the Hello Hair Pro podcast

Jen & Todd Ford
  • 5.0 (13)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

This is a place for education, inspiration, and entertainment. Our mission is to help as many hair pros, salon, and barbershop owners as possible by sharing our stories, experiences, and thoughts on business.

  1. 1d ago

    What Does a Successful Salon Actually Look Like? [EP:265]

    "Send us a message!" Being fully booked sounds like the goal. But should it be? This week we're keeping things a little lighter and working through three salon-business questions we haven't spent much time preparing for ahead of time. First, why are recruiting and retention still such massive challenges for salon owners? We talk about what salons compete on, whether the careers we're offering have evolved with what employees actually want, and why promising a great workplace isn't enough if the reality doesn't match. Then we question one of the industry's favorite measures of success: being fully booked. If you're booked at 100% for the next six weeks, is that something to celebrate—or does it mean you waited too long to raise prices, have no room for new demand, can't accommodate existing clients who need to reschedule, and have eliminated flexibility from your business? Finally, we look at salon revenue. Industry data shows revenue increasing even while clients, visits, and services remain slightly down. So if your revenue increased because your prices increased, did your business actually grow? Revenue matters. But so do demand, profitability, utilization, client count, employee income, capacity, and what you're actually taking home. Sometimes the number going up isn't the whole story. Key Takeaways Recruiting problems aren't necessarily solved by simply offering a higher commission.Your hiring process, mission, values, employee growth opportunities, leadership, and understanding of who you want to attract all matter.Don't promise employees a workplace experience you aren't actually delivering.Salon careers need to evolve with what today's professionals actually value.Being 100% booked isn't automatically the ultimate sign of success.Extreme utilization may signal that you've waited too long to raise prices.A completely full schedule leaves little room for cancellations, rescheduling, new clients, last-minute demand, or employee flexibility.If clients repeatedly can't get an appointment, eventually they may stop trying.The goal isn't an empty schedule, but the sweet spot probably isn't a permanently locked schedule either.Revenue growth and business growth aren't necessarily the same thing.If revenue increases only because prices rose while demand stayed flat or declined, you need more information before declaring victory.Profit matters.Demand matters.Capacity and utilization matter.Employee earnings matter.Serving fewer clients can still represent improvement if you're producing more profit, more income, or a better business with less work.The correct definition of growth ultimately depends on what you're trying to build.Time Stamps 00:00 — Opening Takes 04:00 — This or That 09:00 — Why is salon recruiting still so difficult? 10:00 — What are salons competing on for employees? 11:30 — Have salon careers evolved with the workforce? 13:00 — Why copying other salons doesn't solve recruiting 15:00 — Delivering what you promised employees 17:00 — Is being fully booked actually the goal? 18:00 — What does 100% utilization really tell you? 19:00 — Underpricing, demand and availability 20:00 — The hidden problems with being booked six weeks out 22:00 — Last-minute booking behavior has changed 24:00 — Full books can eliminate flexibility and future demand 25:00 — Salon revenue is growing—but is the business? 27:00 — Revenue growth vs. demand growth 28:00 — Why profit changes the conversation 30:00 — What real salon growth looks like 32:00 — The first question to ask when someone says their salon grew 32:30 — One Last Thing Question of the Week If your salon's revenue grew 10% this year, what else would need to improve for you to consider that real growth? Your business should serve you, so that you can serve others. And as always, keep learning, keep growing, and keep having fun. Links and Stuff: Our Newsletter Mentoring Inquiries Find more of our things: Instagram Hello Hair Pro Website

  2. Sep 28

    How to Build Authority as a Hairstylist [EP:264]

