Your Safety First
How safe is your freelance makeup artist or hairstylist? If they don’t provide a background check or your beauty agency doesn’t criminally check contractors for your safety - move on.
We believe in safe services. One massive oversight in the beauty industry, specifically the freelance or onsite beauty industry, is the lack of barriers to entry into the field. Every year, hundreds of thousands of brides seek vendors for various categories on their checklist of “to-do’s” when it comes to wedding planning. One of those very popular services to book is wedding day hair and makeup artistry - onsite. Not just brides employ these Artisans - consumers hire makeup artists and hairstylists in their homes for special dates, celebrities, and media companies book them almost weekly, event planners bring them into galas and corporate events. Onsite beauticians work with kids, the elderly and others.
WPI Artisan Wendy, working with children at the “My Little Pony” event at Mall of America
Who is checking?
Sadly, no one is checking. At WarPaint International, one of our first priorities is providing a level of conscious safety, to not only our Artisans as they enter your home, event venue or space but also to our clients. In a day and age of on-demand services and app technology, more and more strangers are infiltrating our space. But do you ever ask about the backgrounds of these individuals?
You should.
“Criminal background checks on freelance beauticians are nearly non-existent in the wedding industry. ”
When interviewing beauty service providers or beauty agencies, the most important thing you should fact-check is not whether a certain artist can achieve that winged eyeliner or special braid. A reputable company has tenured Artisans and a hiring process that takes the guessing games out of the selection process for you (though we understand that is part of the fun…). No… your first question should be “do you criminally background check your team?”
Criminal background checks on freelance beauticians are nearly non-existent in the wedding industry. We have found that very few companies, if any, do regular background checks on their Artists. Sadly, we know of very few that do any at all. In our own investigation, we find that many do a social media spot check at best; an alarming due-diligence when considering someone you’ve never met will be entering your home, hotel room, event space or church. Often times, purses, private belongings or sensitive information are out in the open and it does get stolen. Worst case scenario, you may be in physical danger or future danger. Most freelancers that work solo are not really interested in being business owners either, so they likely will not have a background check run on themselves often to provide to clients and in most cases do not carry insurance or liability.
Insist on process
When speaking to onsite beauty companies, ask important questions, such as:
How do you hire your team?
What does your interview process look like?
Do you technically test them?
Who approves or rejects them?
Do you do background checks on your Artists?
What system are you using to provide that data?
Have you ever had an issue with security or personal threats?
Do you carry liability insurance in the event of an accident?
Do you have a professional bridal/corporate contract that serves to protect all parties?
“We have not contracted Artists due to criminal backgrounds. ”
Safe Hiring Practices at WPI
Our motto is often confusing for people. It reads “Luxury and Excellence in Hair & Makeup Artistry”. Some clients don’t book us or never even inquire because the word luxury means expensive to them. But we don’t define luxury as a price tag; in fact our prices are very competitive.
Luxury is a feeling, an experience, and expectation in customer service and overall satisfaction that is met through your very first interaction until the last. That’s luxury. Inside the definition of luxury, that feeling that one has also beckoned safety. There’s no point in paying top dollar for the “Best Makeup Artist” or “top stylist” if they have a track record of misdemeanors, felonies or habitual convictions.
How we ensure your safety
WarPaint International runs full national background checks that include criminal, sex offender, national employment, credit, and education status. We do also do the typical spot check to ensure they carry themselves professionally online. No one can guarantee against crimes of opportunity, but we can take steps to ensure a high probability that our team is seasoned, community-driven professionals.
We do this by partnering nationally with Trusted Employees. Trusted Employees offers a wide range of criminal record search capabilities. We are firmly committed to contracting Artisans with complete and accurate criminal data in which all the facts are aligned and verified. Every single individual in the WarPaint International family of Artisans and supporting team members undergoes this diligence.
Wedding planning companies still missing the boat
Even the big wedding planning advertising platforms, which are a vendor on many, rarely address the issue of safety. They offer up hundreds or even thousands of options in your area depending on the city without a hint or tip on how to ensure your safety. One of the largest, The Knot Wedding Network, does case studies and provides information for couples-to-be, but even in this very informative article “Everything, You Need To Know About Getting Married in Minnesota”, safety is not an element of education.
The reality is that it’s not their duty to assume liability for your safety. So when sourcing your wedding vendors, always keep your personal safety top of mind. You can rest-assured with WPI that we will not send someone into your home, hotel room, venue or private space without knowing what their background looks like.
Book a WPI Artisan
Maybe you are done with your search or perhaps have just started. Either way, check the availability of our team by reviewing our wedding makeup and hair page and submitting your request to speak to a bridal consultant today. Many of our brides book 8 - 10 months in advance. We have beauty services secured as far as three years into the future.
