Do not scare the hairdresser

The coronavirus has had a disastrous impact on the hairdressing and beauty business across the country. For Bożena Czajkowska, a hairdresser from Warsaw, the pandemic has become a test for her self-discipline, perseverance, strength and character. She came out of it sore, but stronger. With new ideas. When I arrive at Bożena's salon – this time to talk, not to refresh my haircut – she opens the door for me, joyfully jumping up and down like a ping-pong ball, full of energy and enthusiasm. She smiles constantly, even though she works from morning to night. She is making up for lost time. Because of the ban on hairdressers’ salons, she did not work for several weeks, not leaving the house at all. The COVID-19 pandemic knocked her back right after she settled in her new place in Mokotów, Warsaw. I see this 44-year-old woman from Ciechanów, a master hairdresser with almost 30 years of experience as an embodiment of modesty and extraordinary courage.

I said I was leaving

It was her father who saw the talent and passion in her. “All the dolls in the house had a haircut. So did the dog. My father used to walk around with ponytails on his head. I combed everyone's hair,” Bożena says, laughing. She became a hairdresser when she was 15. Even before joining the vocational school, she got an internship in a small salon in Ciechanów. “I was so scared. And I was so ashamed. But I kept hearing: “You have to start working!"

First cut?

“It was my father. Of course, I had no idea about any haircut technique, but he took it with great dignity. He told colleagues at work that Kamiński, the best male hairdresser in Ciechanów, cut his hair. They said he should have made a complaint... as time went by, his haircuts got better and better”, Bożena laughs. Her father was a great support to her. He was very critical, but perhaps that is why Bożena deals with criticism well and does not break down. If help was needed, he helped. But mostly, he pushed her out of the house, into the deep end: “You’re on your own!”, he used to say. Bożena always worked for someone. Her longest spell was 18 years in a salon in one of Warsaw's hotels. Investors changed every two or three years. New orders, new concepts all the time. It is business for them, but for Bożena and her friends it was life. And in the end she said “no” to yet another new boss: “what she was trying to force on me at that moment in my life was inhumane. I said I was leaving. It was such an emotional kick”, Bożena recalls. Then she started her own business and took with her almost all the employees.

A businesswoman, not a hairdresser

The changeover turned out to be more difficult than she had expected. The new place had to be adapted to the needs of a hairdressing salon. “The owner wanted me to accept an unfinished salon,” she says. “I disagreed and I demanded my deposit back. The case is in court.”

She becomes angry: “The landlord and the renovator in one person thought he was dealing with some little hairdresser who could be persuaded to do whatever he wanted.” Meanwhile, she prepared herself, hired a lawyer and showed him! “He saw that time was the issue for me”, Bożena explains. “But he was surprised that I expected it to be the way it was supposed to be! He could not believe I was refusing to accept this place. He told me I had no right to do that. Then I felt even more powerful. He was very surprised that I am not just any hairdresser, but a businesswoman, a woman who knows what she wants!”

“You did not let go. Are you stubborn?”.

“I am”, she affirms. “Very much so. When I think of something, I am not going to let it go.”

She finally found a new place. Her husband helped with the renovation and decoration.

“You know, the mentality of builders”, she explains. “When a guy comes in and yells, they listen. And when a woman says something, she is seen as paranoid. So I asked my husband for a backup. I stood behind his back and was saying what was wrong. And they listened to him.”

She is proud of the place. For the last 18 years she had been working underground without daylight, so she is very happy with the big windows. It is very light, and very spacious.

“I feel so great in this place that I do not want to leave it. This is my second home. I feel safe here. I could just clean here 24/7, be here 24/7”, she says, and I see that together with Ela, a close associate, advisor and consultant, they are polishing up the finest details in the salon, making decisions together. Only three of her regular clients did not accept the new location.

“They must miss the red carpet”, Bożena smiles. “They said this new place was not prestigious enough for them.” Only three customers out of three thousand...

When I ask if it was worth going for, she says without a hint of hesitation: “Of course!” And she explains that being both a boss and a hairdresser, she knows what this place needs. Finally, she has a full range of products from different companies. She provides customers with the possibility to choose. She tries to be the boss that she always wanted to have, she understands people – when an employee needs a day off, they get it.

“Many women are afraid to start their own business,” I say “There is nothing to be afraid of! Of course, there are daily responsibilities. After all, I would not say that I failed to pay Social Security, tax or salary, because I could not be bothered to do the paperwork.. The first day of the month comes and I stand at my accountant’s attention.”

Troubles? “There is always something ‘hiding behind a corner’. Now we are trying with this anti-crisis shield (editor’s note: anti-crisis shield is the name of a Polish aid package for businesses affected by Covid-19), this is the fourth time I have filled out a request. But I do know one thing: you must not give up! Anyone who has dreams, passions, likes to do what they do can start their own business.”

“I know a lot of women who love something, talk about something with pleasure, and do something completely different. They are struggling. They should follow their hearts.”

What is the best thing about a hairdresser's job?

“Satisfaction that I make people happy. That there is a twinkle of satisfaction in the eyes of the client when she sees the effect of my work. That she is looking forward to another visit when she would feel this wonderful, this beautiful again. And I get these kinds of situations every day – I am glowing.”

