so that we make sure weโre still on the path that benefits us.
Killian Vigna: Yeah, absolutely.
Finding the tools that work for each of us [14:25]
Zoรฉ Bรฉlisle-Springer: You mentioned something there about sitting with the pain and sitting with the emotion and absorbing it. And itโs interesting you say that because itโs been twice now this week, that Iโve been listening to Instagram stories of people saying you have to essentially do that. And then there was one person who was kind of like a health coach, meditation โ wellness coach, I guess. She said that essentially, when you think about negative thoughts or what you label, anyways, as negative thoughts, itโs much harder to disassociate from that and manage the pain, I guess, of those thoughts. And so, if you start toโฆ I guess itโs a bit of a meditation technique, but if you try to embody those thoughts and just listen to your body, where is it causing tension, essentially.
So maybe those thoughts are linking to tension in your abdomen, for instance. Well, then you sit, and you breathe into your abdomen, and itโs easier to process the physical pain than it is to process the mental pain. So if you try to focus, you get a little bit of relief for even just maybe an hour or so, and you can come back to that exercise. And I thought it was really interesting. I donโt know if youโve ever heard of that or tried it yourself.
Ashleigh Hodges: Yeah, definitely. Itโs interesting because I used to go to have acupuncture, and my acupuncturist used to say that within Chinese medicine, they highly believe that any form of physical pain also has emotional pain linked to it. So you canโt fully heal unless you heel both sides of the coin, so to speak. And thatโs 100% it. And everyone has their own way of sitting with their emotions and breaking it down, so I think, for thoseโฆ Because it is easier for us to work through physical pain than it is emotional pain, thatโs a brilliant technique to use. And I think we all need to find the tools to keep in our back pocket that work for us. And sometimes something will work for you at one point and then potentially might stop working, so you flip it, and you do something else.
But I think when you sit with your emotions, whether youโre breathing through into the physical pain of it or whether youโre trying to break down your emotions yourself, we have a base of what our emotions are. So thereโs an umbrella emotion, so to speak. So feeling sad is an overall emotion, but itโs when you break that down to figure out whereโs that sadness coming from? Is it grief? Is itโฆ I donโt know. Is it actually coming from a form of jealousy? You have to break that down because being sad isnโt just an overall emotion; thereโll be a reason for it. So once you start breaking that down, thatโs when you can go, โOkay, thatโs actually how Iโm genuinely feeling.โ And thatโs when you can start going, โOh, letโs go for a run now. Now I understand what is going on with me; I can now start shifting the emotion.โ
So whether you want to shift it with a run or yoga, exercise or cooking something nice, or whatever it is that you do to make yourself feel happy, you have to break those emotions down before you can even shift them because otherwise, youโre shifting an umbrella emotion. Youโre trying to shift something thatโs way too big.
Killian Vigna: Does it take a lot of work and discipline? Because Iโm sure your mindโฆ Your mind is like a muscle, where you need to work it out to get it stronger and get it bigger. So what youโre saying there, where itโs almost like, โOh, Iโm sad.โ Donโt run away from being sad. Donโt try and find distractions. Actually, delve into the problem. But I feel like if we were to pitch that idea toโฆ Weโll say someone thatโs now working at home, whoโs dealing with kids who are homeschooling, and just about everything else around. That sounds like itโs a lot of work, I suppose toโฆ
Zoรฉ Bรฉlisle-Springer: Overwhelming in itself.
Killian Vigna: Yeah, like overwhelming, youโre going, โHang on now, Iโm trying to work, trying to cook the dinner and do homeschooling. Where am I going to get five, 10 minutes to work this?โ So how do you work this into your life?
Ashleigh Hodges: Itโs just one of those things. Like, we work in brushing our teeth, donโt we? And thereโs all these things that we work into our life so that we are presentable to the rest of society, and thatโs exactly the same thing. We have to just slowly work little things into our life to make it so that youโre presentable for yourself so that you look after yourself and not just the exterior of everything.