    "Send us a message!" Anyone can call themselves an expert. The harder part is proving it. If you're a hairstylist, barber, nail tech, esthetician, or salon owner, you probably already have knowledge your clients are looking for. The question is whether anyone can find it before they sit in your chair. In this episode, we're breaking down something we're actively building at Hello Hair Co.: turning the knowledge already inside our team into useful resources that help clients solve problems, build trust, and choose the right professional for them. We talk about why a website shouldn't only tell people your hours, prices, services, and how to book; why beautiful hair photos aren't always enough to differentiate you; and why simply calling yourself a blonding expert doesn't establish authority. We also dig into the pressure hair pros feel to constantly post, make Reels, chase trends, gain followers, and become content creators—and why we think there's another path. Instead of constantly starting over with the next post or trend, we're focused on building evergreen assets: useful answers to questions clients are already asking that can continue being discovered long after they're published. And we're already seeing it work. Clients have chosen individual hair pros at Hello after reading their articles. Our team is asking to contribute more. And one recent client drove about 30 minutes to Hello after discovering us online and connecting with our commitment to education.  You don't need to become an influencer. You need to give people a reason to trust what you know. The Big Idea Authority isn't something you call yourself. It's something you demonstrate. Key Takeaways Treat your staff like professionals if you want them to begin seeing themselves as professionals.Clients aren't always searching for a generic “salon near me.” They're increasingly looking for someone who understands a specific problem or service.Attention isn't the same thing as trust.Great photos can show your work, but they don't necessarily show how you think.Anyone can call themselves an expert. Authority comes from demonstrating what you know.Teach something, explain it simply, help someone make a decision, or solve part of their problem before they ever pay you.Your website shouldn't only explain how someone can do business with you. It should help explain why they should trust you.Build authority around the individual people inside the company, not only the salon brand.Giving staff opportunities to share their expertise can support client growth, professional development, pride, and contribution.Social media can be useful for attention—but likes and followers aren't necessarily business outcomes.You don't need to become an influencer to build a successful clientele.Use attention to move people somewhere they can learn more about you and your expertise.If you don't know what content to create, start with the questions clients ask you repeatedly.Evergreen content compounds. A useful resource can continue being discovered instead of resetting to zero with every new post.Don't chase every trend. Build a growing library of useful information.Generic content isn't enough. Knowledge, personality, experience, and real stories are what differentiate your expertise.Don't create content about something you don't understand. Stick to what you know—or document what you're genuinely learning.Search platforms and AI need useful information to answer people's questions. The strategy isn't to trick them; it's to provide better answers.Build useful things on platforms you control whenever possible. 264 264 264Time Stamps 00:00 — Opening Takes 02:30 — Train or Fire 06:30 — Why we started building Client Resources 09:30 — How clients actually choose a salon or hairstylist 11:00 — Why calling yourself an expert isn't enough 13:00 — What creates trust before the appointment? 14:30 — What clients are really looking for in a consultation 16:00 — Experience, confidence, and demonstrating authority 18:00 — Give away knowledge before someone pays you 20:00 — Your website shouldn't just tell people how to book 21:00 — Building the authority of your staff—not just the salon 22:00 — Why this creates opportunities for your team 25:30 — We're already seeing clients choose people because of the content 28:00 — A client trusted us before we'd even met 30:00 — You don't have to become an influencer 32:00 — Attention is useful. What happens after you get it? 34:00 — Don't know what to create? Answer your clients' questions 35:30 — Why we're building evergreen assets 38:00 — Stop restarting from zero every week 39:00 — Search, AI, and becoming a trusted source 41:00 — Why generic content won't work 44:00 — How to start building authority today 45:30 — What we're betting on for the future 47:30 — One Last Thing 264 264 Question of the week. What question have your clients asked you 100 times that you still haven't answered publicly? Your business should serve you, so that you can serve others. Stop telling people you're an expert. Give them something that proves it. Links and Stuff: Our Newsletter Mentoring Inquiries Find more of our things: Instagram Hello Hair Pro Website

  3. Sep 21

    Are You Tracking the Wrong Salon KPIs? [EP:263]

