Remember curlers, bonnet hair dryers, and nail polish that took forever to dry? Thank goodness that salon professionals today have options to help keep their clients looking great – and in record time.
In today’s fast paced environment, hairstylists are always looking for ways to offer quick hair treatments and services for their clients without compromising on quality service. While some guests would love to spend hours in the salon primping and styling their hair like our grandmother’s did years ago, most clients are coming in for quick services that take no longer than an hour. And luckily, the industry has developed innovations that have consistently facilitated some techniques and also cut the application time considerably.
With the styles, trends, and professional products always changing, the modern stylist needs to be able to evolve and get creative to upsell services and products to increase their ticket price. One new trend is the opening of many blowdry bars that offer services on-the-go. David Babaii, partner in Blow Out Bar, believes in bringing the “bar” home, ensuring the feeling that you receive from the blow out is accompanied by the longevity of the style. Our guests should be “educated” in do-it-yourself with professional products. Once they have invested in salon products and mastered a few styling tips, they can spend less time in the salon and extend the life of their pro blow outs. This saves them time, but also boosts retail sales for both the salon and artist. A stylist on average can yield an additional 10-15% in revenues a year, depending upon the salon’s commission policy.
A further bonus is that it builds trust between the client and stylist, thereby ensuring loyalty and credibility, as it is important to show that you have your client’s best hair interest at heart. Redken was one of the first to officially recognise this trend and launch their first-ever Holiday Express Haircolor menu in their salons across the U.S. to embrace clients dealing with ever-dwindling time limits. The Express menu provides three professional color services in under one hour without the wait, while their colorist complements their existing color service for a customized treatment. Following their service, consumers can either have their hair blow dried professionally, or style their own hair in the exclusive “blow dry area” equipped with blow dryers, brushes, and styling products.
Pureology is also taking a fresh spin on becoming your client’s best “partner in time” with new product lines that can be used to protect her investment in styling and color. For example, show her how Pureology Colour Fanatic leave-in conditioner for color-treated hair can cut down on blow-dry time and static. Or for an early-morning pick-me-up, Fresh Approach Dry Condition can restore softness, add shine, and fight frizz. The bonus is that these products also prolong the life of her color service, saving her both time and money. Or teach your client that life is too short to combat her unruly curls when she can embrace them and look great with Pureology Curl Complete, for long-lasting (up to 72 hours) frizz control and curl definition. For the curly and wavy-hair girls who are looking to simply enhance natural curls on days two and three, the new Curl Complete Curl Extend treatment styler can even be worked onto dry hair for instant curl definition, shine, and reduced frizz.
Today’s guests also crave the thought of “options”, especially when it comes to their hair color. They want to be able to change their color, but still have the option to adjust it again during their next visit to the salon. They often view celebrities as trend-setters but hesitate and look for fun, fearless, non-committal changes. Once again, Redken offers the solution with their Color Rebel line, offering clients an attainable, accessible and affordable color pop within minutes. It provides direct color pigments that deposit a very fine multi-coating to the hair surface, making it resistant to water and mechanical aggressors. So the client can rock their new color for up to two shampoos and can even power though blowdrys and heat styling.
Over the years, guests have become more willing to try new products, services and techniques at home to achieve the styles they desire. Why not have them receive this valuable information from highly educated stylists in salons? They deserve this commitment and education from salon professionals, and the result will be beautiful hair and happy clients.
By Kiara Mooney