My 2014 ClipperGuy Men’s trend haircut collection debuts this month. My collection is my attempt to distill what is happening in men’s hair right now and where is men’s hair going in the next 12 months.

I was very gratified to see, this past week, the new trend collection from a major manufacturer and realize that two of their three haircuts are quite similar to two of the cuts in my collection. These guys are a whole team of people working together. I am just me and my crystal ball. Apparently we are both interpreting the same signals and seeing the same things.

Before I share my trend cuts (next blog posting) I wanted to explore why trend collections are important to mass market haircutters and how to use them.

Client Conversation - Trend collections are important as a foundation for client conversation. Clients want to know that their hair cutter is up to date, well informed and on trend. They want to know what is new and hot. They want to know what the celebrities, the pretty people and those on the edge are doing to be edgy. They might not ever really want to sport the collection, but they want to know that you know what is hot and how to deliver it.

Leadership – Clients want to know that their hair cutter is on the cutting edge. Salon owners and managers want to know that their employees are up to date, educated and ready to deliver. Talking and delivering trend are great ways to demonstrate leadership in our industry. Talk the talk, walk the walk and rake in the clients. You want to be seen as a leader not a follower. Some haircutters are trend setters, they create the trends. Some hair cutters are trend executers, they follow the trends and deliver trend on clients every day. Some hair cutters are trend adapters. These cutters tweak trends for the masses. You want to be one of these haircutters.

Adaptation – Few clients will ever really want a trend haircut. Few clients will have the hair for a pure version of the trend haircut. The key to using trend at your chair is to adapt the trend to the client in your chair. Elements of a trend cut can be taken from the look and adapted to any haircut or client. Portions of the trend can be tweaked and altered to fit hair densities, textures, lengths and lifestyles. The vast majority of the haircut client population is open to trend adaptation. The will want to know. They will want to choose. They will be open to learning how the trend can be applied to their hair. Trend adaptation is the classic, “what is in it for me” attitude.

Trend is important to what we do every day. It is also important on the days we do not truly sell the trend. Follow the trends. Know the trends. Understand the whys behind the trends.

Stop by for my next blog posting to see the FONT collection, my ClipperGuy 2014 trend haircuts.

Happy Clippering,

 Ivan