Creativity came to life in California at Wella’s Creative Nights.
Held on March 20, 2024, at the company’s headquarters in Calabasas, Calif., the event was designed to provide education and inspiration in celebration of the launch of Wella’s Koleston Xpress 10-minute hair colour.
With more than 200 hairstylists in attendance, the event was kicked off by Wella’s president, Yannis Rodocanachi.
Carole Protat, senior director of brand education, artists and events, welcomed attendees and introduced Wella artists Briana Cisneros and Daniel Mora, who led the event’s on-stage education demonstrations.
“Creative Nights is all about celebrating what’s so amazing about our community of hairdressers,” says Protat. “Open your mind to get different ideas, to think of your day to day a different way, and allow yourself to play. Giving you some tips and tricks on how to continue to drive your business.”
Cisneros and Mora took the stage to showcase express services using Wella’s new Koleston Xpress 10-minute hair colour, which is available in 13 non-progressive shades in three colour families (neutral, warm and cool) and offers up to 100 per cent grey coverage.
“Express and luxury can sometimes feel like they can be opposite,” says Cisneros. “But now, time is money, and people want to get in and get out. Technology is advancing, and if we don’t grow and change with the times, we all know what happens next.”
“What this allows me to do is to not have to let the client sit for 40 or 45 minutes,” says Mora. “It’s a 10-minute [process], rinse and shampoo before coming back to blow-dry and apply the highlights. [If you combine the time of a traditional grey coverage application and blow-dry], I’m spending almost an hour and 20 minutes less.”
“I still charge the same,” he adds. “Just because I’m spending a lot less time doesn’t mean I’m going to lower my price. [Clients] aren’t paying for time, they’re paying for the knowledge and the fact that we have this amazing [colour] to get [clients] out faster.”
Attendees also had the opportunity to experiment with Koleston Xpress at the evening’s hands-on activation stations.
“One of the things that’s important is that you don’t have to be the first [to market],” says Lori Pantel, chief marketing officer. “What Wella prides itself on is the technology, so the question was, what can we do to ensure the superiority, not just in technology but in performance? Koleston Xpress isn’t progressive colour and it’s forgiving, so the stylist can be trusted and maintain their credibility.”
We caught up with Protat, Cisneros and Mora after the event for their takes on express services, colour trends and more.
Carole, tell us about the Creative Nights event. Briana and Daniel, what does it mean to you both to be part of it?
Carole Protat: The purpose of Creative Nights is to invite stylists to play with us, and join our community in a way that’s not so structured. They get a little bit of inspiration, and most of it is about building part of the community, feeling together, experimenting and playing with hair in a way that’s liberating. [This is the second Creative Nights event we’ve done] and every time, we have a different theme. The purpose, depending on the theme—whether it’s a trend, a service or business tip—is to ensure we take the time to step back, experiment, play and have fun.
Tonight’s theme was about express services. We know in our industry that time is money, and since COVID, a lot of things have changed. It’s tough to stay on top of it and serve all of your clients, so you still want to offer high-quality services but you also want to do them in a manner that’s going to help you do them faster and more efficient, and maybe help you do more in the time allotted or bring more clients to your day to day so you can continue to grow your business with the right products.
Briana Cisneros: For myself, what I love most about my position in life and in the hairdressing world right now is the ability to connect with our community on such a deep level, and a mutual understanding and love for the craft. Creative Nights allows us to really connect with everybody on an individual basis, while still littering in all of the education and new technology, with some cool catwalk moments in there, but most of it is about community and feeling inspired again.
Daniel Mora: I love events like this because it brings people together. [Even if they aren’t using Wella colour], we all understand the language of colour and we feel connected. We get to share, inspire and answer a lot of questions. Events like this aren’t just to learn something; it’s to get reinspired to go back to your salon and feel fresh again. That’s what we get here; a sense of community that we don’t necessarily get anywhere else.
How has the pandemic impacted the need for more express services in the salon?
B.C.: The pandemic was so eye-opening in the sense that people were just devastated without their hairdressers. They were doing some drastic things to cover their greys. I think what this has allowed us all is that now that the world is in full swing and we’re making up for lost time. Time is so precious, but those greys have to get covered. We realize how important that is, so I think this allows us to meet that demand that’s out there.
