Gemini

The power of two saloninternational.co.za

“The Gemini collection plays on the idea of twins. The zodiac sign’s symbolistic duality of two distinct personalities and images are captured in one single, striking image. Imagined in moody grayscale, the metallic elements in the fashion styling reflect the depth of textures within the hair and the captivating, complementary shapes.”

James Nicklin, Tim Scott Wright @ The Hair Surgery

Hair: James Nicklin, Tim Scott Wright @ The Hair Surgery Make-up: Stacey Ellen Simpson Styling: Tim Scott Wright Art Team Photography: James Nicklin saloninternational.co.za

Living indoors with the outdoors

Lauren Gibson looks at the benefits of incorporating greenery into your salon environment

Our industry has mostly been an indoor industry and environment – confined to treatment rooms for 8 to 12 hours and sometimes longer.

While the trend of bush treatments and outdoor experiences has grown, we are still seeing salon treatments being done behind closed doors – and for obvious reasons.

However, nature therapy is an extremely powerful and easy therapy to bring into your salon. It is not only important for clients having treatments, but for staff working in the salon or spa environment as well.

Connection to nature

There is science backed information to support the movement of greenery indoors. We are connected to nature and living and working with it in our space will improve our overall wellbeing.

Studies have shown that plants indoors and in your workspace can • Create a sense of relaxation – nature allows our central nervous system to be engaged and this generates a sense of calm and the beginning of relaxation before the therapist’s hands touch the client. • Improved air quality – certain plants can absorb and draw toxins out of the air. This ensures the environment is cleaner, which results in less stress on the central nervous system and immune system, as well as the skin. • Enhanced wellbeing for staff – if staff are working in a closed environment for many hours (and often exposed to chemicals in a salon), it is important to have greenery around them to remove toxins and allow for a sense of calm. This will enhance the working environment for the staff and general overall wellbeing. • Attract passing customers – should salons be lucky enough to have a window onto the street, having a living wall or area of greenery allows passersby to see the greenery indoors and often they are attracted into the salon. It also allows for a great conversation starter about the importance of greenery indoors and the importance of rewilding (bringing nature to the skin). • Overall stress reduction – lowering blood pressure, the heart rate and overall muscular tension are positive side effects of being around nature and greenery. • Due to the calmer state of being by having plants indoors, workplaces have seen increased productivity and the sharpening of attention and creativity. • Recovery and illness – plants have been shown to speed up recovery from illness, surgery and injuries.

Safe plants

When it comes to choosing your plants, you always want to ensure you are choosing indigenous plants that are safe for pets and children.

Some suggestions of plants for South Africa include • Phipsalis casutha • Philodendron (Monstera) • Asplenium nidus (birds nest fern) • Aglaonema (silver queen) • Hoya carnosa (wax plant) • Draceana compacta (dragon tree) • Perperomia compacta • Spekboom (needs sunlight) • Aloe Vera • Air plants • Succulents • Snake plant

Engage with nature and bring some greenery indoors – the change in your staff and clients will be outstanding.

Lauren Gibson has over 15 years in the health and beauty industry with qualifications in yoga, mindfulness, content marketing and management practice. laurenleigh.gibson@gmail.com

Consult to Win

No matter how skilled your team, or how regular the client, the consultation should never be skipped or rushed. Hellen Ward explains why

I’m a big fan of mystery shopping and tend to use it as a tool to not only see what other salons are delivering, but also to test the expertise and customer service of my own team. Furthermore, I also use it when there’s a performance problem.

Let’s be honest, when was the last time any of us were salon customers? Sending someone to see a leading salon from a client’s perspective is a sure-fire way to get them to up their game, because sometimes all the coaching in the world is no substitute for experiencing the real thing.

I’ve always managed by one principal; if your staff training is good enough, there’s no such thing as a bad treatment, merely a below-par consultation. Failing to truly engage with the customer and discover their own personal wish-list will always leave them wanting. And with competition so vast, there’s always a competitor who’s willing to go the extra mile to discover and meet their needs, then exceed expectations, which remains the winning formula to ensure that crucial repeat business.

You won’t be surprised to learn that we are being increasingly mystery shopped by other salon owners, and we’ve learnt some valuable lessons from what we’ve been told. A fellow salon owner sent two of his key staff to experience us as a leading brand, and they were disappointed, because of the lack of consultation.

This error can be likened to going for an eye test only to find the optometrist had already diagnosed your sight before using any of the equipment to check. Imagine that – not having the air puffed into your eyes, not using the dots to check peripheral vision, not reading the letters out, and so on. Not explaining why the tests were being conducted and what they were looking for. Lessons were learnt and we’re re-training our hair stylists on consultation skills and reminding all our team that they can never not explain eye colour, skin tone, texture, density and face shape. We’ve also alerted customers as a policy that if they come in on a Monday they won’t be seeing the salon at full pelt, as 90% of our 100-strong team take Monday as their day off (including our chef, so there’s no food available). Mondays for us are merely there to service our regulars, or for those who love a bit of peace and quiet. The fact was, we hadn’t really explained that before now, so learning from someone’s bad experience can only ever be a good thing.

Hellen Ward is managing director of Richard Ward Hair & Metrospa in London, one of the most profitable independent salons in the UK. She is beauty ambassador for the National Hair & Beauty Federation (NHBF).

hellen@professionalbeauty.co.uk

We hope that you have enjoyed this edition of Salon International Magazine

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