Robyn Smith-Keys

Life is such a funny amusing journey- when you learn to laugh at yourself and the antics of others. Hello! I am Robyn my pen name is Robyna Smith-Keys. I started working weekends and school holidays in the family salons when I was 5. In 1962 I began my apprenticeship. After a break from the industry to have my babies, I wanted to read all that I could to update my skills. The few books available at that time, were over $300 and In the late 1970s that was a lot of money. In the 1990s I realised, students were not remembering all they were learning at Beauty School. That is when I started a protocol book for our salons. The books contained all procedures with step by step instructions.

My protocol notes are now training manuals for the industry. In 1990s I was asked to assist with the Australian Standards rewrite and again 2007-2014 to assist with the International Beauty Industry Standards -Training Packages. This is your guarantee when purchasing my books, that the information meets the highest of industry standards. Not everyone has a wonderful Mum, Aunty or Grandmother to hand down their skills. I pray that my books are your loving grandmother handing down her skills with love to you. I also pray that you expand on my skills and become better than me.

I taught my children how to play golf when they were tiny tots. Now my children and my grandchildren tell me how to play golf. Go figure!? I hit the ball in a straight line because my Uncle taught me how to line up. My children hit balls hard and far but in the wrong direction. They have forgotten that everything has to be lined up correctly. I may write a book on playing golf and leave it to them in my will. In the meantime, I have a silent chuckle when they tell me what to do and hire me a chart to drive around the course.

One day my mother was handing me perming rods, my grandmother was washing the perming rods that had been soaking overnight. Mum said to nan,

"Put the rods in the sun to dry Ivy; then we will powder them later."

I said,

"No nan, don't powder them the powder gets into my clients eyes.

My Aunty Elle and her staff starting laughing.

Aunty Elle went on to say,

"what on earth are they teaching you at Teck? As we have shown you many times, you only dip the rubbers in powder after they have had time to dry and shake the powder off. That is what stops them from rotting and sticking together."

Remember? She said, with her eyebrows raised and a long pause as though she was waiting for my memory to kick in.

What my Aunty had forgotten was... that I washed the rods and put them out to dry when I was a kid. I was never the one to powder the rods. An important part of my training had been overlooked. Which brings me, to my most valuable training point. Step by step checklists should be in every salon because everyone will miss a point or two in his or her training.

In one salon they might put a tint on someone's eyelashes and leave the client while it is processing. In another salon, they may give the client a hand massage while the tint is processing and keep an eye on their client.

All my Beauty School books manuals give you ideas on procedure forms.

Happy Learning.