By Daryl Conner
April 1, 2020
As I look around my grooming studio, I see several items that we have recently tried—and now don’t know how we did without them. the best part is that they were all very affordable.
One way to combat boredom and burnout in grooming is to try new tools and methods. Fresh products can change things up for the better, and they don’t have to be expensive to improve the way you work!
Here are my top 6:
1. better hearing protection: I adopted foam– style ear plugs lots of years ago and use them when I am operating my high velocity dryer. We only get one set of ears and keeping them safe is so important. The foam plugs are ok, but I recently read about plugs that offer “attenuation filter technology.” What this indicates is that the plugs allow you to have normal conversations, listen to your favorite grooming podcast, and even answer the phone, but filter out the loud sounds of dogs barking and dryers blowing.
At $25 a set they were pricier than my trusty foam plugs, but they sounded intriguing, so I bought sets for my employee and myself. made from soft silicone, I easily forget I am wearing them. and their advertising is true; I can speak to customers, answer calls and jam to tunes while wearing them. but the higher decibels are blocked. I got mine at www.earpeace.com and am thrilled with them.
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2. save your Breath: I’ve known for years that I must be wearing a breathing mask while I work. I’ve tried a variety of them. I don’t like the way the ones that hook over my ears feel. The kind that have a band that goes behind my head gets tangled in my hair and makes a mess. And, because I wear glasses, nearly every filter I’ve tried makes my breath condense on my lenses. grooming with foggy glasses is a discouraging challenge!
Then I read about another groomer that wears a face shield and checked into them. These are popular with outdoor sports enthusiasts and bikers to secure their faces from cold and wind. The brand I brought was at www.safishing.com and they say on the label that they filter particulates. We wear them around our necks, and it’s easy to pull them up to cover our noses and mouths when we turn the dryers on or buff nails. They are soft and comfortable, and our glasses don’t get fogged up when we breathe. Bonus, they come in a large range of colors. I caught a sale and got four for around $20.
3. Pain–Free Clotting Gel: occasionally a wiggling pet dog gets a claw cut shorter than intended. Styptic power stops the bleeding but does sting a little. I recently discovered a product called incredibly Clot. I got mine online, but they carry it at Walmart, too. It is created for animals and consists of a little Lidocaine, so it acts as a pain killer while stopping the bleeding. A one–ounce tube was under $10.
4. color Your World: have you ever wanted to dabble in coloring a dog, but didn’t want the hassle and mess of taking care of dye? OPAWZ has come out with funky color Shampoo. just rinse a white or light–colored dog, work the shampoo in, wait ten or a lot more minutes and rinse. The color goes on deep and bright, but leaves a great pastel once rinsed out. My pink poodle is by my side as I write this. I love how easy it is to color her, and my customers love to see her looking like a stuffed toy. This was a fun find! www.opawz.com
5. subscription Bow Box: always innovative, the great people at Bardel Bows have recently started a bow subscription service called Club Bowdacious. I can’t tell you how ecstatic we get when our monthly box arrives. Delise Knight from Bardel says, “What makes it so special is that it is a mixture of all of our bows geared towards things that you will use in that month from neckwear to top knot bows to ear bows to fascinators. We created it for groomers who are too busy to sit down and make an buy and we love that groomers depend on us enough to supply them with all they need for that following month.” Subscriptions are only open three times a year. To get on their notification list, go to their web site and register www.bardelbows.com
6. get the Matts Out: Are you still using the same old detangling spray you’ve had for years? products continue to improve and there are some exceptional new sprays out there to make brush–outs easier. Our new favorite is Matt–x by Artero. One spritz and a little gentle work with a good slicker brush and eureka, the matt is gone! It leaves no scent to clash with your products and there is no greasy residue. around $20 a bottle, it lasts a long time and is our new go–to.
Have you tried something new in your grooming service lately? There are so lots of innovative and beneficial products available to groomers now, and trying special things can really make an impact on how you work. I’ve been making a routine of adding one new thing to my list whenever I buy supplies; maybe a different style grooming loop or type of spray bottle I have not experiencenull