DELIVER IN FULL

Expanding your service menu with backwash treats isn’t just about building your bottom line – it’s also delivering your clients their best blonde health ever.

Time spent lightening is time wasted if the hair looks frizzy and damaged as a result. But there’s no excuse now as the evolution of backwash treatments and bonding additives means hair health can look better than ever.

“When planning a client’s colour journey, it all comes down to consultation. It’s really important for the client to have healthy, manageable hair so we can get them to their end goal,” says Matrix artist ambassador Niamh Hayden. “We build the journey, including maintenance and how often they need to return for different services; sometimes it’s a treatment or toner inbetween blonding services.”

With the original bond-builder OLAPLEX there’s a built-in brand recognition, as many clients search out the treatment in salons. That brand recognition can help in conversations with clients too, especially those worried about lightening and the damage they think it will do to their hair. “It’s crucial to explain that having a bond-builder mixed into the lightener will help prevent damage,” explains OLAPLEX artist and colourist, Tom Smith. “Also using the No.2 step in the salon and No.3 at home will continue to repair and protect their hair from the effects of damage, meaning they can stay blonde long-term.”

Another hair repair brand that consumers have love for is K18. The range of scientifically supercharged products K18 has made major waves on social media and fights damage and frizz from within. Want to improve client hair condition while they’re going lighter in the chair? Reach for K18’s molecular hair repair service including a professional hair mask, mist, and oil, which reverses hair damage and dials down on frizz. It is sure to make those new blonde hues shine and feel stronger to the touch.

Targeted, time-efficient hair repair for heads subjected to rigorous colouring and chemical styling? It’s as easy as taking a shot with Revlon Professional’s RE/START range. RE/START Repair Bonding Shot offers 40 per cent better inner and outer damage recovery for chemical styling, the RE/START Colour & Shine Sealer Shot delivers better colour vibrancy and condition, and the RE/START Density Fortifying Shot gives fine hair a lease of life.

And don’t let metal build-up ruin your precious colour work either. Using the Metal Detox Pre-Treatment spray and mask by L’Oréal Professionnel Paris during a colour service helps eliminate excess copper, lock in your hard work and prevent any nasty particles from returning.

Always Talk Tone

Why thank you, social media, for truly teaching the consumer world about the importance of toners and glazes. And now clever new launches are making such finishes quicker than ever.

You can lift and get a lighter look, but we all know that the real finesse comes via the toner or glaze to nail the bespoke blonde for that specific client. Social media has showcased the true beauty of blonde, the variety of tones available. And thanks to that, consumers have a better understanding than ever before of toners. Yet, only about 20 per cent of blonde clients in UK salons have a toner. Think how much more business the other 80 per cent could offer.

How can a simple toning service boost bookings and business?

“By having trusted great results for both clients and colourists, who have total confidence in Shades EQ,” says April Pattara, Redken advocate and founder of Somewhere Salon. Shades EQ has cleverly capitalised on the power of social media to showcase the glossy, sumptuous results a toner delivers, all with its Bonder

Inside ensuring hair is healthier too. And with new VV Intense shades, there’s something fresh to discuss in consultations or to shout about online.

April loves the “perfect amount of sheer” from Shades EQ that supports the natural tone of the hair. “It gives a nice sparkle, as opposed to some that are more blanket coverage on blondes,” she adds. “The new Shades EQ 09VV Intense is like a secret weapon for creating the most neutral blonde!”

Many clients don’t have the luxury of half a day to sit in your chair, so toning can deliver a fresher look in a quicker appointment, handing you the opportunity to offer fast services that make a difference. “It’s all about time, creativity and freedom,” says Daisy Goord, Wella Professionals digital craft expert. “Clients can pop in on their lunch break and have a toner refresh, that’s so important.”

Daisy’s a fan of new BlondorPlex Cream Toners, a collection of shades that works in just five minutes, so colourists can make the most of the time they have, and see more clients over the course of their column.

Getting the perfect result can sometimes be a guessing game, testing sections of hair drenched in product to see when you need to rinse. Well, with new Tonal Control from Matrix, the formulas visibly oxidise in real time, changing colour so you can see when it’s ready.

Linking celebrity and fashion trends to toning services in menus is a savvy way of showing you have your finger on the pulse. Look at the moment all things pearl is having. Right on cue, L’Oréal Professionnel Paris has unveiled five Dia Light pearl shades and a French Balayage Pearl technique to help you make the most of it.

“Its luminous and translucent qualities lend a captivating shimmer. Pearlescent blondes, with their iridescent sheen, are a huge hit,” says Mike Decanter from Zeba Hairdressing. “The new L’Oréal Professionnel Paris Dia Light Pearl shades .18 and .82 are perfect for creating this trend. These colour choices will infuse the hair with a touch of summer magic.”

A fan of Goldwell’s legendary TopChic? TopChic Zero is bound to impress. Ammonia free with up to 94 per cent naturally derived ingredients, it delivers intensive conditioning alongside naturallooking finishes and better-than-ever sustainability credentials.

BE A TEACHER’S PET

From half-head highlights to your balayage, you’ve got your foundation in place. Now upskill with the techniques that will deliver next-level bespoke blondes while boosting your professional expertise.

Blonde is a journey, for the colourist as much as the client. You will need to be able to advise on the best strategy for the individual in the chair, so stay clued up about the latest blonde and balayage techniques. Education for colourists is always going to be money well spent.

Fresh from Wella Professionals, Blonde Expert Parts 1 and 2 starts with the fundamentals, progressing up to the more challenging blonding scenarios. It will give you the con dence to tackle whatever blonde challenge sits in your chair. You’ll soon be the blonde guru in your area, and you’ll be ready for the stampede of blonde demands!

From JOICO educator and owner of CUT_social salon, Katrina Kelly, Hair Paint brings colourists on a freehand hair painting journey to bring out their inner artist, creating a blueprint for each client individually. This course is all about the strategy behind creating longer-lasting healthy lightness with added contours for more natural growing out. It's spot-on for colourists with a keen interest in learning freehand balayage techniques for those bespoke blondes that look brilliant on social media.

For many, the naturally low-maintenance look of balayage is what they want to get them through those carefree months. Ensure you’re on tip-top form by joining the Paint with Purpose one day in-person course with L’Oréal Professionnel global artist Harriet Stokes, which hits Dublin in November. Learn how to paint different hair types and watch Harriet work her freehand magic.

Could a course be more perfect for this season than Beautiful Blondes? From ALFAPARF Milano Professional it teaches the theory of hair lightening and the concept of colorimetry and melanins. A deep dive also covers the theory of colour and how to read the colour chart, with an emphasis on tones of blonde, the super-lightening series, lightening reinforcers, and decolourants. It’s a course for the experienced colourist who wants to become a true blonde boss.

There will always be clients who fear colour due to damage. But you can still offer them colour services by taking the Great Lengths Balayage Blends course – there’s one in Dublin in October. It shows you how to add balayage style extensions to clients, who can experience all the great results of balayage without a chemical service. “Adding a service like this to your business can generate a huge increase in salon revenue, see client satisfaction rise and keep clients returning time and time again,” says Beverley Rosser from Rosser Hairdressing. “Through placement techniques, a seamless balayage effect can be created with additional strands to add dimension and thickness to the client’s hair while looking completely natural.”