No One is Looking at You.

By Lisa Conway, The Zing Project

I am currently writing a book for the general public. I think it’s called “No one is looking at you”. I want to explain the things that I think as hairdressers we all know but we take for granted.

Amongst many other things, I want to help navigate the reader through some of the things we as industry professionals take for granted.

We don’t have all day to transfer knowledge, we just wouldn’t get anything else done. I want you to think about if you are holding back the gold nuggets and maybe you could think about a way of educating your clients more. Maybe a blog or just more than the photos of the backs of people's heads, maybe write more, share more. Here is just a tiny bit of what I think they don’t know and an example to you the salon owners, as to how I think you could add value to your clients.

Let’s get one thing straight. Grey hair is a blessing for the lucky who will have to think about it if they live long enough. Yes, it is a privilege to live long enough to complain about the greys.

Lots of people find that when they go grey, their hair becomes coarser than before they were grey, so it will require a new set of skills and products to transition and manage the change. Like anything to do with the aging process, this coarseness can generally be attributed to less shine and moisture – both of which can be easily looked after with a great stylist and quality home hair care routine. I got you.

Some grey hair is beautiful when it’s looked after by a great cut and styled well, just like any other hair colour. I call it a senior blonde that comes without the regrowth! Personally, I think that grey hair shouldn’t be too long, with a few exceptions to the rule. If you do have grey hair and love it long, there are some fabulous images of older women with grey hair that are for the most part “up”. It is so much easier to have it longer and up than for you to be doing the blow wave daily thing. I also think that hair creates a much softer frame around a wonderful ageing face.

I think the trick with grey hair is that it looks great on people who have contrasting skin.

Consider, that if you were to look at everything through black and white lenses, you wouldn’t see the colour – only the depth of the shade. That’s why grey hair looks fabulous against darker skin – take perhaps Mediterranean skin, generally olive skin that might have seen 50 or 60 years of sunshine, not to mention very dark brown eyes. When the skin’s depth of shade is much deeper than the hair, it’s the contrast that makes it pop.

Some grey just washes people out, this is because the hair is the same level as the skin, the eyebrows, and the eyes. It’s not that salt and pepper grey can’t look great it most definitely can, there can be a lovely softness to this colouring, it is less striking and more subtle and that may be a great personality match too.

Make-up is a must for every woman on the planet, in my opinion, and for most, less really is more. What I really feel sad about is when I see women who don’t wear any make-up at all, who have grey hair, and get what I call the “husband cut” (same length on the top, back, and sides – it’s just so nothing!) It looks like they don’t care when I think they do care but they have slipped through that crack where their hairdressers suffer from the phrase” so what are we doing today”? If you are ever sitting in a salon chair and the hairdresser says that, run like Forest Gump. You deserve more respect than that.

I think this client just needs someone to show them a better way to do the minimum look.

Everyone should experience style. I know some wouldn’t know (or care) a good haircut if it smacked them in the face. Old habits die hard but once a hairdresser, always a hairdresser. In my opinion, a great haircut will do more for you than any other vitamin tablet sold in any health store. The trouble is some people have never really experienced the joy of looking and feeling good.

That reminds me of when I was learning to garden, and I was reading a book written about the late Edna Walling and her legacy of gardening. Edna was a famous Australian gardener, though she’s long gone now her style continues. She said it takes no longer to plant a well-thought-out tree or shrub than it does to plant any plant. The same can be said for the haircut. If you are going to use your time to get a haircut, get a great one. Likewise, a plant that’s perfect for your soil position and climate will thrive with little to no attention required by you, it is the same with a haircut.

In my book, I will be giving a shout-out to those who colour their hair at home out of a box. “This one-size-fits-all all approach to your hair is not the best you can be. If you can slap the colour on at home, then maybe it’s just a tad standard. And you are selling yourself short.

A great colourist can change your world usually in just one visit.

I think the damage that is done to your hair from applying that box colour over the previous ones, does nothing for your hair condition. It really is a disaster waiting to happen. You may get away with it for a while, however, it will eventually get out of control.

The reason you will get into trouble is because when it’s just you and the $16 box, neither of you has a clue. It’s a roll of the dice at best. In a hair salon, there are hundreds of options, so your formula is literally tailored to your needs, your hair type, your texture, and your grey. You deserve more than a one size suits some.

Another common reason people opt for box colour is money, people don’t see the value of a great colourist only because they have never experienced the joy that it brings. Most people never do the research to find a great place. They want to be able to walk in off the street and be taken straight in! The truth is: that the great ones have a demand for their skill set. You need to make an appointment. Stop complaining that you are never happy with the result.

It’s a person’s choice on where they spend their money but when it comes to value for money great hair that is healthy, full of life and has a wonderful shine is priceless and sexier than anything else. Surely there are other places you could cut back on your spending so that you can have your hair done by a professional and be absolutely rapt so that every time you see yourself in a mirror you smile. YES, great hair feels that good.”

If you want to be an outstanding salon, you need to do outstanding things. Get into the heart and soul of your client. Get to know them & educate them so that you can serve them better. After it is all said and done it’s a service industry after all.

For more salon wisdom, email me at lisa@ zingcoach.com.au, visit my website, find my video tips on YouTube or read my books, all available in paperback, eBook, and Audio at www.thezingproject.com.au