Techniques to tempt clients for Christmas SELF/STYLED Sunday Creative HEAD Magazine

This SELF/STYLED Sunday saw hair experts showcase tips and techniques to guarantee a happy Christmas for clients with tantalising new colours and styles

As the autumnal rain poured on Sunday 29 October, Zoom screens across the UK and beyond lit up as SELF/STYLED Sunday made its final outing of the year.

Under the theme of creating more services to please clients ahead of the Christmas rush, viewers tuned in to enjoy two masterclasses and learn a thing or two about new techniques. The first was on colour blocking with Wella Professionals wholesale education leader, Kelly Laurie and the second, a short hair colour, cut and styling masterclass with Indola ambassadors and real-life married couple Abbey Smith and Andy Smith.

If there is one colour service that’s guaranteed to excite clients during the Christmas period, it has to be colour blocking. During the masterclass, Kelly demonstrated that colour blocking can be adapted to different client needs, whether they are after bold blocks or subtler blends, making clear that this is a service that can appeal to all with great commercial value.

Dependent on client desires, application differs, said Kelly. For those after a bold look, work on panels in triangle pattern sections. However, be wary about which way around you do your triangle technique, as this will determine the colour result. “If it is a thin section at the top and wide at the bottom, then you’re going to get a small amount of colour that moves into a heavy, bold deposit through the bottom of the hair. If you do it the reverse, and it’s wide at the top and thinner at the bottom, then you’re going to see a heavy, bold amount of colour that’s going to trickle out into less colour through the bottom.”

One of Kelly’s headblocks after (above)

If a client has lots of layers in their hair, Kelly advised stylists to “go wider on the top and thinner at the bottom.” She then steered the conversation to balancing client wishes with ensuring the best possible outcome.

On the topic of colour-blocking face framing, she gave this example. “So a client comes to you and she wants a face frame. She brought you pictures of this beautiful blonde face frame, but she has a round face shape. If you put all your highlights around the hairline, you’re going to make her face shape appear rounder.”

Here, Kelly reminded stylists to take on the role of advisers, as they may do exactly what the client wants, but when the client looks in the mirror, they may not like it. This is where considered colour placement comes in, she added. “Remember, where you place lighter colours you’re going to enhance and make them appear more noticeable. When you add darker colours, you’re going to make it less noticeable. It’s what we call a push-pull effect.”

Abbey and Andy’s before and after look (above left to right)

Next up was the short hair colour, cutting and styling masterclass with Indola ambassadors Abbey and Andy Smith. Abbey started by applying Indola’s Blonde Expert Bleach from the root to the tip to lift the hair to a “warm natural blonde.”

For stylists wanting to offer their clients a scalp bleach service, Abbey advised them to check that their client is the right candidate first. This includes getting them in for a strand test, to ensure their hair can withstand the bleach and then finding out whether they are the type of client that will come in for a top-up every six weeks. If they aren’t, and come in every eight weeks or more, the root will be “too long for you to touch up,” leaving your client with a band that will go warm and thus a “nightmare for you to clean out.”

Then Andy took over to transform the model’s grown out bowl cut into a more dynamic and blended short hair look. His tool of choice? BaByliss Pro clippers. However, a creative haircut isn’t just achieved through great tools, but by sophisticated technique too. “When using the clippers, it doesn’t mean that we just shave it all out,” he stated. “We really need to be careful to make sure we build in the right shape and use the movement of the clippers.”

Andy’s work created a more blended haircut and a “softer feeling” with hair that’s “able to move in different directions.” He also advised applying the clippers to dry instead of wet hair, as you can see the shape taking form clearer. If a client has straighter hair, it makes blending out any lines all the more important, said Andy. “Any lines will be seen in that, right? So, we need to make sure that there’s attention to detail, just commit to that softness. That blend is really, important.”

There were golden nuggets of information aplenty this SELF/STYLED Sunday. So, the main takeaway? That technique and adjusting this to suit the needs of the client in your chair is paramount! There’s little point in having all the tools and no idea!

To dive deeper into colour blocking, head to our Facebook and enjoy an additional SELF/STYLED Sunday session with Jordanna Cobella here