Hairdresser Notes - Hair Color Re-Do's

Re-do’s: Part One

There are many challenges we face in the hairdressing industry today but the one that is a huge concern and keeps growing is the “re-do’s” in hair color. I cannot begin to count how many emails I get or stylists as well as salon owner that ask me to teach how to stop re-do’s from happening, hence why this post and a few to follow.

Not Listening; The minute the client sits in your chair we instantly go around and behind the chair and start touching the hair and looking at that client through a mirror, and as we touch and look while the client is expressing either their desires or dislikes we are too busy conjuring up what our approach will be, so in fact because we are so busy thinking we aren’t fully listening to Key information that is being said.

Communication; There must be a verbal and visual understanding between stylist and client to successfully produce the desired end results. I cannot stress enough how important it is to see and use visuals (pictures) of hair colors the client loves and wants, not hair color swatches which are meant for the stylist to look at in their mixing areas. Remember trying to reproduce a color from the swatch book is never a true match unless the individual has white mono-fiber hair which I highly doubt. With visuals from magazines and having the client pick and point to their own interpretation of reds, blondes, brown’s etc is the best way to see what they see even if their red colors are actually violets to you, this way it is a clear visual understanding, using non-hairdressing language, words that are attainable example; desire is to have soft caramel highlights the color of Kraft caramels (everyone know that color).

Skills Level; 90 % of the time a hair color re-do is not based on the technique chosen to do but how well the stylist knows the line of hair color product and formulating. It is shocking to me through my years of educating how many people formulate off memory, the 1 to 10 possible formulas that are being done on everyone because it worked on Mrs. Smith. Understanding a hair color line should be like knowing your spice rack, and that each individual that sits in your chair has their very own DNA - chemistry there for we customize. A hairdresser must also know color theory basic fundamentals and each and every single component in a hair color line and what it can do and deliver to successfully color hair.