5.1.7 – Reasons Why You Would Poke Yourself

WHAT THIS LESSON CONTAINS:

• Fidgety clients
Some clients will be very fidgety, their scalp might be in pain, or they’re just very expressive when they talk which leads to a lot of movement while you’re trying to work with their hair. Therefore, when you’re moving the hook in and out of the dreadlock and the client is moving, it can shift the trajectory of the hook to end up in your finger. In these situations you’ll have to remind the client to sit still. In some cases you’ll have to stop what you’re doing, look them square in the eyes, and make a very strong point that they must sit still..

• Sneezes and coughs
Like the last point, sometimes a client will sneeze out of nowhere. This will shift the hook’s trajectory to potentially poke your finger.

• Children or pets crawling on the client
Similar to the first two points, when children or pets are active it will likely distract the client and the client will be moving to address the child or the pet. Or a child or pet will want to climb on the client. Movement such as this can lead to the hook shifting its trajectory leading to poking your finger.

• Slippery hair or tools
When the hair and your tools are slippery from product, it leads to more fatigued hands and less control. Both these elements can lead to poking your finger.

• Skinny dreadlocks
Skinnier dreadlocks can be a bit of a challenge because you have much less surface area to work with. Therefore, you often must pinch the dreadlock tighter which results in a higher likelihood of poking yourself.

• Fatigued – long jobs
As a long appointment drags on, your hands and body will become more fatigued over time. This results in less control and precision of the hook which can result in poking your finger.

• Various distractions
Along with all of the points above, if you’re in an environment with lots of distractions you might have a higher likelihood of poking yourself. Situations like this take your attention and focus off the control and precision of your hook, and also lead to the client moving, which can both lead to poking your finger.