    "Send us a message!" “Know your numbers.” Salon owners hear it constantly. Rebooking.  Retail percentage.  Average ticket.  Productivity.  Retention.  New clients. But knowing your numbers isn't the same thing as understanding your business. In this episode, we're digging into KPIs (key performance indicators) and why blindly tracking the same handful of industry-standard metrics may be giving you an incomplete picture of what's actually happening inside your salon. We talk about why a KPI should start with a question, not a benchmark; how a “good” number can still tell the wrong story; and why sometimes you need to go another layer deeper before deciding what to do. We use real examples from Hello, including declining rebooking while revenue, profit, visit frequency, and retention remained strong; why being 100% booked can actually create problems; how we think about customer acquisition cost and lifetime value of a client; and why we've started creating our own measurements for things like team engagement, growth, culture, and client stability. Because the goal isn't to collect more numbers. It's about understanding what the numbers are telling you—and using them to make better decisions.  The Big Idea Don't start with the KPI. Start with the question you're trying to answer. Key Takeaways  “Know your numbers” isn't enough if you don't know what to do with them.  A useful KPI should help you understand what's happening, what's working, what's not working, or what to do next.  Don't automatically adopt someone else's KPIs just because they're considered industry standards.  Start with the problem or question, then decide what you need to measure.  Traditional salon KPIs can still be valuable—but sometimes you need to go another layer deeper.  A low number isn't automatically the problem. Study the people with strong numbers and ask what they're doing well.  Rebooking can tell an incomplete story when clients increasingly prefer online and last-minute booking.  A “good” KPI can even hide a business problem. Being 100% booked isn't necessarily the same thing as maximizing opportunity.  Beware of inherited assumptions—ideas repeated so often that people stop asking why they're true.  Revenue isn't profit, and top-line revenue shouldn't be treated as the final score.  Customer acquisition cost is more useful when you also know where clients come from and what happens after you acquire them.  Lifetime value can change how your team thinks about cancellations and long-term client relationships.  Culture can be measured more intentionally than simply saying, “We have a great culture.”  Custom metrics can help you measure the business you're actually trying to build.  Use industry benchmarks for context and inspiration—not as unquestionable rules.  Before adopting a KPI, ask: Does this apply to my business? What problem does it solve? What information does it give me? What assumptions is it built on? Time Stamps 00:00 — Opening Takes 03:00 — Do salon owners actually “know their numbers”? 05:00 — What a KPI is supposed to do 07:00 — Don't start with the KPI—start with the question 09:00 — Are salons measuring the wrong things? 11:00 — Knowing a number vs. knowing what to do with it 13:00 — What can you learn from your most-booked stylist? 17:00 — Why Hello's declining rebooking didn't scare us 20:00 — When rebooking becomes a misleading number 22:00 — How a good KPI can tell the wrong story 25:00 — Inherited assumptions and why we stop asking “why” 26:00 — Are men's haircuts actually less profitable? 31:00 — Measuring culture: Hello's custom KPIs 37:00 — Customer acquisition cost: go another layer deeper 39:00 — Lifetime value and rethinking cancellations 43:00 — Why universal KPI claims can mislead you 44:00 — Revenue isn't profit 45:00 — So which KPIs should you actually track? 48:00 — Check the work + One Last Thing  Question of the Week What are you measuring in your business simply because someone told you that you should? That's better than “What's your most important KPI?” because it reinforces the actual challenge you're making in the episode. Your business should serve you, so that you can serve others. Learn from other businesses. Use the benchmarks. Check the work. Then build the business that actually works for you. Links and Stuff: Our Newsletter Mentoring Inquiries Find more of our things: Instagram Hello Hair Pro Website

  4. Sep 14

    What 5 Years of Podcasting Taught Us About Business [EP:262]

