August 2019

August 2019

August 2019 Cover

Hair: Erin Mills and Natalie Thomas

Photographer: Roberto Ligresti

Makeup: David Maderich and Madge Earle for MAC Cosmetics

 

FROM THE EDITOR

I was recently asked to talk about my job with eighth-grade students at a career fair. It was nearing graduation day so, as you can imagine, it was tough to hold their attention. We talked about hairdressing, creativity, content and more—but nothing I shared held the room as much as when we talked about social media, what platforms they’re active on, and the beauty influencers they’d heard of.

I wasn’t crazy about their focus on follower count and how many of them requested a follow from me “to get more likes.” As the mom of two small boys, the idea of kids’ self-esteem being tied up in likes and follows makes me uneasy. It also made me start thinking about the importance of putting into context the reasons why not just a following, but the right following, matters.

Many successful stylists have carved out a space in the Instagram world targeting just their potential clientele—a petite but powerful platform designed to bring new clients in the door, where the whole page and every Story is leading the follower to book an appointment.

Madison Fetterhoff, @hairstylist.madison, said she was able to build her dream clientele through the exposure she got from Instagram. “I was able to fire half my clients and become a color specialist without any financial set back,” she says. “I have more new client requests than I can accommodate.”

You can also take advantage of Instagram to do all sorts of cool things, connecting with editors or your favorite beauty brands, getting opportunities to do photoshoots and work with professional models, even getting opportunities to style celebrities—many artists are getting paid to do product posts, judge competitions or work at high-profile events, all because they connected.

“Instagram has opened up so many doors for me to get into education and launch my own tour,” says Michelle Zeller-Porumb, @mane_ivy. “It also has given me an audience to be able to start my own hair accessory line.”

As MODERN’s editor in chief, I believe in creating and protecting a platform and community to ensure voices are heard and talent is seen. When we started to put together our 2019 MODERN SALON 100, we felt it important to not publish each artist’s number of followers like we have in the past. A small following shouldn’t deter your attention from deserving work. 

Yes, a following absolutely has a way of unlocking opportunity, but if you get too wrapped up in numbers, you lose the authenticity of what makes Instagram, and your unique talents, so powerful.

Throughout these pages and expanded online profiles, we hope you absorb the varying opinions and experiences to best take advantage of this free platform to strengthen your own community and achieve your own unique goals.

--Alison Alhamed, editor in chief

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