“Going Grey Is Fine If A Client Suits Grey Hair, But They Are The Exception”

Salon owner Gustav Fouche discusses the pros and cons of clients transitioning to grey and why ‘growing old gracefully’ isn’t the same for everyone

by KELSEY | CONVERSATIONS

Gustav Fouche

“I always say going grey is fine if a client suits grey hair, but they are the exception. For most people, they see ‘going grey’ as just leaving the hair to go grey naturally, which doesn’t work, because it doesn’t suit the skin tone. It requires work to make grey hair look good.”

“More and more, I see other hairdressers suggesting clients transition to grey but that massively impacts business. All of a sudden, clients think, ‘Oh, we can just leave our hair.’ It encourages them to leave the salon and do nothing with their hair going forward. The result? You have regulars who used to visit every six weeks now no longer visiting at all.”

“A lot of people discuss growing old gracefully, but what does that even mean? It’s each person’s individual wants and needs. For my clients, I encourage them to be outrageous. I love outrageous. Let’s shock the people. When people walk in the street, let them look at us, be quirky and bring out all your uniqueness. That’s what I love. If your uniqueness is to be very Chanel, then that’s fine. And if your uniqueness is to be very Alexander McQueen, then that is also okay. But let’s bring some personality, whatever level of scale that is, let’s encourage clients to show it in their looks, whatever their age.”

“Really look at your client. To give them the most flattering result possible, the perfect grey requires salon services. That may not be every six weeks, but rather an appointment every eight to 10 weeks (or at the most four times a year) to make the grey creamier, to add texture or whatever is required for them to look amazing.”

“A lot of people discuss growing old gracefully, but what does that even mean? It’s each person’s individual wants and needs.”

“We need to look at ways to keep them coming back – it’s the same for balayage clients! If you only see a client once in four months, do you realise how many clients you need to see to actually have a full diary? On a typical day, if you see six clients and they come every four months across a five-day working week, that is 30 clients. If you think of this across a four-month cycle, that’s 500 people that you need to have as clients. That is massive for a general diary, which is typically 180 clients. The reality is you would need to see double the number of clients to have the same outcome.”

Gustav with his client June

“As an industry, we need to look at how we will survive. I have grey-haired clients, but they will see me for a gloss, toner or neutralisation. They do not leave their hair to its own devices. Look at each client as an individual and see what you can do to enhance because every single client’s hair can be enhanced. And it may be very subtle. Speak to your clients – find out what they like and what they dislike – and tap into what makes them unique. The key is offering bespoke services tailored to their needs.”

Gustav’s salon

“A lot of my older clients now have a pink or purple piece in their hair, and that is the attitude that we should embrace. Let’s uplift people. Let’s take them to a place where they can stand and look and just be happy and confident. I think women are the best things ever, and we as hairdressers should celebrate them and help them grow in confidence by bringing out that inner reliance in them. I think that is is the true skill that hairdressers have.”