If you’re looking to reach new clients, expand your services or boost your profits, here’s everything you need to know about offering colour services in barbershops...
Don’t Neglect Training
There are various routes you can take for this, including working directly with colour providers. Bobby Gordon, founder of Fella Soho, Canterbury and Folkestone explains: “A few of our team members at Fella have attended colour courses with Revlon, which really explained the range of colours that we use in the shops for more creative work," while Harps Bhogal, owner of Odyssey Male Grooming, offers in-house training to support her team’s development.
What’s Hot?
The most popular services appear to fall into two categories: grey coverage and creative colour.
Mikey Pearson from Manifesto explains: “We just concentrate on grey coverage; we don’t actually cover the grey 100%, but we make the grey less bright so it blends in nicer to their original colour, making it look more natural.”
Ian Harrold from Attitude Men’s Hair and International American Crew All Star adds: “We have a growing clientele who enjoy keeping their hair short and changing the colour regularly – due to the length they wear their hair, the colour grows out quickly so they are able to colour their hair more often.”
Meanwhile, Wez Jones, owner of The HeartBreak Club adds that buzz cuts paired with soft pinks and blues have been on the rise. Plus, bold colours aren’t the only way colouring is getting creative in barbering, with Harps explaining: “The trend I’ve see going around recently is free hand painting and creating stencil-like shapes on the head.”
Consultation is Key
The consultation process is just as important as your training, with Bobby sharing: “We make sure we know exactly the colour the client is after and how achievable that is. We have colour charts which help both sides get an understanding of what colour would work and we make sure the client has a skin test at least 48 hours before any service is carried out.
“During consultation, we check the scalp and the base colour and make sure we know the history of the hair, in case there is a colour already on the ends.”
Harps points out that other important aspects of a colour consultation can include discussing maintenance and home care regimens, to ensure longevity.
Still on the fence about whether colour services and barbershops are a good fit? This article will convince you to take the plunge.
Feature image: Mike Taylor, Mike Taylor Education