“I have a wonderful profession. Did you know that hairdressers are one of the happiest professions in the world?”, she asks.

Indeed, I check later and a survey conducted by the London School of Economics ranks hairdressers just after gardeners and florists among the happiest professional groups.

What does she dream of?

“To be happy. Always! I want my daughters to be happy, to find their passion too. The elder is asking me now: ‘Mom, what will I do when I’m older?’ ‘Whatever you want, I answer. All that matters is that you like it.’ This is very important. She has got to figure it out on her own.”

Her daughters are 8 and 13 years old. Her family is, as she says: “The other part of me.”

“My husband is also a determined, honest man who does not show much affection, but when everything falls apart, he can help,” she says.

Her husband is a baker by profession, and has always been very involved in running the house and taking care of the children. “After I had my children, I went back to work when each of our daughters was six months old. He dressed them and fed them. I was on my way home from work, and the baby was asleep... Sometimes we would argue and there would be three days of silent treatment, but then we would resolve it calmly. We would reflect and calm down. And in fact, if it was not for him, no one would be able to tolerate me!”

Her most important value?

“To make sure that people around me are happy, that they are safe”.

Every head is the most important

I have been watching Bożena for years, and I know she has no exaggerated ego or exuberant ambition. With her knowledge, imagination and talent, she could be brilliant on TV, yet she prefers to focus on customers and clients in her salon. When she works, you can see that she care about nothing more than the person whose hair she is cutting. When I tell her that, she smiles modestly: “It gives me goosebumps”.

Passion, intuition and diligence are the keys to her success. She loves what she does. She can describe every hairstyle and colouring, and prepares technical drawings of hairstyles.

She is still learning. Every time she goes to an international event, she always learns something new. She shows me her beloved comb with which she caused a sensation during training in Italy. When she talks about it, she strokes the comb and cuddles it, along with her scissors, like a precious object. She explains to me there is a pattern in the cuts. If you fail to notice it, you cannot make haircuts more flamboyant, more extravagant. “A haircut is like a geometric solid”, she explains. “Technical drawing, working angles, planes. This is only explained in training courses which cost a lot of money. And not every hairdresser can afford it”.

Will she start her own school?

“I would have to work much less with clients”, she says thoughtfully and explains how hairdressing academies and training works: “Most of the time it is about selling products. It does not involve transfer of knowledge or learning about techniques, instead it is more about promotion. It is a way for an investor to do business, but not for a hairdresser".

When I ask her if she thinks of herself as a craftsman or an artist, she smiles and says: “Depends on what stage. At first it is craftsmanship, and then it is artistry. Every haircut needs to be tailored to a person. It takes years to refine the workshop, the capability”.

How many people have had their hair cut by her in 29 years? We count together. On average, four to six people a day, 300 days a year, excluding Sundays and holidays...

“I may be tired of waving the hairdryer, but I am never tired of people”, she says. She says there are no annoying customers, just demanding ones who want to know more and will not settle for an easy answer. They need specific, clear answers to their questions. Above all, you need to listen to them".

When I ask her for instructions for clients about what not to do, she laughs.

“Do not scare the hairdresser”, she replies. “Because then they freeze up”. A scared hairdresser will do nothing, because they do not want to make their client unhappy. You have to let the hairdresser do what they want. Trust them. Sometimes my clients come to me and show me a picture. When I see it is photoshopped, I say straight up: “We cannot do that. Not that hair texture, not that skin colour.” Sometimes you have to stand up for yourself: I will not do it, and that is it.

Promotion for her salon is based on customer referrals and word of mouth.

“I have had a very pleasant situation lately. Our competition nearby is closing down. On Saturday, a client of theirs came to see me, saying that she wanted to make an appointment on their recommendation that Bożena gives a good haircut. Two days later, I went to thank them for that gesture and wished them luck in a new location. They were surprised. But I had this urge to go and say thank you. We are competitors, but in hard times, we must remember each other. Saying nice things is important.”

Support is especially important now, in coronavirus times. The pandemic was a difficult for Bożena, as it was for the entire hairdressing business in Poland. But it was also a test of character. Two girls quit her team. One she had worked with one for 16 years, the other for 10. They could not handle the pressure. One worked in the basement, the other in another room. Coronavirus has put her through a lot. The most important thing for her was to maintain a place to go back to. Had she not saved some money, she would not have made it. Her biggest challenge today?

“Just going back to work, hoping that the government doesn’t shut me down again. That the virus won’t come back. I will obey all the restrictions, but I know I will not let them shut me down once again. I will not shut down my place, even if they were to punish me. If they fine me? I will not pay, I will go to court. I can get tested, I can get tested every day, but I will not let them shut me down.”

Her plans?

“I advertised that I needed hairdressers. I wonder whether the job applicants will be people who have behaved disloyally towards their bosses or people who are changing places for life reasons. The salons are closing because they are run by investors who do not want to invest in the business. Bożena is looking for solutions, but she is not worried. Too many people cannot work at the same time anyway. Smaller number of hairdressers means it is easier to keep a distance and it is safer for customers".

She is looking around her place with real pride. “It is not easy. But I am really happy”, she says.

Text and photos by Dorota Warakomska