So a little tip that I was taught at the very beginning was to put little stickers where you know that your eye is always going to look. So on your phone, on the mirror where you do brush your teeth, or perhaps where you put your makeup on or something like that. Just put these little stickers up, and every time you see a sticker, you stop, and you take three deep breaths. Because thatโs not really going to take that much of your day out. Just every time you look at a sticker, you take three deep breaths, and thatโs instantly going to ground you back into your own body and calm your thoughts so that youโre not feeling that overwhelm or that stress of everything.
And the same with meditation, I loveโฆ Like Oprah always says, โFor people that canโt meditate, meditation is just being in the present.โ So rather than, โRight, okay. I need to take a whole hour to meditate and do this crazy journey into myselfโฆโ You donโt need to do that. You could just, when you walk up the stairs, think, โOh, wow, this is amazing. Iโm walking up the stairs.โ And absorb the feeling of it on your feet and absorb the fact that youโve got these legs that can make you walk up the stairs. Just, in those small moments that we have throughout the day, we can be present, and thatโs going to instantly ground you into the day and stop you from feeling that overwhelm.
Killian Vigna: Yeah. It isโฆ We hear meditation a lot, and it does sound scary at first, where youโre thinking, โOh yeah, thatโs an hour of just sitting in silence.โ It sounds intimidating, but Iโve started giving it a bash myself there recently. And itโฆ Literally 3 to 10 minutes. Thatโs all it takes. I did a 10-minute session just before this recording becauseโฆ I donโt know if I was anxious that it was the first recording of the year and I was excited, or I just had an incredibly strong coffee, but either way, I was really jittery and couldnโt focus. So I just lay in bed for 10 minutes after lunch, and I just felt so chill after. It was so nice. Now, I donโt have kids or homeschooling to deal with, so sorry, guys.
The various spheres of wellness [21:09]
Zoรฉ Bรฉlisle-Springer: Yeah, no, I think thereโs a lot of it that comes back to breathing and how intentional you are with breathing as well. And I love the sticker trick there. I think I might try it myself. When we hear about wellness, automatically, we think about mental health and physical health. But thereโs actually a lot of spheres that touch upon wellness. So, if you think of, say, career, social, creative, or financial wellness, all of these different thingsโฆ For you, which ones are most important to keep a closer eye on, would you say?
Ashleigh Hodges: I think it changes all the time for each individual person and for how you are at that moment. So a couple of years ago, for me, I had to really look after my mental health. And then I spent so long getting the right tools and learning the right lessons to do that, and then I started having to look after other elements of my wellbeing.
Like money is one that I constantly have to learn to look after within my wellbeing, because I run two businesses and money is a stress if I allow it to be a stress because I am useless at keeping on top of things. So for my own personal wellbeing, I have to try and think, โRight. I need to look after future Ashleigh. If I just sort out my bills and if I sort everything out at the end of every month, by the time the tax man needs my money, itโs sorted.โ
Do I do that every month? No, probably not. Thatโs the thing. I always kick myself because it gets to the end of the tax year, and Iโm like, โOh, I really should have done the last six months worth of accounts for my accountant,โ and I havenโt, which means now Iโve got to spend a week doing it, which is detrimental to my wellbeing. But thatโs something that Iโm trying to work on. And then, during the pandemic, youโve got to start looking after your mental health again. So youโve got to start thinking of thatโฆ So at different elements of your life and different timings throughout the year, even throughout the week, different things come up for you that you need to look at. And you just need to give yourself a break, I think, and not try to fix everything straight away and just know that youโre on a journey and itโs fine. Nothingโs linear; weโre all just spiralling around life in the best way we can.
