Redlands Beauty Centre

It's not personal... It's just business

It's not personal... It's just business

But it is personal, at least it is for me, and most of downtown Redlands. State Street is all about personal service. It's about shopping where the employees know your name (I know... the Cheers theme song is playing in my head too), but beyond knowing your name, they know how old your kids are, what you like to buy. I don't know about you, but I have a hard time getting real people on the phone anymore (Press 1 for... Press 2 for... Say Yes or No after the tone). It is about waitresses knowing what your "usual" is, and calling you on the one day of the month when they are serving your favorite soup. So I disagree, it is personal and it's business. I am the third generation of my family to work in our store. I grew up here... I know our clients, I know their kids, and sometimes their grandkids. We support their charities, their businesses, and their schools.

Last week the Redlands Daily Facts ran an article titled, "Times Tough for City's Downtown" http://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/search/ci_9820156?IADID=Search-www.redlandsdailyfacts.com-www.redlandsdailyfacts.com
This story (more appropriately the comments made by the Chamber of Commerce) and the resulting fall-out has stirred up the owners of State Street businesses. I don't know of anyone on State Street that wasn't sad to see that Crackerjack is closing its doors. I have been shopping there for 15 years, I was friends with her son in high school. The story shocked many of us because the Chamber has relegated State Street to being solely an eating destination, not a shopping destination; and also that Downtown Redlands does not have a "unique character" like Citrus Plaza does. Citrus Plaza is a corporate shopping center that looks just like every other corporate shopping center in every other city in America. Smart business owners know there is no way to "compete" with these types of big-box-stores. We all know people that work at Citrus Plaza, but we know the owners of State Street. Small business owners offer personal customer service. The beauty industry is one of the industries that is hit hardest in an economic slow-down. Typically when consumers start saving, luxury items are the first ones cut. Our store has been on State Street for more than 35 years, we have weathered economic slumps and recessions. You learn to roll with the punches, it's hard to roll with sucker punches though.

In the past week and a half I have spoken to other owners on the street, and read all of the forum topics about the question the Facts posed the community: "How can downtown Redlands remain a shopping destination?" http://www.topix.net/forum/source/redlands-daily-facts/TN5VOLRCIVH84QGM9. The feedback is AMAZING!!! Parking seems to be the number one concern, and rightfully so. It has been an issue for years, and now the city is compounding the problem by passing out hefty parking tickets. The second concern is the price levels downtown. One store in particular is mentioned often, and I am going to assume that people are talking about DenM because of the expensive jean comments. For those people that have never visited DenM they offer more than designer jeans. They have fantastic (inexpensive) jewelry. I am constantly asked where I got my necklace, and more often than not the answer is DenM. They aren't just about designer jeans. They carry other lines that are reasonably priced, and you don't have to worry about running into your own shirt everywhere you go. If you haven't been in, I recommend you stopping by some day if for nothing else than to admire the local artwork. The comments say that store owners have lost touch, and have not kept pace with the economy and consumer's tightening budgets. I cannot speak for anyone other than our own store, and we have altered our buying. We have started bringing in more jewelry and gift items that are more moderately priced, as well as, hair and skin care items. Our spa is seeing more people book shorter appointments. We rent 8 spaces behind the spa for our spa guests to use, and we recently began offering a pick-up service for guests with appointments.

We never like to feel like we have lost touch with the community, and we have enjoyed reading the good and the bad responses to the paper's question. We want to show that we are listening. And it is personal to us.

Are you ready for the Sun?

Is your skin? What about your hair?

It's that time of year again. When those of us who haven't been religious with our sunscreen in the winter decide maybe it's time to dig out the SPF (at least when we go play outside). I get tons of questions about sunscreen so I thought I would post some of them here. The Number 1 rule of sun protection is that it won't work if you don't use it, and you won't use it if you don't like how it feels. Sunlight is your skin's (and hair color's) worst enemy. UVA & UVB rays can attack you in your car, in the shade, and through almost any window. UV rays cause premature aging, skin cancer, and cause hair color to fade.

Sun damage doesn't begin at a certain age, but we know now that anytime we are outside we need to have something on SPF15 at the bare minimum to reduce the chance of hyperpigmentation and age spots later on. So if you are young protect your skin now! You can still get a tan, just do it the right way. If you are older and already notice signs of your indiscriminate youth remember it's never too late to start taking better care of your skin.

When should I wear sunscreen?
Every day. Period. 365 days a year, rain or shine. Ultraviolet rays penetrate even on cloudy days and glass. I blame my tiny Native American heritage for my ability to tan no matter what even when I wear a low SPF. I rarely burn, but I put sunscreen on my face every morning, because I don't want to look like Magda in the There's Something about Mary movie. So, even if you have dark skin, do not neglect the sun protection. You'll thank me later, trust me.