    "Send us a message!" Five years. 262 episodes. And we haven't missed a Monday. September 13 marks five years since we published the first episode of Hello Hair Pro. And somewhere along the way, talking about business every week started to change the way we thought about it. So for this episode, we're looking back. We talk about how the podcast has changed, how we've changed as leaders, and what five years of consistently sitting down to question our own ideas, share our opinions, and talk through business has taught us about people, growth, resilience, leadership, and ourselves. We get into becoming more open-minded, learning our individual roles as business partners, getting more comfortable giving honest feedback, letting go of the need to save everyone, building a company around people, and realizing that a successful relationship doesn't have to last forever to have been successful. We also look back at the flood that displaced Hello earlier this year, and what watching our team rally together taught us about trust, resilience, and the culture we'd spent years trying to build. Five years later, we definitely don't have everything figured out. But maybe that's one of the biggest things we've learned. Big Idea Growth isn't reaching a point where you've figured everything out. It's becoming better at questioning what you think you already know. Key Takeaways Consistency matters more than the excitement you feel when you start something. Talking about business every week has forced us to question and refine what we actually believe. Open-mindedness doesn't mean abandoning what works—it means recognizing that your way isn't necessarily the only way.Understanding our individual strengths and roles has made us better business partners. You can't want more for an employee than they want for themselves. A relationship doesn't have to last forever to be successful. Honest feedback isn't cruel. Avoiding necessary conversations can actually hurt someone's growth.Your reputation is built by whether you actually do what you say you're going to do. Mission, vision, and core values become valuable when you actually use them to make decisions. Resilience isn't just an owner trait. A strong team can make the entire business more resilient. Growth isn't only revenue. It's also better leadership, stronger people, improved systems, clearer thinking, and better decisions. Success can make complacency especially dangerous. Time Stamps 00:00 — Five years of Hello Hair Pro 03:00 — Starting is fun. Staying consistent is harder. 06:00 — Learning to form—and question—our own opinions 09:00 — Overrated or Underrated 12:00 — From “this is the way” to “this is a way” 14:00 — Becoming more comfortable having an opinion 16:00 — How we've changed as leaders and business partners 18:00 — You can't want more for someone than they want for themselves 21:00 — A relationship doesn't have to last forever to be successful 25:00 — What actually builds your reputation 27:00 — Candor, feedback, and helping people grow 31:00 — Actually using your mission, vision, and values 34:00 — The flood, our team, and what resilience really looked like 39:00 — Why success can lead to complacency 42:00 — Overthinking, distillation, and continuing to learn 44:00 — One Last Thing  Question of the Week What do you believe about your business today that you didn't believe five years ago? Your business should serve you, so that you can serve others. Keep questioning. Keep learning. And don't confuse experience with having everything figured out. Links and Stuff: Our Newsletter Mentoring Inquiries Find more of our things: Instagram Hello Hair Pro Website

  5. Sep 7

    You Don't Have to Like AI. But You Should Understand It. [EP:261]

    "Send us a message!" You don't have to like AI. You don't have to use ChatGPT. And you definitely don't have to like AI-generated content. But if we're going to criticize a technology, we should probably understand what we're actually criticizing. In this episode, we dig into some of the arguments surrounding AI, data centers, water consumption, and the environmental impact of modern technology. We talk about how deeply AI is already embedded in everyday life, from social media and Google searches to fraud detection, GPS, streaming, shopping, and delivery apps, and why the statement “I won't support companies that use AI” quickly becomes complicated. We also look at data centers: what they actually do, why they existed long before the current generative-AI boom, why they use water, the difference between water withdrawal and consumption, and why enormous numbers need context before they're useful. Then we bring the conversation back to business. Todd explains how he actually uses AI at Hello and on this podcast, why AI should amplify your thinking rather than replace it, and why the amount of verification you do should increase with the consequences of getting something wrong.  Big Idea You don't need to support every new technology. But skepticism is more useful when it's built on understanding instead of assumptions. Key Takeaways  AI is much broader than ChatGPT, image generators, and generative video.  AI is already embedded in many everyday technologies and services.  Saying “don't use AI, use Canva” ignores Canva's own investment in AI.  Data centers existed long before the current generative-AI boom.  Modern banking, streaming, shopping, logistics, cloud services, maps, and countless other systems rely on data-center infrastructure.  Large numbers without context can make it difficult to understand relative scale.  Water withdrawal and water consumption are different concepts.  Water use can create legitimate local challenges even if the broader issue isn't simply “the water disappears.”  New infrastructure creates costs, tradeoffs, and potential economic benefits.  AI can be extremely useful for brainstorming, organizing, editing, learning, and building workflows.  The higher the consequence of being wrong, the higher your standard for verification should be.  AI slop and misinformation are legitimate problems and examples of what happens when people outsource judgment rather than using the tool thoughtfully.  You don't have to like AI, but at least know why you don't like it. Reflection What opinion have you formed because you've actually looked into something, and what opinion have you formed because you've heard the same argument repeated enough times? You don't have to change your mind. But it's worth knowing why you believe what you believe. Your business should serve you, so that you can serve others. Stay curious enough to question your own assumptions, too. Links and Stuff: Our Newsletter Mentoring Inquiries Find more of our things: Instagram Hello Hair Pro Website

  6. Aug 31

    Is Your Salon Really a Great Place to Work? [EP:260]