Finding the strength to get past the harder days [23:39]
Killian Vigna: A thing just to touch off what you were saying there, you may have heard of it. I only know about it because Iโm in the education department. So itโs all about the four stages of competence or conscious competence, where you start offโฆ Itโs like learning a new skill, and youโre going, โOh, this is new, but Iโm kind of getting the hang of it. Itโs easy.โ And then you essentially start going through phases of, โOh yeah, real cocky; I know what Iโm doing.โ But then you hit this drop where youโre going, โOh my God.โ Itโs like youโve kind of gone on to the next level of learning that skill and going, โOh my God, I donโt know anything.โ And you start feeling overwhelmed. Essentially, to put short what Iโm saying is, youโre going through a journey where it starts off well, but thereโs always going to be dips and inclines, but inevitably it gets higher as we go on. How do you get over those humps? How do you recognise when, โAlright, this is a bad week, but if I can get through this week, next week might be a good week?โ
Ashleigh Hodges: I had a thing a while back, and itโs stuck with me that, on our good days, we build ourselves up so that on our bad days, we donโt fall down as far. So thatโs what I think of. And Iโll be totally honest, Iโm having a really bad time right now. My cat, whoโs like my baby, has cancer.
Zoรฉ Bรฉlisle-Springer: Oh, Iโm so sorry to hear.
Killian Vigna: Oh no, yeah.
Ashleigh Hodges: So itโs hard to shift through that, as well as the fact that weโre in another lockdown, and for us, we live in London, so weโve actually been in a lockdown since middle of December. So you start to get that kind ofโฆ I always think of the TV show Big Brother, where youโre cabin fever crazy sort of thing. And then the walls feel like theyโre closing in because youโre really emotional, and Iโve got no release for that because I canโt see anybody to perk myself up.
But Iโm not trying to make myself better right now. What I do know is that Iโve spent so long during the good times to build myself up, so I wonโt fall back down to that breakdown period. So when Iโm feeling good, Iโll wake up and Iโll eat something healthy, Iโll do yoga or I might go for a run, or Iโll do my meditations, but I then donโt make myself do anything when Iโm not feeling great. If Iโm not feeling great, then Iโll just sit and read a book, and Iโll absorb, and Iโll just allow myself to feel however Iโm meant to feel, with the knowledge that Iโm going to feel better again, and I can build myself back up again.
Itโs likeโฆ Iโm sure you guys get it where you live, the weather in London, in particular, changes on an hourly basis sometimes.
Killian Vigna: Iโm in Irelandโฆ!
Ashleigh Hodges: [Laughs] And thatโs exactly how our feelings are. So when itโs dark and cloudy and rainy, we know that itโs not going to be like that every single day for the rest of the year. We know that thereโs going to be sunny days again. And thatโs exactly it. You just have to know that youโve looked after yourself enough for those sunny days to come sooner.
Zoรฉ Bรฉlisle-Springer: I think itโs Headspace, the app that just, I think, uses the analogy where youโre on the side of the highway, and you watch the cars go. You watch the clouds, and those are your emotions and your feelings, but they pass and go, and you donโt actually have to live through them constantly at a very intense level. You just kind of acknowledge them and let them go.
Ashleigh Hodges: Yeah, 100%.
Killian Vigna: So youโre essentially embracing those bad days. Like if youโre sad, be sad. If youโre angry, be angry. I suppose itโs better to just get it out of your system, embrace it, get it out of your system, rather than trying to compress it and it builds up?
Ashleigh Hodges: Yeah, 100%. Because if you try and repress it if you try and become fake positive, then itโs just going to come and get you in a stronger way. Itโs like, if you have a cold and you try and push through it, youโre going to end up with that cold for longer. If you actually just go, โRight. Iโm actually not feeling very well. Iโm going to take some extra vitamins, Iโm just going to sit and relax.โ Youโll get over that cold quicker. And itโs exactly the same with our mental health. If we try and push through things and donโt just allow yourself to feel them, youโre going to end up coming back to it in a stronger way down the line, and sometimes when youโre least expecting it and sometimes in a physical manner, just like Zoรฉ had said earlier, itโll reflect back to you in some way. So if you actually just allow yourself to ride through the emotions, then hopefully, in the long run, itโs going to be healthier for you.
