Eliza Trendiak
Vancouver
@elizatrendiakhair (Followers: 21.1K)
Claim to Fame: Balayage specialist and owner of Artel Salon
What made you want to develop a specialty in Balayage?
Around the time I opened my first salon location in 2015, I had started seeing hair painting all over Instagram and it looked amazing. The results were so cool. I had tried lots of different techniques to achieve that grown out blonde look by using traditional foils but was never really happy with it. One day, I asked my local beauty supplier whether there any classes on hair painting and she told me about one focused on Balayage, so I went and thought it was incredible. I bought all the products needed that same day, went back to the salon and tried it on everyone. It was disastrous at first, but I just kept trying and trying. I knew it was a trend in the industry, so I was taking classes to get better any chance I could. It was a mix of taking classes and trial and error on my own clients.
Can you talk about your use of social media? How did you grow such a big following and why do you think it’s important in your line of work?
At first, I only had our salon account. The idea of having a separate account seemed super daunting, but it was actually my stylist that I worked with that pushed me towards taking that leap. So I gave in and started by just keeping an eye on what other people were doing. I also used to play candy crush on my phone all the time, so embarrassing, so I forced myself to look at Instagram as if it was a game and every time I wanted to play Candy Crush, I’d just post something instead. Eventually, it became my habit that when I went to my phone, I’d do something on Instagram too and work on my business that way. I also started using hashtags, followed all the local businesses in my area and started following their followers too and reach out to local influencers and offer to do their hair in exchange for a post about me and my salon. But the biggest thing that helped me grow my follower count was consistency. Putting out photos every single day
Has your presence on Instagram translated to tangible business in your salon?
That’s one of the main reasons why I was okay with spending time posting on Instagram, because it translated to tangible humans in my business. If I had been in another industry, like dentistry or accounting, yeah, Instagram doesn’t really work, but hair is such a visual industry that it absolutely translates to clients in my chair. That’s also one of the main things that has attracted stylists to want to come and work for us. Not just my presence on Instagram, but also the salon’s presence because they see we put A lot of effort into our social media and our marketing we try to post all of our stylists equally as well.
Ira Capistrano
Winnipeg
@inc.capistrano (Followers: 53.2K)
Claim to Fame: Asian hair specialist
How did you develop your Asian hair specialty? Is that something you wanted from the get-go?
I’m Filipino and I noticed in Winnipeg that there are not a lot of stylists that do Asian hair. Even growing up, I found it difficult to find a hairdresser. With that in mind, I learned more about ethnic hair and developed colouring skills like how to lift them properly or how to make the hair ashier without causing breakage. There was a lot of trial and error in the beginning with colour corrections, but over time it got easier, thanks to education and lots of practice.
Can you talk about your use of social media and how you cultivated your signature video style/online presence?
Right off the bat, I found that I just wanted to have fun with the platform. I didn’t want to take myself too seriously on Instagram and I try not to think of myself as a big influencer. Outside of hair, I’m also mom of a five-year-old boy who keeps me quite busy, so I try to spend as much time with him as well and stay motivated in both, so it helps not to take it all too seriously. A lot of people on social media nowadays, especially the younger generation, look up to people like me, so my goal is always to stay true to who I am and try to educate others in the industry.
What motivates you to invest so much time and effort on hair education on your profile?
I think it’s important to educate other stylists in the same industry because hey may not necessarily have the money to go out and do dozens of educational classes on new techniques. I make it really accessible so they can get formulas from me or even ask questions directly through DMs. We never had anything like this when I first started in the industry. For us to be able to learn through other stylists through Instagram is really amazing. Why not take advantage of it?
Caroline Gauthier
Québec, Que.
@carolabelleetlatete (Followers: 7.3K)
Claim to Fame: Blonde and updo specialist and owner of La Belle et la Tete
How did you get your start on social media?
I started my Instagram maybe six years ago. Before that, I mainly used Facebook but my clients kept bringing up Instagram and how I needed to show off my work. In the beginning I thought, ‘Oh my god, another thing to work on,’ but I realized very fast that it was essential in my career. In the beginning, I would send quick hellos to different influencers and say, ‘Hey, if you need a new hairdresser, we can work together, and you can post a story or photo on your Instagram.’ This helped me grow my followers. I still do that, along with giveaways and partnerships with different companies.
Other than posting photos and videos of your daily looks that you create, what other type of content do you enjoy showcasing?
I post hair tutorials nearly every day on Instagram. They’re meant for other stylists, but also my clients and followers as a whole who simple enjoy that type of content. I mostly focus on updos and everyday hair so a wide variety of people relate to it, and I think I’m also going to start doing short tutorials on myself for my daily looks this year, I think my followers would really like that and they’d want to practice those looks on themselves as well. It would be a different professional approach.
How has social media tangibly impacted your career?
It’s a big platform to showcase our work, everybody’s on Instagram. It’s an amazing way to show what I’m doing. Most of my clients hear about me and my salon through Instagram or by talking to one another. It’s amazing how much it helps bring new people through my door.
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