As a beauty Professional I have been a keen observer of how technology and developments in both product and education have pushed the industry in recent years. When I worked in research a large part of my job was to assess how the beauty industry was changing, the insights generated helped to inform my actions and recommendations. I wanted to share with you in this blog and over the next three blogs some of what I have witnessed and it is just the tip of the iceberg, in that it is a generalised view of what is happening in the field of hair colouring. My hope is that it helps you too to consider how you could uniquely position yourself within this evolving industry.
Previously the world of hair colouring was simple, we had Box/Retail Colours and Professional colours with their respective clientele. However, the hair colour industry lines have become more blurred; colour users have changed and so too their expectations with options. I am going to group them into four categories of hair colourers and how the industry has changed to meet these new demands.
The first group: Professional Colourers; our clients, who are getting more and more sofisciated as too are the Professionals who service them. We still have regular clients who like someone else to colour their hair, they enjoy the social aspect, the personal time and delegating the task. We also have clients who are looking for perfection in their appearance and expect the Professional to give them a bespoke look unique to them. Not forgetting our trendy clients driven to change and experiment with every new trend they see on Instagram. These clients are paying a premium for their hair colouring needs and as such Professionals are constantly educating to continually offer a high standard of service while staying on top of all the latest trends and product innovations.
Even in the smallest town the high street (figuratively) still holds a Hair/Barber Salon. Behind their façades they are very different; independently owned, chains, franchises, suite rental (rent a chair) and pop-ups. In addition, there is the growing number of freelance/mobile Professionals that will come to your home, office, hotel or local suite/chair rental to colour, cut and style for whatever the occasion. This second independent group is growing fast according to the US Bureau of Labor Statics, by 2026 self-employed Hairdressers and Beauty professionals will outnumber the Professionals employed working in brick and mortar salons. As competition for clients is coming from many quality sources having a dynamic colour strategy that provides the right service offering, communicated to the right potential audience, at the right time/place at a valued price is key for staying relevant.
The strategy I have enjoyed watching and one that is close to my work is, the rise of the Specialist. I admire how individuals like Sophia Hilton with Not Another Salon/Not Another Academy and BLEACH London have carved out uniqueness in the world of vivid colours. They have within their groups perfected the art and have turned trend following into a business. They have appealed to our sense of curiosity by offering courses in their academies and salons on how to achieve their unique looks. This sharing of their expertise albeit at a premium fee would have been considered a competitive advantage and one to be kept a secret, has now been shifted into an additional gain. They are not alone; I have come across several Instagram Star Colourists offering a ‘fly on the wall’ experience of how they achieve their looks and some have gone even further with free tutorials online including detailed break-downs of the steps and products used. The Specialist now has clients that pay for not only their perfected service they had clients (Professionals) that want to learn about the perfected service.
It is not just about vivid colour, Mounir based in the Lebanon has specialised in old-school glamour and the ability to turn anyone silvery cool blonde even on the darkest and strongest hair possible. His showy entertaining style might not appeal to everyone but it is reaching millions through Instagram (@mounir) all over the world with his dramatic transformations.
BASE 
Colour Bar concept
The Specialist is not just catching the attention through impressive transformations they are also reaching out to regular touch-up clients. Lisa Sheppard winner of the British Hairdresser and Colourist of the Year is a dynamic colour Specialist who offers the full relaxing (low sensory) colour experience. She also offers fast and no fuss options for clients that need just that; the lunch time roots touch-up (all done within the hour) and a Color Bar concept within her super salon. Specialising further, there is HUE throughout New Zealand ‘pure colour’ offering colouring and highlighting applied fast, they have trained their teams to work with great efficiency, no chit chat here, with cutting and styling discouraged as pricey extras. Going one step further the colour bar concept, colour salons specialising in roots only, like Base, Brentwood Los Angeles or Le Bar des Coloristes, France. All offering Professional root colour applications, washing and post-colour treatment with quality professional products. The client then dries their hair themselves, paying just for the colouring service and if they want, they can add a cut or styling for an extra charge. These different colour strategies are maintaining the value in the Professional colour service while the client gets to pay for what they want.
It wouldn’t be a well-rounded view without adding something about the technology aspect. Our clients can learn about the products, the services and about us the Professional online. You are keenly aware of Social Media and how it has completely changed how we communicate and market to clients as well as potential clients. Technology has also created seamless online booking, client recording and accounting systems to allow clients to directly book for a service, we can keep detailed records of their colouring services as well as invoice, order stock and take payment all from our phone allowing for greater flexibility in how and where we work.
Service providers such as Treatwell or Lastminute have enabled clients to go shopping for a Professional service rather than a specific Professional, they can find just what they are looking for, in a location they happen to be in, at a time that suits and at a cost they are willing to pay. It can sound very competitive and to a point it is but, it does strengthen our position as Professionals as we push ourselves further and faster than the beauty industry has ever moved before. Technology is giving us the resources.
As we start to think about coming out of the lockdown, we’ll be navigating through a post Coronavirus pandemic world, inevitably it will affect everything. Looking at others Stylists/Colourists as well as beauty industry partners such as make-up artists, cosmetologist, beauticians and nail artists we will be faced with some challenging changes in how we think, work and offer our services. Here in Ireland the Irish Hairdressing Federation are reaching out to the Irish government to provide early guidance or how to proceed. I will be watching their advice closely and I hope some of these insights have sparked some ideas on what you can do with your colour business strategy in a post-pandemic world.
Part 2: I look at the second group, Retail Color (Box Color) and how it has changed.
Stay safe
Caroline