Encouraging others to show up for themselves [28:14]
Killian Vigna: So while youโre taking care of yourself and your own wellness, do you do anything to encourage or influence those around you? So whether itโs people youโre working with on a shoot, your colleagues in the workplace, do you do anything to promote wellness with people around you too?
Ashleigh Hodges: Yeah, definitely. So I teach a lot, Iโm an ambassador for Davines, so I teach a lot for them. And every single class, I start, I start the day with us all doing some body tapping, to wake ourselves up and we stretch andโฆ
Killian Vigna: Whatโs body tapping?
Ashleigh Hodges: So it looks really weirdโฆ And for those of you that are listening to this, Iโm showing them how to do it right now.
Killian Vigna: Hands are going everywhere at the moment!
Ashleigh Hodges: Yeah. So you have to tap with your fingers, up and down your body, basically, to wake up all your muscles. And itโs a good thing to start and end your day with because it wakes your muscles up, but it also helps release at the end. So especially for likeโฆ I mean, if Iโve been in the salon and Iโve done some massive highlights and things like that, you lock your body in that position.
So itโs really hard to go from that to lying in bed at the end of the day. And quite oftenโฆ I mean, a lot of the stylists out there listening will understand this, that when you lay in bed sometimes, your back will then seize up, and youโre like, โOh my God, Iโm in so much pain.โ Itโs because weโve not allowed our muscles to release itself again. So we body tap that or stretch or wherever it is, to tell your body itโs time to relax. Otherwise, itโs going to want to continually be in that stressed state
So I start all my classes like that, and again, itโs about allowing yourselfโฆ So whenever weโre on a shoot or if my art team and us, weโre doing anything, make sure you give yourself breaks to have food, breaks to be able to just check in with each other and all of that sort of thing, rather than feeling like you have to push through everything all the time.
Do salons do enough to support staff wellbeing? [30:30]
Killian Vigna: Currently, do you think businesses do enough to encourage this state of mind?
Ashleigh Hodges: I think itโs really hard for businesses because you instantlyโฆ You can get put into a fear mindset so easily, and I do it to myself with both my businesses and I have to tell myself off for it because you get veryโฆ If you work from a fear-based manner, then youโre never going to manifest what you want. So if youโre feeling like, โOh, I should just take that client on.โ Thereโs that word again. โI should just take that client on because it means that Iโm going to earn more money that week, which means Iโm going to hit the commission I want, and Iโm going to hit my targets.โ But if that means that you lose your lunch break, then actually, the rest of the day, youโre never going to do as good a work as you wouldโve done if youโd allowed yourself to have that rest, which means you actually might lose money. Because if youโd done that good work, you would have probably been able to talk to your client into upselling something.
But because youโve ended up squeezing yourself so tight, you now donโt have the brain space to look after them the way that you should be or the way that you know that you can.
Zoรฉ Bรฉlisle-Springer: Thatโs so true.
Killian Vigna: It just becomes like a conveyor belt, nearly, where youโre just like, โRight, client in, out. Client in, out.โ Youโre not taking that time to actually bond, get to know them, and like you said, inevitably upsell, which is key.
Ashleigh Hodges: Yeah, exactly, 100%. And, I mean, weโve all done it where weโve squeezed people in, and then weโre like, โRight, well, thatโs fine because we know that they just have that root touch, and then they have their plane bob. That means I can mix that colour up before theyโre even in the chair, which means I can get them in and out quicker, which means that money was a nice, easy thing to do.โ
Actually, if we hadnโt squeezed them in, when they come in, we could have spoken to them, done a full consultation, and realised that they wanted something more than a root colour, and we could have played around with adding a face frame or changing up their bob to a shorter haircut and restyling it, which meant that theyโd need more products. And all of these things, if we allow ourselves to relax and give ourselves time to breathe, weโre going to work at a higher level. And itโs about working smart, not working under that fear-based feeling.
