The $500 Haircut: Becoming the Best Stylist at the Best Salon Spa

February 8, 2017

Back in 1991, Molly Haeg was starting out at Juut as a young stylist eager to reach her professional goals.

One of those goals was to become a master stylist. “When I told David Wagner I wanted to be a master stylist, he asked me, ‘What does a stylist offering a $500 haircut look like? What does your station look like? The salon? Your hair and makeup?’” Haeg says.

Wagner then told Haeg not to wait until she achieved master stylist status—she needed to act like she was already there. This advice had a powerful impact on her and Haeg went out and purchased a few great outfits and shoes to mix and match. She also made sure her hair and makeup were on point—every day.

“The $500 haircut is part of our culture and something we discuss with new stylists at Juut,” she says. “If you’re providing a high-level service, you have to dress the part and look the part. We focus on how we’re putting the polish on,” she adds.

Haeg spent 15 years working at Juut in Minnesota until her husband got a job in Arizona. She worked at other salons in the Phoenix-area until May 2015, when Wagner opened two new Juut locations in Scottsdale and Tempe.

“I brought my clientele over and rejoined Juut,” she says. “Stepping away was interesting—I missed the Juut culture.”

Now a master stylist and hair director at the Scottsdale location, Haeg says Wagner’s message to do what you love and do it really, really well stays with her every day.

“Being passionate experts sets us apart at Juut,” she says. “Our education is top-notch and we’re always up on the latest and greatest. I approach each guest like it’s a brand new service, fully prepared on new trends and able to offer anything.”

And through it all, she knows at her core is Daymaking. “It stays with me every day,” she says. “Working with a talented team of Daymakers all on board with our culture is what makes us cohesive.”

Recently, Haeg was at a department store with her teenage daughter, who had a $150 gift card she wanted to spend at the makeup counter.

“There was a special makeup event and you could tell none of the employees wanted to be there,” Haeg says. “You could just feel it, and I even overheard two of the makeup artists talking about another guest who was close by. When you see interactions like that, it really makes you want to be the best you can be.”

Haeg says that’s why it’s important to develop a genuine connection with each guest every time they visit.

“Remember the little things they love like how they take their Aveda tea or a certain way you blow-dry their hair,” she says. “Take notes if you have to, because it’s those touches you put on the service that make their day. Your consistency will win them over.”

With many years at Juut under her belt, Haeg says the key to the culture is simple.

“You can teach technical skills, but if someone doesn’t have the natural ability to connect with people and be a Daymaker, Juut’s not for them.”