ELECTRIC FEEL

Giving your clients the skills to recreate effortlessly styled hair at home can lead to key retail opportunities and loyalty

We all know that clients can find themselves forever chasing that ‘fresh from the salon’ look, but realising the same results as their hairdresser can feel unachievable. We asked the experts to share the opportunities that an extra ten minutes at the end of an appointment and a focus on client education can bring to your business.

In recent years the simplicity of poker straight hair and intricate curls have fallen far down the list of desirable hairstyles, and in the wake of Covid-19, woke-up-like-this looks are the order of the day. Of course, stylists make these effortless hairstyles look easy to achieve in the salon, but some clients find themselves disappointed with their at-home attempts, posing the question – can hairdressers do more to guarantee satisfaction long after the client has left the salon? “Encouraging your clients to use the correct heat appliances and products at home is good hairdressing advice, we want our clients to enjoy doing their hair,” says Fay Flanagan, Balmain Hair Couture Educator. Kelly Shone- Adams, OSMO Technical Advisor and Owner of Technocracy Hair Salon adds: “It's important that during our appointments we ensure the client is educated in how to maintain and achieve their hair style at home. We talk through our processes and the reasons as to why we do certain things.” Providing this at no extra cost to the client is just as important a part of the service as the cut or colour.

Retail opportunities can also extend further than upselling products used during appointments. Why not boost sales with dedicated styling services or 15-minute education sessions? “Styling services should be offered to clients all year round, not just for Christmas,” says David Nicolson, Director at Rainbow Room International's Royal Exchange Square Salon, explaining that they encourage clients to come in for special occasions or nights out: “It's such a nice way for clients to treat themselves before an event. In spring/summer we start to see the launch of music festivals too, and we love promoting our styling services to encourage clients to come in. From braiding to power ponytails, it's a great time for clients to be more experimental with their styling.”

Giving up just half an hour of your time can lead to the client walking away with a combination of retail products, heat tools and the feeling of being looked after by their hairdresser, gaining even more loyalty for that next appointment. Cally Borg, owner at Cally Borg Hair, also offers free styling lessons to clients in order to teach them how to recreate salon looks: “Often the clients don’t know how to prepare the hair for heat styling which results in the style not quite reaching its full potential or lasting.” Abigail Butler, for L’Oréal Professionnel Paris, tells us that using the right products is vital to the client’s entire haircare regime. “If your clients are not used to using a heated tool, know that they can have confidence in using something that adds value to their hair rather than take it away.” Cally adds that educating clients has a knock-on effect of boosting sales: “The client is enjoying their hair, the colour isn’t fading or damaged from heat styling between sessions - plus they’re styling it well at home so they’re a fantastic walking advert for us locally.” Kelly also tells us that encouraging clients to regularly book for salon styling is an essential part of her salon services, and it can be offered at a reduced rate with younger team members: “We also offer a loyalty scheme where clients get a loyalty card and after five styling appointments, they get their sixth for free. This is a great way of giving something back to the client.”

Giving your clients the ability to experience that ‘just stepped out of the salon feeling’ and the skills to achieve a professional finish at home can go a long way to guaranteeing that all important boost to your business in the short and long term.