Credit: @traehowardhair

A return to work after COVID-19 shutdowns will be a return to hairdressers being creative, with both their styling and their way of operating. Time management and self-preservation will be key.

 In the early days and weeks of reopening salons, you might be doing “triage,” attending to the most pressing hair needs, first (grey coverage, much-needed haircuts) while putting full-heads of highlights on hold until you can catch up. You may be doing virtual consultations to get a visual of your client’s hair status and to talk through the “new normal” of salon services. Whatever changes you may need to make—either short term or long term—you’ll want products that help you work smarter.  

We asked Trae Howard (@traehowardhair), a Nashville artist specializing in on-location bridal hair, and a member of MODERN SALON’s Artist Connective, for some of her favorite multi-tasking products from Schwarzkopf Professional.

DOUBLE DUTY

OSiS+ Freeze

“I just did my first bridal test yesterday and it went really well,” Howard shares. “For the work I do here in Nashville, I need products that can withstand our Tennessee humidity. I use OSiS + Freeze on styles that require a lot of structure and hold. Even though I see people moving to softer, more natural looks, there is still demand for ‘Russian Ridges,’ the more formal, defined looks. You need the power of a product that is going to keep that style together.”

Howard says she uses OSiS+ Freeze “sparingly” and she builds on it. “It’s such a strong hold product, but I don’t only use it to set; I use it as I work through a section. I spray it on, brush it through, and then keep working, even though it’s not technically a working spray. But because of the humidity and all of the outdoor events, this is a real work horse of a product and keeps styles in place. It’s so reliable.”

Credit: @traehowardhair

More tips from Schwarzkopf Professional for use:

• To create waves without having to use any heat tools, braid hair/put up in bun and then spray afterwards to hold waves (elongating styles without effort).

• For curly hair, lightly spray each individual curl to enhance the ringlets and to maintain natural hair texture.  

OSiS+ Dust It

Looking ahead to summer, stylists know the heat and humidity equals hot and oily. “And an oily scalp will ruin any good hairstyle,” says Howard. “OSiS+ Dust It is a powder that is really good for absorbing oils in the hair. You don’t have to use a Dry Shampoo if you have this in your kit. You just tap this on and work it in. It gives a very cool texture so you can expand and pull through braids for extra volume.”

And, again with multi-tasking in mind, Howard says this product will be great on brides, bridesmaids and Mothers of the Bride, too. “If you have a guest who has fine or even thinning hair, OSiS+ Dust It helps build up the hair and keeps it from clumping together. By absorbing the oil, the hair isn’t weighed down and has more volume and texture, and you’re not fighting the oil to get your style to hold.”

More tips from Schwarzkopf Professional for use:

• Powder that provides strong texture for 24 hours of volume control to easily elevate at-home looks

• Helps add extra oomph and body to buns and braids

Credit: @traehowardhair

HELP YOUR SALON

Time management will extend to making sure your clients don’t get quarantine crazy and pick up box color (which could mean a long and complicated color correction) and that when you are serving your guests, again, you can send them home with products that will extend their style and their color (like BC BONACURE Hyaluronic Moisture Kick Spray Conditioner, a leave-in conditioner that provides moisture + protection while also serving as a detangler, and GOODBYE YELLOW, a purple-toned shampoo which neutralizes yellow and helps to prolong cool tone-d color in between salon visits).

To ensure that the stylist is benefiting from these product recommendations, Schwarzkopf Professional launched their HelpYourSalon.us Hairdresser Support Initiative.  This commission-based e-commerce option and free platform was designed to help salons and independent hairdressers survive a shut-down with the means to generate an immediate cash flow. This initiative will last through June. After June, these products can be purchased through CosmoProf.

Getting started is quick and easy:

• No online shop needed 

• Easy registration in less than 2 minutes 

• Link or sign up to a PayPal account

• Personalized vouchers

• Sales revenue gets directly transferred to hairdresser´s PayPal account – no middleman, no time-delay

• Easy to share with clients using social media, WhatsApp and more

• No sign-up or registration fees, no transfer fees

Loyal clients can buy vouchers to use when the salon is re-opened. Salons can choose to offer discounts on any pre-purchased services to help incentivize sales.

“We can only succeed by standing together,” says Simon Ellis, Schwarzkopf Professional International Creative Director.  “You as a proud, creative hairdressers and we, as a team of top professionals, committed to your welfare, committed to helping you continue doing what you love creating—beautiful hair!”

HELP YOURSELF

“I found since being back in salon during this pandemic our new normal looks a little different!” says stylists and extension specialist, Abbey Brookee (@abbeybrookee) on a recent Instagram post. “Spacing out my day. As there is a limit as to how many people we can have in the salon at once, no double-booking clients and no help from other stylist during the appointment.  It takes a lot longer for each appointment, also because roots are longer than usual which makes most appointments color corrections instead of just a balayage appointment. There is no more ‘squeezing’ in clients because we physically do not have any time to. Masks are the new normal and pre booking is a must. For us stylists, that is not a bad thing so don’t get hung up on that-- it is just the new normal!”

See more of the offerings from Schwarzkopf Professional that are helping hairdressers navigate the new normal and learn more about HelpYourSalon.us