Conversations on COLOUR

Jack and the Wolfe salon’s co-founder Lydia Wolfe shares her view on colour service pricing and why she loves nothing more than a shine line

What do you love most about being a colourist? 

Being a colourist is so much fun and the opportunities are endless. The world of colour is so vibrant and you can really push the creative boundaries and experiment as much as you want. From beautiful and subtle blends such as honey blondes and rich brunettes to the crazy colours of fuchsia and forest green – no colour day is ever the same and every single colour you create is truly unique. It’s a joy to be part of the industry.

Where do you go for your colour inspiration? 

I’m a firm believer in embracing the inspiration that surrounds you and I do just that. From flowers to artwork, buildings to individuals, there is colour everywhere and it’s up to you to choose how to use that within your creative vision. I also look towards the fashion week runways as they give such incredible ideas and it pushes the boundaries and helps us experiment with patterns, textures and colour.

What are your favourite colouring techniques at the moment?

I could do back-to-back high impact foilage all day at the moment. Post-lockdown transformations are really satisfying and everyone seems to want a big change which is so much fun! I’m also obsessed with the reflective tones of Goldwell’s Elumenated shades for when the sun hits my clients’ hair.

What colour trends are you pleased to see out of fashion? 

I’m never glad to see the back of trends because I know I will love them when they come back again and they always do. I’m pleased more clients are requesting warmth and golds instead of ash as it doesn’t suit everyone’s skin tone and it can be so flat.

Are there any trends or techniques you’d like to bring back?

I know it’s all about beach waves and fluffy texture at the moment but bring back the shine line. It’s a gorgeous and timeless way to enhance a haircut. I’ve seen a few beautiful versions created with vivid colours recently and I’d love to see more in the salon.

What are the biggest challenges facing professional colourists at the moment?

There’s a lot of challenges when it comes to pricing. Within the UK there is a wider community who focus on the discount market and are actively seeking cheaper appointments wherever possible. As professional colourists, it’s important that we do not underestimate our skills and prices. We have trained for an exceptional amount of time, we use the best professional brands, we are skilled in colour application and take our time to achieve our client’s vision. It’s important we educate the wider community and allow them to understand this.

What’s been your most memorable colour consultation? 

When I was newly qualified I had a consultation with a girl with waist length virgin brown hair who wanted a rainbow vivid colour before vivids took off in salons. There wasn’t any education on how to manage client expectations. I told the client it would take a whole day of my time and lots of product and treatments and how much that would cost. I was so nervous to tell her because it felt so expensive. She was happy with the quote and kept the colour with regular maintenance appointments. It was the first time I charged my worth and had the client on board with the complexity of the process.

What colour creation makes you most proud? 

It’s between my 2017 and 2018 winning Goldwell Color Zoom creations. If I had to choose it would be the latter because my model had years and years of black box dye to start with which took a few months to work through ahead of shooting the look which was very pale pastel greys, blues and pinks. The transformation was absolutely incredible.