Out with the old and in with the new… to be competitive in today’s market, a salon has to get digital. Even if the salon isn’t, any stylist can use a smartphone or iPad to make their consultation more interactive and results more predictable.
Dominique DeFrancesco, stylist at De La Mer Salon (Bellmore, NY), says it’s especially useful when the seasons change and guests are looking for something new. Why? Because a visual of the new look can be shown to the guest BEFORE the service, so they can actually see if they like the look on themselves.
“Taking out a swatch or referencing a celebrity’s haircolor can be a challenge, because the swatch is so small and hard for the guest to visualize on their own head, plus we may not be able to achieve the color exactly like the picture for a number of reasons (hair texture, previous color, differing base, etc). With a digital consult the guest can get a visual of what they are asking for and I can show them what is realistic,” says DeFrancesco.
Recent Client: “She wanted a drastic change, and had an outgrown brown/caramel ombré, so I suggested a new fall color palette. She brought reference pictures from Pinterest that were blonde, so I decided to offer her a visual of the new overall blonde tone that she wanted. The Apps Perfect 365 and Hair Color Booth Free allow you to take a picture of your guest and apply different colors and styles on their picture. Based on the colors she shared from Pinterest, we tried different lighter browns and the lighter blonde she wanted, all while being able to see how the color looked against her skin tone, giving her a more realistic view of how the new color would actually look on her,” described DeFrancesco.
Going digital also increases the colorist’s confidence, instead of trying to achieve a color that clearly would not look good on the guest or that simply can’t be achieved due to the hair type, a colorist can present a color that they can pull off with predictable results.
“A digital consultation is heightened because the conversation stays focused on the salon guest and current trends, not a dated celebrity photo they’ve been clutching for months. In a digital consultation, current pictures of celebrities and trends can be accessed instantaneously to keep your looks on trend and then they can be tried on the guest with an App,” adds Patrick McIvor, Artistic & TechniCulture Director for Goldwell and KMS California and Techni-Color Director of ARROJO.
Go digital and color with confidence!