Whether he's travelling to teach in London, Paris, New York or Shanghai, Stephen Moody is always delivering cutting-edge education and endless inspiration to hairstylists.
As the North American education director for Wella Professionals, Moody shared some tips on maximizing business with cuts, colour and trends.
With so many hair trends and styles coming and going, how can hairstylists use them to help build business within the salon?
I think it's a combination of [hairstylists] being comfortable with all the trends and being able to execute them. It's all about knowing the trends and being excited about them. Whether it's a colouring technique or cutting technique, the important thing is the execution. It's like the "triple fringe." I have to practice and practice, do more research, test different ways of doing it, until I was super comfortable with it.
When it comes to consultations, what are some key points to keep in mind?
I think the key to any successful service is the consultation. For me, the beginning and end are everything—allowing time and factoring in the price point, where I'm not doing hair, I'm doing a consultation. The beginning of every single service is the heart of everything. Getting to know what the client wants and what they can have. We, as hairdressers, have to be careful when using the word "yes." For someone that overly uses the word "yes", the challenge with that is you dig yourself into a hole.
How can the haircut help build loyalty with clients?
When you're looking at cutting someone's hair, what you're really doing is you are tailoring the two elements together. From a loyalty standpoint, I think a good hairdresser could tailor the haircut to her neck, her hairline, her face shape, and her hair texture. I can capture the client's loyalty because it's quite unique to her, as I am cutting her hair. I'm doing it for her and not for anybody else, and it's tailored to her face shape and the condition of her hair.
What do you think hairstylists need to pay more attention to?
Education! I think education can come in many different forms. The education that is tried and tested, and that is never really going to change is what we do with Triple Craft, which is basically hands-on education. You can stay home and watch YouTube all day but there's limited information you will get. At the end of the day, we're in a business that's incredibly technical.
I have worked all over the world, but I think the approach that Canadian hairdressers have for education is fantastic! The quality of education here, the commitment to education in Canada, is streets ahead of the counterpart, south of the border. I truly believe that.
With so much online education available, what advice do you have for hairstylists to help them learn more hands-on, technical skills?
I think online education is really great to gather information. It's a great resource for ideas and product knowledge. I think you can often learn a tremendous amount of how products perform. I think any time you're learning a craft, that's when you need to be in a salon, where it needs to be guided or mentored by a colleague or a professional educator. Because the craft part is where you cannot master too much when it's online. It's very limited. I think hairdressers are [realizing] that now, as social media becomes flooded with "education" whereas in fact it's not really education.
What tips do you have for hairstylists on how to promote their business or brand?
Being able to market yourself is very important. Hairstylists have to put themselves out there in the market that they are living in. If "triple fringe" is the new thing, put it on social media. I think another important thing about social media is for them to wear it. From the receptionist to the assistant to the photographs on the walls [of the salon], these are all consistent and reflective of what they are looking to sell. We were at a salon that was very famous for blondes and every single one of their staff was blonde. They mentioned that they wanted to move away from only focusing on blondes; they wanted to start to do some rosé and colours that are away from the classic butter blonde. One of the girls asked me how to do that, and I said "You could start wearing it on your head, especially when people could look and be like "I like that! Could I try that?" It seems to start the conversation. I think it's super important, whether it's a haircut or colour, the hairdresser is the number one billboard!
For hairstylists, what types of content have been working on social media?
People are seeing more and more success with the before-and-after concept, where what you are really getting a sense of is a journey! These photographs are designed to appeal to the hairdresser, and for someone to market themselves. I think by doing that, it's taking them out of the fishbowl. The fishbowl is absolutely crowded with the same images. So, what makes you different to me?
What are some things that hairstylists need to stop or avoid doing?
I think standing still is something that hairdressers should avoid. There is only one thing for sure in our industry, and that is "Tomorrow won't be the same as today." That's a guarantee, so we can't stand still. Another thing is we are not lawyers or surgeons, I think haircutting is fun and exciting. Enjoy it, have fun!
Whether it's online or in person, the one thing that I always try to do is I like to have people that I can connect with. I've got friends all over the world I connect to and get me ideas and inspiration. Sometimes, it just gives me moral support when I'm down. Because it's hard work and you're constantly giving and giving. I truly believe as hairdressers, we're like a battery. We're recharging all the time. At some point, if we're not careful, that battery will go dead or have to be replaced. I just love being around hairdressers and that helps me recharge my battery.
We have caught up with Wella's North American Education Director, Stephen Moody (@hairmoody ) to chat about some tips on maximizing business with cuts, colour and trends! 
Take a look at the article to see how Stephen Moody is always delivering cutting-edge education and endless inspiration to hairstylists while travelling to teach across the globe! 
https://www.salonmagazine.ca/catching-up-with-wellas-north-american-education-director-stephen-moody . . We've also done a video with Stephen, sharing his tips on how to properly hold scissors! 
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