What exactly is SPF?
Sun Protection Factor. It is how we measure the ability of a product to block UVB rays. The rating is calculated by measuring sunburn time with and without sunblock. If it takes you 30 minutes for my bare skin to burn, then using an SPF15 will lengthen that amount of time to 15 times longer (7.5 hours).

What SPF is right for me?
This is where your skin complexion comes into account. The lighter your skin, the higher SPF you need. SPF 15 blocks 92% of the UVB rays. This should be the absolute minimum for everyone. Medium to light skin tones could use SPF 30 which blocks 96%. SPF 45 blocks 95%. My advice is to start with 30 and go from there. (Ladies... buy cute hats to match your bathing suits. Fewer lines and wrinkles)

UVA? UVB? UV-huh?
UVB rays are shorter, ultraviolet rays thatburn the outer layer of skin causing redness. UVA rays are longer wavelengths penetrate the deeper layers of skin, and are believed to be responsible for pre-mature aging and skin cancer. Make sure your sunscreen protects from both kinds of UV rays. 

Chemical Sunscreen vs. Physical Block?
Chemical sunscreens absorb into the skin and absorb the sunlight when it hits the skin. Physical sunblocks sit on the surface of the skin and reflect sunlight away. Most people like the chemical sunblocks because they rub in to the skin. Physical blocks are great for people with sensitive skin or allergies to chemical blocks.

What's the best time to put on sunscreen?
I think the easiest time is when you put on your make-up. The baseline is 30 minutes before sun exposure, so before you go outside to the pool. Most sunscreens should be reapplied every 3-4 hours, and immediately after swimming or perspiring.

What's the deal with anti-oxidant boosted sunscreens?
Antioxidants like Vitamins A, C and E help neutralize free radicals, which can dehydrate your skin and add to concerns of pre-mature aging. Vitamin E has tremendous healing powers as well. Any sunscreen that has antioxidants added is a bonus.. just like the power booster in our Jamba Juice smoothies.

Would you like a refill?

I practically grew up in Redlands Beauty, a lot of the customers can say they remember when I was 4 feet tall. I've seen the store change and evolve, and I feel like the people that have worked, or do work here now, are part of my extended family. In the past few years we have had some personnel changes. Karen, our manager for 20 years, moved to Exeter with her family, Stephanie opened her own business, Sylvia switched over to running our warehouse, I moved to the store, and Lillian has taken a step back. And even though I'm really not a new face, a lot of clients don't recognize me. Unintentionally we have attracted a new type of employee, the part-time student so when clients come in the staff is not the same three people everyday. I think it's affecting the way our client's see us as a whole.

When I was younger, my grandma used to tell me that we wanted our customer service to be like Nordstrom's, and new hires used to know exactly what that meant. Now, I have to define what it means to go all-out for a client, because it's hit-or-miss at most Nordstroms. So, now, whenever I go anywhere I watch the employees to see what bothers me as a customer so I can make sure we don't do it at RBC. But what bothers me may not always bother you. Usually I don't mind if I'm not greeted when I walk in somewhere; for some people that's a big deal; and that's ok. You should be greeted.

Working downtown (or maybe it's because we're a salon too) we have a lot of people ask for restaurant recommendations. I like to eat downtown, I like to support the locals, and I don't like to waste my break driving around. So 4 days out of 5 I hoof it to one of the nearby eateries. Today, I went around the corner to what's normally a great restaurant, but I left irritated. I ordered, I'm reading my book, it's after the lunch rush, there's only a few other tables full, but I have to keep flagging my waitress down. This brings me to my main irritant... (I think a lot of it was just a lot of little things adding up because it's really not that big a deal, but it got me thinking) after paying 3/4 the price for a 1/2 a salad, not really enjoying the salad, I asked my server for a to-go cup because I'm heading back to work for another 5 hours, she dropped off the cup and the lid while I was paying. So I'm left with the option of waiting until she surfaces again, or pouring the remainder of my drink in my cup. I waited a few minutes and when she didn't come back I poured my coke into the styrofoam cup and headed back to work. Halfway back I tossed it, because it was really just coke-flavored-melted-ice-water.

Now, obviously, this wasn't a life-threatening-never-gonna-eat-there-again experience. But I came back to the store wondering what little things I might be doing that irritate people when they come in to RBC? It might be something as small as a fresh refill, or a smile when they walk-in. Or it might be something HUGE like.. well I don't know what HUGE is to you... but I would like to. Scratch that.. I would love to know.