Killian Vigna: Absolutely.
Reflections, upcoming events & final words [32:50]
Zoรฉ Bรฉlisle-Springer: Well, Ashleigh, this has been absolutely fantastic. And for anyone listening today, Ashleighโs coming back to the UK UpLift! event, so sheโll be with us again on February 8th, and youโll be talking about setting wellness goals for 2021, arenโt you?
Ashleigh Hodges: Yes. Iโm looking forward to it.
Zoรฉ Bรฉlisle-Springer: Perfect. And the last thingโฆ
Killian Vigna: And that event isnโt something that you should attend; itโs something that you must attend!
Zoรฉ Bรฉlisle-Springer: Exactly.
Ashleigh Hodges: Yeah! You know in your gut, itโs the right thing to do.
Zoรฉ Bรฉlisle-Springer: Exactly. Yeah. And before we end todayโs conversation, I have these thought starter cards. Theyโre all mixed. Iโm going to flip the first one. I have no idea whatโs on the top, and hopefully, we can get this conversation going with our listeners out there and push this further on social as well. So here we go. Are you ready? What do you want your legacy to be?
Ashleigh Hodges: Thatโs an interesting thing. Isnโt it?
Killian Vigna: Iโm stumped as well.
Ashleigh Hodges: Do you want me to answer it, Zoรฉ?
Zoรฉ Bรฉlisle-Springer: Yeah, absolutely! Go for it.
Ashleigh Hodges: Iโm trying to think. What do I want my legacy to be? I just always think, for me, and I feel like people should, in general, just always leave the earth a better place than it was when you started. So no matter whether thatโs a small thing or a big thing because some of us have big energy, some of us have small energy, as long as itโs left with something more special, I think that is what I would like my legacy to be.
Zoรฉ Bรฉlisle-Springer: Thatโs beautiful! I love that.
That is very nice, yeah.
Zoรฉ Bรฉlisle-Springer: Ashleigh, thank you so much for being on the show with us today and for people looking to get in touch with you or learn more about anything that you do; where can people find you online?
Ashleigh Hodges: So you can find meโฆ The best place to find me is Instagram @Ashleigh_hodges_hair. So itโs underscore between each word. So yeah, find me on Instagram.
Killian Vigna: Ashleigh, itโs been fantastic having you on the show! Thank you so much.
Ashleigh Hodges: Thank you for having me; lovely to chat to you both!
Zoรฉ Bรฉlisle-Springer: So we mentioned UpLift! earlier, and I wanted to give a bit more context as to what that event is. UpLift! powered by Phorest is a virtual event, and the salon owners kickstart to 2021. We have exclusive reveals of product features that will get your team into peak performance for the year ahead. And weโve also got loads of interactive sessions to let you in on whatโs next in-salon tech. Tickets are no longer on sale, but if you had tickets for the original date on January 25th, please keep an eye out in your emails for information on the rescheduled date, Monday, February 8th. We appreciate you blocking off time out of your calendar to come hang out with us and truly hope you can make it on the eighth.
One last thing before we sign off! Donโt forget to head over to phorest.com/fm for two things. First, thatโs where you can access the transcripts, as we mentioned at the very start of the show. Second, you want to subscribe to the showโs email newsletter to get all the updates, the guestsโ downloadable content, any resources or webinars, events coming up, and thatโll be delivered straight to your inbox weekly. For now, itโs on Wednesdays. If you have any suggestions or would rather have it on another day, please let us know, weโre open to suggestions. But otherwise, itโs delivered straight to your inbox on Wednesdays. As always, if you want to share your thoughts on Phorest FM or this episode specifically, you can send us an email at phorestfm@phorest.com or leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Weโd love to hear from you. Otherwise, stay safe, and weโll catch you next Monday.
Killian Vigna: All the best!
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