Beauty and Kindness: Stylists Find What They Need from Partnering with Alter Ego Italy

The company you keep in good times and bad can shape your future.  Feeling supported during COVID-19 shutdowns by their brand partnership with Alter Ego Italy, a line of color and care that is finding a warm welcome in the US market, meant these two stylists/salon owners have been able to reopen and service their clients, better than ever. During an insecure time, the brand offered some solid ground in the form of a stimulus package (to boost retail sales), virtual gatherings for sharing advice and information, and—very important— products developed for fast, consistent color service.

PARTNER IN SUCCESS

Brittany Chambers, the owner of Fluff Bar @fluffbar in Denver, CO, knew she wouldn’t be styling too many weddings during COVID-19 lockdown (Fluff has an award-wining Bridal Artistry Team, doing an average of 300 weddings a year) but she did think she’d have a bit of free time if she wasn’t working in the salon.  Not so much.

“I have a 7-year-old son and my days quickly turned into trying to figure out how to balance home-school with trying to understand and navigate the pandemic and its implications, taking care of our client's needs, rescheduling service appointments and weddings, answering questions and concerns during the shutdown and making sure my team was doing OK,” she says.  But the advice and assistance from Alter Ego kept her from feeling overwhelmed.

“Our salon mission is to Celebrate Life Through Beauty.  Alter Ego Italy's mission of Beauty and Kindness goes perfectly with our brand and philosophy," Chambers shares. "I love the fact that they are family owned and when I chose to switch to Alter Ego Italy, I genuinely felt like I was part of a family.  I have met one of the brothers, Frederico, and I have met one of the heads of product development, Alessandro, who I now consider to be one of my mentors.  I have never felt so cared for and valued by a color company and I feel so proud to be one of the first salons in the United States to be an exclusive Alter Ego Italy salon.”

Danielle Avila @danielleavila.hair lives in the Bay Area, in Sunnyvale, CA,  and currently owns a single chair studio salon suite but will soon be opening a two-chair suite called Craft Hair Loft.

“I chose Alter Ego Italy products when transitioning from a salon chair rental to a studio suite,” Avila explains. “I am big on the science behind color and very picky about the quality and integrity of what I use. I went to a local intro color class on Alter Ego and was blown away by the innovation behind the brand.

“Since our suites are limited on space, I also loved how they condensed the line, and kept it at a great price point, without cutting corners or leaving any areas unmet,” she continues. “I only have three small drawers of color and lighter, which can all use the same developer, and can be transformed from high lifts to permanent, grey coverage, demi permanent and semi-permanent --from the same tube!-- using Alter Ego pH Changer ( an additive formulated to transform traditional permanent color to become an acid tone-on-tone color, demi-color and toner). I’m saving so much space, time and money now that I am using Alter Ego, and the results are the best I have seen in 10 years doing hair.”

 When Avila couldn’t work in her business, she worked on her business.

“I decided to take this time to focus on  my social media and education side of my business. Our industry is about so much more than just the work in the salon, and unfortunately I see a lot of stylists leaving it, when they could be very successful! It kills me to see so many stylists out there struggling to have their dream clients and giving up. I have been putting together an online course to help indie stylists identify, attract, connect and keep their dream clients. I’m a 3rd generation hairstylist, yet the first one to be truly successful. It’s time to send the elevator back down!”

BUILT FOR SPEED

The time needed to clean and disinfect between clients means that salon services need to be efficient and impactful, achieving desired results in a set amount of time.  Also, with health department guidance calling for just one client at a time—no double booking—both Chambers and Avila say there are specific products from Alter Ego Italy that have helped them work more quickly and effectively so they can see more clients and work to recover lost revenue.

MODERN SALON: How has using the Alter Ego Italy line helped you bounce back?

BRITTANY CHAMBERS:  Alter Ego Italy has three specific products that I use to simplify my color and speed up my service.  Pure Hi-Lite is one of my go-to products for brunette color corrections or when one of my brunette clients who is down for a single process color lets me know they would like a little change and maybe add in some more dimension. Pure Hi-Lite lifts color-treated hair and if you add a color booster to your Pure Hi-Lite, I can lift and tone at the same time while my single-process color is processing which means not having to add too much additional time to the service. 

One of Alter Ego Italy's newer tools is their double bristle balayage brush.  With this tint brush, I can backcomb my balayage section, eliminating having to do it with the comb, create the perfect blend with the brush, and do detail work.  I love this brush so much, I use it for my single process color, too.  It has a very thin row of bristles that are a different texture and slightly higher than the rest of the brush.  It is GENIUS, I don't think I can ever go back to using a standard tint brush. 

The other product I love is their pH Changer, which simplifies my ordering and color cabinets.  The pH Changer transforms Technofruit Permanent Color into a demi or semi-permanent. 

DANIELLE AVILA: Alter Ego Italy Technofruit Color works quickly and rinses out like conditioner. It only takes 35 minutes for root touchups and as quick as 10 minutes for toners. I use their Hi-Lift series in foils a lot; I’m able to let them process for 60 minutes without having to tone after so this gives me time to take care of other things or even to take another guest, without worry about the results, it’s so constant. Alter Ego’s toners last so long I rarely ever need to refresh color, so moving into reopening, my clients have thanked me for giving them low maintenance and long-lasting results.  

The balayage lightener and brush makes application super-fast and clean; I can backcomb and apply in seconds without worrying about it drying out or reapplying.

They also have a quick acting lightener (Ultra 9 Lightener) that can lift in 20 minutes which helps me when adding foils on to root colors without having to spend the extra time to process. Using the Pure Hi-Lite, you can use this to lift through 2 levels of color and remain on tone, which is huge for adding on highlight services without adding on time!

These have saved me so much money without adding time.  The line has everything I need and at a great price.

One thing that has been a huge help while I couldn’t see my guests is using Alter Ego Italy Passion Masks as a deposit only color to refresh color and even blend grays, which is super easy to work with once we return. My clients have been super happy with at-home, professional- approved options to keep their hair looking good months after their appointments.

MODERN SALON: What do you think salons and stylists are going to need from brands as they reopen and resume their work?

DANIELLE AVILA: Moving forward I think stylists will need more online support from brands. We will be so busy going back we won’t have time to travel for education as often, so having online courses will be huge.

Also, I think having brands like Alter Ego Italy, who repost our work and comment back when we engage on things through social media, is something we will value more than ever, and Alter Ego is honestly great with this. You really do feel like you have a team supporting you.

Another thing I think we will need from brands is allowing direct ship to clients. This has been a huge financial help during this time, and going forward, I believe people will spend less time inside beauty stores and want to support small business salon owners. Having that option to ship direct from the distributor to our guest without worrying about who has touched it on the shelf will be a big change for how consumers shop. Plus, clients now realize that they can support us in ways other than services.

I’ve seen a lot of indie stylists planning to leave the industry as a result of this pandemic. Feeling support from a brand like Alter Ego, having them cheering us on, will be much needed moving forward. 

BRITTANY CHAMBERS:  I think as an industry what salon owners and stylists need from brands is business sense.  Our industry is such an amazing industry full of incredibly thoughtful, loving and talented humans…who do not understand the cost of doing business.  I love the educators who are popping up on social media to educate our industry on the cost of doing business and the importance of charging for each service we are providing to our clients to create a look. 

And as we move forward, I think that is the most important type of education a brand can offer and it’s what I’m getting from Alter Ego Italy.  I am so excited about our future as an industry and all of the positive changes happening as we continue to celebrate life through beauty!   

Visit the Alter Ego Italy website for more information on their mission of beauty and kindness and learn how you can become part of the family.