Romeu Felipe (@romeufelipe) is an Instagram superstar. His 1.1 million followers “like” and comment with lots of love on any of his more than 4800 posts. Most of the posts are of beautiful beautiful women with impressive color, courtesy the Wella Professionals Global Ambassador’s signature balayage technique (gently teased new growth, followed by tasteful painting along the mids and then heavy saturation on exposed ends.)

Romeu Felipe demos his signature highlighting and balayage technique at Wella Destination in Morocco

MODERN met with Felipe at Wella Destination, held in Morocco this last week. The three day event included stage presentations, small group break-outs, “under the tent” demos for ghd, OPI and SebMan, as well as dinners, networking and side trips. There were 730 hairdressers and colorists from 29 countries. It was a true international, fun and inspiring trip.

Filipe, based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, was one of the key presenters, teaching the latest in technique, trend and more. After demonstrating application on several models, Filipe returned to the stage to share his tips on developing a great Instagram page, offering insight on ways to make every feed successful. Through an interpreter, Felipe advised that’s it’s never too late to start an account or tweak an existing page. A lot of his success is based on talent, but it doesn’t hurt that Felipe is incredibly handsome, fit and charming. He made himself accessible for selfies offering a warm hug and little kiss on the cheek to anyone interested. The line was quite long.

Romeu Felipe's Social Media Tips:

Tips:

1. Make your account public.

2. Post a photo of you and your team at least once a week to show your personalities.

3. Post up to 3 times a day.

4. Use a ring light to ensure you have a good clarity of the image.

5. Take pictures from the front, back and sides so you can show the best angle.

6. Treat photos with filters and apps to improve the contrast or lighting.

7. Have a makeup set handy for touch-ups before the picture.

8. Vary the format of your posts, use videos, images boomerangs in your feed and ensure you share interesting and fun stories.

9. Add the hashtag related to the job and don’t forget to name your techniques (#balayage #cut)

10. Save photos to post later, don’t post in a rush!

After the presentation, MODERN met with several of the Wella Passionistas (professional stylists who regularly use and love Wella Professionals products) in attendance. The consensus? This list is perfect for anyone looking to launch or develop an Instagram presence. A favorite for Wella Hair Color Global Ambassador, Briana Cisneros @BrianaCisneros, who was there to hold a roundtable for the Passionistas, was Filipe’s tip #7. “He suggested we keep a makeup kit handy,” Cisneros says. “Sometimes the client just wants to spruce herself up before her picture is taken.”  But most significant to Cisneros was Felipe’s elaboration on tip #4: “He suggested we have two rings lights in the salon - one set on warm for the face, and another lighting the hair set on cool. Genius.”

Romeu Felipe settling for just one ring light (caught behind the scenes at Wella Destination as he created an Instagram post):