MICHAL FORGOT: Style is the courage to be yourself

^{Source: with the consent of Michal Zapopměl}

My first question is quite obligatory. How do you manage this time when your work is suspended?

I would say that the psyche probably suffers the most. It’s been eight months, after all, and that will affect even the strongest. I am an optimist, a sunshine but also a realist, and I must say that saving my family here in Barcelona saves me. I can spend that time here, but you really get up with it every day and fall asleep every night. It’s very mentally demanding and it’s going to be 25 years of career and economics, that’s a whole different story. We must try to fight it and think as positively as possible, because the psyche is the most important, and it affects us the most. We suffer a lot, I did not expect anything like this to happen.

Nevertheless, you still have positive energy. Where do you get it?

First of all, I am a believer, my unquenchable energy comes from my faith. I always have some hope and someone to turn to. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect my psyche. But the fact that I try to have a balanced spiritual side is also reflected on the body. People who have known me all my life know that I am a very emotional and open person. I can have fits of laughing and crying and I can be upset. Emotions go out of me, I don’t hold them and I think we all have a right to.

Is there anything this time has given you? Did she help you realize anything?

I must say that I became more aware of myself, my heart and my soul. Also our transience and mortality and how very short time we have on Earth. It almost sounds like a cliché, but that life goes by really fast. For me, it’s a form of self-awareness. And I don’t mean what I built now, but rather what Quo vadis – where I’m walking. We all really had the opportunity to touch on the core of our humanity. I try to accept it all, even when the businessman’s heart is bleeding and crying and he wants to fight. In addition, here in Spain, where I live partly, I work normally under certain conditions, so when I went around the hairdresser’s a few days ago, I stopped and tears streamed. And I couldn’t stop them. It was very depressing and sad because we lost our freedom, and that bothers me the most. I admit that I planned a quiet protest, even in two people, and I still have that in me (laughs).

^{Source: with the consent of Michal Zapopměl}

What do you consider your greatest achievement in life?

That I never gave up. In my opinion, a person will know the full bottom when he loses the most important thing – health. At that moment, he would give everything he could to function and live normally. It’s happened to me in the past, and it just changed me. I appreciate every day and I am grateful. So my biggest success is that I always survived, it pushed me and I went further. It’s neither a career, nor money, nor an award, but the power not to give up and move on.

Still, have you ever wanted to quit?

I never wanted to quit my profession. I take the fact that I am a fighter for hair more beautiful as a mission. Sometimes there was a time when I thought I was doing a bit of ‘superficial’ ‘work. But my friend the priest told me,You know that a hairdresser is a helping service? ” And I realized that a hairdresser helps people find confidence, and that does a lot with a person. The hairdresser is also a great psychologist. When clients tell me something, I take it as a confessional secret. I take the fact that people confide in me as a great gift. So being a hairdresser is an amazing and fulfilling job and she never stopped entertaining me. If I had a single day that I didn’t enjoy, I’d go do something else. But in my 24 years of practice, this has never happened. Otherwise I would be the best shoe salesman! (laughter)

Do you follow the saying “Our customer, our master” or do you consult with clients?

Our salon is very specific and distinctive and you will not be able to access it without consultation. Consultation is very important, we want to get to know the client and his hair as much as possible, because we want the best, especially for him. If people have a problem and want something other than them, then it’s a problem. That means they don’t like themselves. I have my saying that style is the courage to be yourself. And few people have that courage today. We still want to look like someone. Forget it! You are the only and unique creature in the entire universe. You have something in store, learn to work with it and lovingly take care of it. Don’t go against it! It’s like our body. It doesn’t mean that if you have curves and a few extra pounds, you’re not beautiful. It is important to find a balance. A lot of clients want to have volume from the roots. I don’t understand why Czech women still want a cockade (laughs). I am for nature and I am for pushing her to make her a hair better. Of course, it’s also good to fly a little, I’ve been wearing a blue head for five years (laughs). It also means that I reject three clients a year, for example. It is important to say no. It once happened to me that a client bribed me to do his girlfriend’s hair, but that’s disgraceful (laughs).

Was there a client you were nervous with?

What matters to me is what that person is like. I really don’t make a difference. I had the opportunity to take care of well-known personalities, whom I thought I would not get close to. But I’m never nervous at all. In the finale, you will say that the person is above expectations.

^{Source: with the consent of Michal Zapopměl}

You have experience abroad. Do you think that Czech women take good care of their hair compared to others?

Unfortunately, no. In Spain, women go blowing once a week. And so it is in France, Italy or Canada. Those girls will “throw in”. I am not saying that there are no such women in our country, but I have a feeling that Czech women have a deficit in self-love. I think that women in the world do much better than in our country. I find it really nice to take care of myself and help myself to beauty. Take a look at how a bath, make-up or just a face mask can help you in a bad mood. That care for our mailbox and loving approach helps. I really like just sitting around for coffee and watching people and their style. And it’s not about brands, it’s about the desire to take care of yourself. For example, I hate trends. I think it’s just business. Finding your own distinctive style is the best, and it also applies to hair.

Are there any hair care myths?

There are so many myths and I like to break them down. It is the time of nanotechnology and the cosmetics market is at a high level. So in the first place be sure to stop using hair food. Use professional hair cosmetics. Chemistry is not a bad science, it is all around us. Chemistry is an integral part of every good cosmetic, of course, except for sulfates and parabens. I am in favor of reasonable chemistry, so if, for example, the product is also well degradable in nature, then be sure to reach for it. But that doesn’t mean this is a universal truth. Of course, there are people who disagree, and that’s fine. Another myth is blow-drying, which is very important. If you have a quality hair dryer, you do not have to worry about any burns, on the contrary, you will heal, smooth, shine your hair and get better properties. This is simply the way I go with my clients, and thanks to it, not only them but also me are satisfied. This will lead to mutual fulfillment, and that’s how it should work.

Has there come a time in your life when you have realized that you really are one of the top hairdressers?

I’m a really grateful person. I usually think I grew up at the right time. I was a complete exotic (laughs). A boy from the village who wants to be a hairdresser. Daddy told me he was going to kill me, everyone was making fun of me. But I always said I would be a hairdresser and I wasn’t ashamed of it. I am a child of communism and coup, everything was different and the time when there were no other famous hairdressers helped me. At 17, I left my parents, started taking care of myself, and that also helped me build that career. I was very brave, I was a hairdresser for about three months and I entered the most famous competition (laughs). And do you know what was the most funny thing? That I fought my way into the Top 10. I was very progressive at the time, I was not afraid of scandals and flights. Through an avant-garde hairdresser, I actually worked my way up to where I am now. I clung to my dream and went after it. Today, I am very grateful for my tenacity, courage and perseverance. I’m very happy when people come to me to take pictures or say hello, but behind it all it’s still me and I’ve never lost my essence and I’m left alone.

^{Source: with the consent of Michal Zapopměl}