Sophia Hilton is… the honest colourist THE OWNER OF NOT ANOTHER SALON AND THE <strong>2017</strong> MOST WANTED COLOUR EXPERT SAYS WHAT NO ONE ELSE WILL… 36 <strong>Colour</strong> <strong>Forecast</strong>
“EVERYONE IN OUR industry will recognise the colour pandemic we are in. Hundreds of overly retouched Instagram images flood our clients’ social media, leaving us with a queue of potential business with hopelessly unrealistic expectations. <strong>Colour</strong>ists have become ‘famous’ on Instagram for all-day transformations, leading thousands of regular hairdressers across the world to experience a confidence crisis, because they all work on commercial timings and cannot possibly compete. <strong>Colour</strong>s are no longer created for the client and there is no thought for maintenance or hair condition, but simply to create an image with maximum ‘likes’. The very reason we have an industry is our clients, but they are being forgotten. “Scrolling down Instagram, it might feel that the colouring industry is rising, but it’s far from true. Underneath each of these ‘perfect’ images are millions of colourists across the world who are losing confidence in their own abilities. They represent how the gap between high paid and regular colourists is widening to a dangerous degree, and how clients are losing faith in hairdressers’ abilities. But saddest of all – hairdressers are losing faith in themselves. “So how has this happened? When a colourist is especially talented (and these guys are, there is no doubt about that), they can often raise their prices again and again (who wouldn’t, right?). The higher they charge, the more time they can give a client. This means that before long, what they can achieve in ‘one appointment’ will now will far outweigh what is achievable on the average hairdresser’s commercial timings. These images appear online without information of time or cost, generating even more clients with even more money, meaning they can give (you’ve guessed it) more time. “Clients bring these videos and images to their local salon and get confused and even angry when they discover their hairdresser can’t create the same look in their 45-minute Saturday appointment. And who can blame them? How are they to know any different? I can tell you honestly that during the opening of Not Another Salon, I also felt this pressure to compete with extreme content to prove my worth. But let me be transparent; almost a year on, the hair condition of those clients is questionable. I know colour additives make us feel invincible but I assure you, we are not. Bleach is a damaging chemical that deteriorates hair over time. It rots it from the inside. No, you won’t hear any product company saying that, but I’m not a product company – I’m a fellow hairdresser struggling with what is happening, just like you. “Now let’s talk about the images. We all know a huge percentage of these images are retouched and I’m not here to judge those that do. In this ‘filtered Instagram’ era, hiding our flaws is well and truly part of our culture. But what I need to bring to the front of these people’s minds is while that action might elevate their career, it is severely damaging the industry in the long term. It leads to more hairdressers needing to compete by putting up more extreme images without explanations, which in turn makes it harder and harder for the industry… the cycle continues. “So, what should we do? I have set up Not Another Academy to deal with unrealistic expectations and give colourists confidence again. As an educator, I am lucky to be one of those leading the industry, so I believe I have a responsibility to help it and not hold it back for the sake of my ego. My courses and images are NOT an opportunity to show off, but to help you feel safe in the knowledge you are not alone and that we can fight this together. “Now what can you do? First, you need to stop accepting this is out of your control and realise that it is you who decides who is leading our industry. I refuse to contribute to the mess that we are in and I urge you to do the same. AVOID posting or reposting an extreme image if you can, but if you do, make sure you give a full explanation and hashtag #honestcolourist. Most importantly of all, at every opportunity educate your clients online about ‘the truth’ of modern colouring. “Let’s help each other; think about the collective and not just ourselves. As hairdressers, we make up one per cent of the working population – together we are an army. We can saturate social media with the truth that will make every day of our lives easier. We CAN change this, one image at a time.” SEE MORE Watch Sophia’s video on creativeheadmag.com/education <strong>Colour</strong> <strong>Forecast</strong> 37
Change language