    "Send us a message!" Every salon says it's a great place to work. But what does that actually mean? Supportive. Growth-focused. Great culture. Flexible scheduling. Education. Opportunity. Those words show up in almost every salon hiring post, but they don't tell a stylist very much about what working there will actually be like. In this episode, we break down what we think actually makes a salon a great workplace. We talk about understanding what employees really want, building individual growth paths, defining flexibility, having honest conversations about money, creating security and stability, recognizing people, and giving employees opportunities they may not have seen for themselves. We also get into the responsibilities on both sides. A salon owner must provide leadership, systems, opportunities, marketing, stability, and an environment where people can succeed. But employees have responsibilities too, including trust, effort, buy-in, and actually giving a shit about where they want their career to go. And even if you build a great workplace, people will still leave sometimes. That doesn't automatically mean you failed. The Big Idea A great workplace isn't defined by a list of benefits. It's a place where the right people can see a future for themselves, and where both the business and the employee are willing to invest in getting there. Key Takeaways  Before calling your salon a great place to work, ask: great for who? Build an employee avatar just as intentionally as you'd build a client avatar.  “Education,” “growth,” “flexibility,” and “good money” mean different things to different people.  Flexible scheduling works best when freedom comes with expectations and accountability.  Recognition can be as simple—and meaningful—as telling someone you're proud of their growth.  Security and stability aren't necessarily the same thing.  Security is about how someone feels at work; stability is about trusting the business and its leadership.  Great leaders sometimes see potential in people before those people see it in themselves.  In a commission salon, marketing and creating opportunity are the owner's responsibility.  Employees also have responsibilities: effort, trust, buy-in, teamwork, and ownership of their own growth.  Don't just say you develop careers. Build an environment where you can prove it.  Someone eventually leaving your company doesn't automatically make their time with you a retention failure.  Both sides have to care. As we say at Hello: you can't teach people to give a shit. Reflection Would the kind of stylist you want to hire actually want to work at the business you've built? Don't answer with a list of benefits. Think about what that person wants from their career, what kind of leader they need, what kind of environment they thrive in, and whether your business can genuinely help them get where they want to go. Your business should serve you, so that you can serve others. And a great workplace isn't about being great for everyone. It's about building the right place for the right people. Links and Stuff: Our Newsletter Mentoring Inquiries Find more of our things: Instagram Hello Hair Pro Website

  7. Aug 24

    Why Salon Owners Struggle to Find Clients and Staff [EP:259]

    "Send us a message!" Salon owners ask us two questions constantly: How do I find more clients? How do I find good staff? They're legitimate problems. But before you start looking for another marketing strategy, hiring system, coach, or quick fix, there's a more important question: Is that actually your problem? In this episode, we talk about diagnosing what's happening inside your business before throwing solutions at symptoms. Maybe you don't need more clients. Maybe your retention isn't strong enough to keep the ones you're already getting. Maybe you don't need better recruiting. Maybe people are finding your salon but don't see a reason to work there, or they're joining and leaving. We get into foundations, client acquisition, retention, marketing, recruiting, employee development, and what it actually looks like to put sustained effort behind a strategy, rather than trying something once and declaring it doesn't work. And eventually, we get to one of the harder realities of owning a business: "Nobody cares. You still have to figure it out." That doesn't mean everything is your fault. It doesn't mean every problem is fair. And it definitely doesn't mean you'll always know what to do. It means that when you choose to own a business, solving the problem becomes your responsibility. The Big Idea Before looking for another answer, make sure you're solving the right problem. Then put yourself in the best possible position to succeed. Key Takeaways "I need more clients" and "I can't find good staff" may be symptoms rather than the actual problem.Try something, measure it, learn from it, adjust, and try again.Your mission, vision, and core values should actually influence how you run the business.More clients won't fix weak retention, poor systems, or a bad client experience.Your existing clients may represent more opportunity than constantly chasing new ones.If you genuinely need new clients, you need to understand why someone should choose your salon.Marketing isn't about likes and comments. It's about reaching the right people and earning their trust.Trying something once isn't a strategy.Recruiting won't solve a workplace people don't want to join—or stay at.Career growth, leadership, autonomy, stability, support, opportunity, recognition, and belonging are meaningful reasons for someone to choose a salon.Don't just say you develop people. Show evidence that you've actually done it.Business problems aren't always fair, but they're still yours to solve.Failure, mistakes, and losing are part of ownership. What matters is what you do next.What Would You Do? Your highest-producing stylist is becoming your biggest cultural problem. They're regularly late, ignore policies, and other staff members are beginning to notice that they get away with things nobody else does, but they're also responsible for a significant amount of revenue. What would you do? Reflection What problem are you blaming on clients, employees, the economy, or the industry that might actually require a change inside your business? You don't need to pretend the problem doesn't suck. You don't need to pretend everything is fair. But eventually, you have to decide what you're going to do next. Your business should serve you, so that you can serve others. Whatever happened, put yourself in the best possible position to succeed. Links and Stuff: Our Newsletter Mentoring Inquiries Find more of our things: Instagram Hello Hair Pro Website

