A real professional groomer experiences or has already experienced what could be called pleasure zoo-cosmetological " : a sensation very difficult to describe to novices who have never experienced this, but which corresponds to what our senses in general feel, but more particularly our hands, and especially our fingers, in contact with the skin and hair, treated with quality shampoos, creams and treatments, adapted to the groomed subject.

Generally, the sight is also aroused in these moments, and a general feeling of fulfillment is felt.

It's a real pleasure to experience during a bath, and perhaps even more so during the blow-dry and finally the haircut. But again, it's very difficult to explain.

Just know that if you become attentive to such sensations, you will soon be able to recognize, with your eyes closed, by the mere touch of the fur, without error, the creams and shampoos used!... Be careful, because of the addiction, it will be very frustrating for you to go back to low-end cosmetics, without technical expertise or equivalent results.

In France, the groomer He can only conceive of himself with a brush, scissors, or clippers in hand. Well... he's willing, because it has to be done, to take a bath from time to time, even if he'll quite readily delegate this task to the newest intern.

This is nothing like other countries, where groomers primarily see themselves as hygienists: not only do they not mind washing and drying, but they enjoy it because they know that, contrary to appearances, these tasks require skill, experience, and finesse (especially in choosing products), and that excellent equipment is also necessary to be economically competitive. This bathing phase could be compared to the foundations of a house: there's no point in hoping to do a good job if you neglect the base... and sometimes you'll even spend so much time correcting or compensating for flaws in your bathing technique that you exhaust yourself and foolishly eat away at your salon's profitability.

What the pet owner "retains"

During this period, we interviewed customers, when they left their dogs with us, about what they had liked (or not liked) in the days or weeks following the last grooming.

The following were cited:

• the absence or presence of parasites (45%)
• the duration of the brushing aspect of grooming (44%)
• Whether the dog scratched itself (or did not scratch itself) (40%)
• the quality of the coat's "colors" (for dogs treated by
• hair removal) (27%)
• ease of maintenance between grooming sessions (17%)

"Washing dogs," anyone can do that, you say! That's not professional!

And that's exactly what so many grooming salons believe, where baths are entrusted to the least experienced apprentice, with results that are unlikely to surprise the owners much…

Because the truth is that The bath requires facilities And a real level of professionalism, witha good understanding of coat metabolism and the action of the products, in order to be able to be given efficient and economical way ! Completely beyond the reach of the poor apprentice who just arrived in the salon!

As long as French groomers continue not to make hygiene their primary religion, they will continue to miss out on the true potential of their profession. And they will continue to give every opportunity to others, younger people, who understand this… these young people are already on their way. !

What is most likely to affect the amount of time we spend at a toilet, all theprofessionals They will agree with me, it's the state of entanglement of the fur that is being offered to us, or more precisely, the time we are going to spend untangling it.

Let's get straight to the point, the detangling can become a groomer's nightmare! Yes, it's a thankless, tedious, tiring job, and it can cost us a lot of time!

Making the dog "suffer" is out of the question!

"We can avoid it, at least for the most part, but to do so we need to use products that are very effective (that's true), but that are expensive, even very expensive (that's even more true).

"Okay, go ahead with the products, but how much will it cost?"

Dialogue has begun, the operation " detangling » has become « salable "

If it doesn't become so, we can still propose a mowing, bearing in mind that it is always a bad solution: foolish from a canine point of view (a dog is made to wear its fur, not to be "shorn"), counterproductive from a commercial point of view (a shearing means a dog that we will not see again for a long time).

Let's stop selling our " detangling time " Let's learn how to sell a comprehensive transaction, including the use of products and the technique, our specificity, of the use of these products!

It is important to understand this clearly: the true zoocosmetologist actually experiences, physically, what I usually call the "zoocosmetological pleasure" in working with furs; but for this, it is necessary to develop a particular sensitivity, an ability to feel and observe certain effects on the coats, a sensitivity which is far from being uniformly shared, and which a large number of people actually lack. The "zoocosmetological sensibility" is cultivated and developed, but in my opinion, it begins as innate, and it would be pointless to try to initiate someone who doesn't show a certain prior aptitude for it..

the cutting market, and even more so the shearing market, These are indeed markets that are quite often crowded. ! The most skillful marketing will not change the fact that your prices will be limited to a greater or lesser extent by competition that is often very real and likely to seriously reduce your room for maneuver!

Conversely, the field of zoocosmetology is much more open ! Completely ignored by most people! Why? For me, it's a mystery! A mystery no doubt, but a very certain fact.

But this is a very paradoxical situation! Think about it! What percentage of dogs require fur trimming (in any form)? 10%, 15%, maybe 20%? The latter estimate is certainly the most exaggerated.And therein lies the paradox: a majority of professionals compete on the smallest customer segment, while...The main segment, representing at least 80% of the market, is practically neglected by everyone !

"Grooming intelligence" should lead, almost inevitably, to "intelligent grooming"., which, by its very genesis, will have three consequences which, far from opposing each other, will support each other:

• the best physiological comfort for animals,
• the greatest satisfaction of their owners,
• the highest level of professional fulfillment, seated, let's be clear, on its two foundations:satisfaction from work accomplished, And the quality of his remuneration.

Yesterday, it was best to avoid washing your dog. Today, The entire veterinary science agrees that the primary preventative measure in dermatology is regular bathing., provided it is done properly, and with suitable products!

We must first undergo a revolution within ourselves and fully embrace the nobility of animal hygiene services and the true technical expertise they entail! At the same time, we must position ourselves to offer our customers a high-quality service at truly competitive prices.. And in most cases, to achieve these goals, we will need to review both our working methods and our equipment!