What a lot of hairdressers have experienced with other 10-minute hair colour is that it’s grabbed too dark or it’s unpredictable, or that there’s banding that they will have to deal with later. A hairdresser doesn’t want to make their job harder down the road; they want it to be easier. That is what I appreciate about Wella; they’re careful about their launches and why and when they launch new technology that they can really stand behind.
D.M.: I’m so excited about Koleston Xpress. I was hesitant about 10-minute colour and if it was really going to work, but I love that it allows me to still be creative and offer grey coverage in a shorter amount of time, so clients don’t have to be sitting for a full 45 minutes. Koleston Xpress is forgiving and it covers. The shade range is perfect for what we need. It’s simplified, so you don’t have to second guess. It’s going to help us make more money behind the chair and work faster.
What does grey coverage look like? Usually, it’s targeted for older people. The reality is, most of my clients who get grey coverage are between 25 and 30 or 40. Most of the time, we think grey coverage is going to be boring but there is so much we can do with it. I always say, grey coverage is my bread-and-butter, and balayage is my floating money. I might see [balayage clients] twice or three times a year, but I see grey-coverage clients every four, six or eight weeks. The possibilities are endless.
Daniel, you brought up a great point on stage about not feeling the need to discount your services just because you’re saving time on the application. Tell us more about that and any advice that you have for hairstylists who may be struggling with their prices.
D.M.: As a salon owner, I’ve been looking at things a lot differently. At the end of the day, we’re a business so we have to look at ways to make money. Why not make money while still providing a great service with a 10-minute colour?
People appreciate time in a very different way than they did before, so I think this is going to bring a different experience to the salon. Not to say that it’s not going to be a luxurious experience; it’s still going to be luxurious but faster.
C.P.: Time is money. The only way to [offer] the same quality of service in a shorter amount of time is because technology has advanced. The technology we put in our product is what allows us to create the same results, expectations and reliability but in a faster time. Instead of thinking it’s faster, so it’s cheaper—no, it’s faster so you can do more in the same amount of time you would allot for a root touchup, for example, so you can do a root touchup and face-framing. It won’t take more time, but you can give more to your clients in order to be even more at the top of your game and satisfy your clients in a bigger way.
Think of anything you do in your life. If you can get them faster, you don’t necessarily pay less for them. Sometimes, you even pay more. Think of delivery. It’s quick and convenient, but it’s not cheaper. We can take analogies from different industries. Time is money, and time is a luxury, so if you can cut that, you can use your time to do something else.
B.C.: Time is a luxury for clients, too. Sometimes, you’re meeting a higher demand or need, but it doesn’t mean the colour is less expensive [to purchase]. New technology is new technology, so it’s important to consider that in your prices, too.
I’m really particular about my artistry. I want my artistry to be what I want it to be. Anything that cuts out time in one area means that I can spend more time in another area. I don’t want to sit around waiting for colour to process. For me, it allows me more freedom in my own artistry to really express myself in what I want to spend time on. For me, it’s not so much about the time saved. Yes, you can add on services, and there are tons of obvious opportunities to make more money, but for me, it adds to my artistry and that’s what’s important to me.
Carole, why are in-person, education events like so important for our industry?
C.P.: Our business is built on relationships. Our industry and community are our core of everything. You share the same passion and values, and these are things you can’t share over a computer or video. You have to feel it. We’re very emotionally driven people in our industry. Being together is what our community is made of. It’s the interaction—the face to face—that has so much value to bring us together as a family, and that’s why we believe being together makes a big different. It’s an experience.
Briana and Daniel, what are some of the colour trends you’ve been noticing?
B.C.: With that quiet luxury, rich brunette or rich blonde, it’s the perfect time to introduce express services because anything subtle, you can do relatively quickly if it’s not a huge transformation.
D.M.: Starting at the end of last year and moving forward, we’re continuing to see a lot more natural-looking colour. Copper made its comeback in a very strong way, and it’s now become a classic. Blondes are always in; if you do blondes, you’ll always be busy. For brunettes and coppers, they were kind of forgotten about. But now, people are really embracing those tones and the warmth that comes with that. Moving forward, it’s about embracing natural textures and natural tones with less maintenance.
Comments are closed.