So a deacde ago when you and I signed up to facebook it was all exciting times and yes it was fun to figure out what to upload, and so we all started creating albums, choosing profile pictures etc..
We started stalking some people, befriended others, and perhaps unfriended some fairly quickly too!
and then came twitter, and then came instagram and pinterest and snapchat ,... and there's probably something I have not quite clocked yet that has just started too!
Problem is that now we are getting so manufactured that it is not just an image we put on our social media we have to aspire to creating a brand not a profile....
Social Media is a great tool - I do love it... but as a Hair Stylist social media is slowly becoming a nightmare - and it is a monster that we have created!
Just like on your facebook or other social media you will upload pictures of yourself having fun and how amazing your life is (or what you would like other people to believe) pictures of you and your hair are taken with military precision - the right angle, the right lighting (and perhaps some filter or two) and next thing you know your audience is jealous of something that does not even really quite exist. (possibly like your life)
Now I am not saying in any way that all those hair images on the web do not exist but it is all a little bit 'smoke and mirrors'.
With Social media a bit like your own public notice board - stylists' love creating their art and putting it our there - which is why WE created this monster - we like to blow our trumpet, but while we are happy to display our art we are slowly leading people to believe that this is regular run of the mill, making the client think it is not much more expensive than your regular tint.... it isn't!
When we see an image of a hair colour it is the final image that we are seeing but the amount of work to achieve the final result or what happend to the colour a few weeks later (or the maintenance needed) is very rarely seen....and that is where the problem lies.
Cost is another issue. As we all know a Stylist's time costs money and after seeing that image all one thinks is that it is possible, but a lot of these colours will take hours to create and hours in a salon chair apart from giving you a numb bum will also give you a hefty bill.... but this message is not getting through with the image.
Thing is that hair image is locked into time and space on the web forever, but in reality that hair is going to get washed, it is gonna grow - and it is definitely not going to hold like that picture! - which is why we see so many messy colours out there nowadays because that amazing denim becomes murky and khaki after a few washes , rose gold becomes a wishy-washy orangey-yellow and platinum blondes becomes patchy mess with purple blotches after being shampooed to an inch of its life with silver shampoo!
Because the reality is that most of these colours are fairly impractical, and the images you see on social media is about what the Hair Stylist can achieve (at least on the day the pic was taken) - not what you as the client should have.
The pressure on hair stylists to perform this way is becoming huge but just because you can do these kind of colours it does not mean that you should! Even though there are ways to protect the hair from a lot of colouring nowadays pushing the boundaries of hair is not the reason hair stylists exist, he/she is there to enhance beauty , to touch up your greys - to give you a new look... to give advice.
Because just like with our social media we do not upload an image of us drinking soup with our feet up watching telly - so we equally do not put an image of a trim we just did.
That does not mean that a trim or a regular set of highlights is not cool - we just do not upload it coz it is not as big an impact visually (on social media) as denim hair.... but still you should not shun it! because the simpler things (just like that soup) are beautiful too!
If your Hair Stylist tells you that a bright near impossible colour inspired by Frozen with a touch of Moster's Inc and a splash of Manga is not a good idea - they are not being lazy, he/she would simply like you to still have decent hair in 2 weeks time after a few washes, rather than get the great instagram picture but ruined hair.... because ideally you want hair looking great in the weeks following.
Because while that picture on instagram will be far gone in your followers memory in a few weeks, days even - your hair (hopefully) will still be on your head!
So think long and hard before giving in to the next # or colour trend you stumble upon.
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