  8. Aug 17

    Why Salon Owners Make Business Too Complicated [EP:258]

    "Send us a message!" Salon owners have a habit of making business more complicated than it needs to be. We chase industry standards. We add policies because one client did something annoying. We build enormous service menus, obsess over retail percentages, force rebooking, complicate hiring, and try to manufacture culture with perks, outings, and branding days. But does any of that actually make the business better? In this episode, we bounce through four conversations that all come back to a similar idea: build the business you actually need instead of blindly following what the industry tells you a salon is supposed to look like. We talk about what actually makes a salon a great place to work, how to know when something needs more time versus when it's time to make a change, the parts of business owners tend to overcomplicate, and some of the salon-industry "rules" that deserve a simple question: Who told you that? The Big Idea A better business doesn't have to be a more complicated business. Know what you're trying to accomplish, build systems that support it, and stop assuming someone else's rules have to become yours. Key Takeaways Strong leadership, opportunity, stability, accountability, and growth matter more to employees than superficial perks.A useful question for every owner is: Would you want to work at your own business?Some business decisions need patience and data; others need immediate action.Patience can become complacency, just as decisiveness can become an emotional reaction.Pricing should account for your time, costs, and profit, not somebody else's preferred pricing model.Policies should solve actual business problems, not individual annoyances.Marketing gets simpler when you know exactly who you're trying to attract.Service menus should make booking easier for clients, not showcase everything you're capable of.Culture isn't created by mandatory outings, perks, or branding shoots."Industry standard" doesn't automatically mean it's right for your business.KPIs only matter when they help you understand what's actually happening in your business.Timestamps 00:00 — Opening takes: the bus test & the industry's obsession with retail 04:00 — What actually makes a salon a great place to work? 06:00 — Leadership, opportunity & meaningful growth 07:00 — Standards, accountability & stability 09:00 — Autonomy, challenge & being part of something bigger 11:00 — Would you want to work at your own salon? 12:00 — When should you actually change something? 13:00 — What requires patience: marketing, staff development & culture 15:00 — Making decisions instead of looking for a cosign 16:00 — What needs to be fixed quickly 18:00 — Data, intuition & knowing when you've waited long enough 19:00 — When patience becomes complacency 20:00 — The power of pausing before you react 21:00 — When immediate action really is necessary 24:00 — What salon owners make way too complicated 24:00 — Pricing 25:00 — Policies & cancellations 27:00 — Marketing & attracting the right clients 29:00 — Retail 31:00 — Service menus 33:00 — Culture & forced team building 36:00 — Hiring 37:00 — "Who told you that?" 38:00 — Retail percentages & 50% commission 39:00 — "Everyone wants to rent" & "clients won't pay that here" 40:00 — Questioning traditional salon KPIs 42:00 — Why rebooking doesn't tell the whole story Reflection: What part of your business have you made more complicated simply because someone told you that's how it's supposed to be done? Before adding another policy, system, benchmark, perk, or strategy, ask whether it actually solves a problem in your business. Your business should serve you, so that you can serve others. And sometimes making your business better doesn't require adding another thing. It requires the courage to question what you're already doing. Links and Stuff: Our Newsletter Mentoring Inquiries Find more of our things: Instagram Hello Hair Pro Website

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5
out of 5
13 Ratings

About

This is a place for education, inspiration, and entertainment. Our mission is to help as many hair pros, salon, and barbershop owners as possible by sharing our stories, experiences, and thoughts on business.

Information

  • Creator
    Jen & Todd Ford
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    265
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 the Hello Hair Pro podcast
  • Show Website
    the Hello Hair Pro podcast

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