Is "Balayage" a Color or a Technique? Who the **** cares?

Hey, friend. Welcome back to the Modern Hairstylist podcast. So, back when I was still talking to clients on my Instagram, um, uh, and the majority of my followers who were engaged with me were actually non-hairdressers, I went in m- to my Instagram stories, okay? And I did a poll and I told only non-hairdressers to, um, react to it.

I asked my fir- I asked two questions, I asked two poll questions, all right? The first one was, "Do you know what a lived-in color looks like/is?" Okay. The second question I asked was, "Do you know what a balayage looks like/is?"

And let me tell you the results, okay? And let me tell you before I even tell you the results, let me tell you why this matters. We as marketers, as CEOs, as people who are using copy and, and the online digital space and words to get people to book appointments with us, we need to understand the significance of language and how it relates to where your client is at in their journey and awareness, and making sure that we're speaking that client's language and meeting them where they're at. And so I did these polls because I was like, I, I, I kept on seeing people saying, like, lived-in color, e- like, was their specialty, right, in their, in their Instagram bios.

And I thought that it was, like, kinda cool, like luxury language, and I thought that it made sense because, you know, balayage is a technique, right? It's a French word for sweeping. Um, and it, it's really a technique. That's what we as hairdressers know it as, and it's a technique in which we can achieve many different types of looks, right?

And so I thought that it sounded really cool, but I knew that if I was going to coin myself and, and establish myself as the go-to, um, expert for lived-in color, balayage techniques, whatever it may be, that I had to be using the same language that would make sense to the market that I was marketing to. Because if somebody's looking for a certain type of color, right, what they're gonna be doing is typing in what they perceive that type of color to be called. And they don't have the beauty school education that we have, right? So they're gonna call it whatever the hell the majority of the world is calling it, right?

Or whatever they perceive as that color being named, right? And so if, if somebody's gonna be searching that name, I wanna make sure that the words in the title of my Instagram bio, when I say something specialist, I wanna make sure that that freaking word is in there. And so if balayage is in that title, right, or if lived-in color is in that title, that's gonna make a difference as to if I come up in that person's search. So, let's talk about the results of these polls, because these results made it so I did not start to say that I was a lived-in color specialist.

Let's go. Let me guess, you are a hustling, bustling hairstylist behind the chair, working so hard to build a beautiful career for yourself, one that gives you time, freedom, and energy to spend with yourself, your family, and your friends. But you feel like you're always working in your business, even when you're not behind the chair. My name's Hunter Donia, and I help you automate your systems and implement really beautiful strategies so you can grow your business without the overwhelm.

And this is the Modern Hairstylist podcast. So, out of 130 people, 130 people responded to my poll, I said only non-hairdressers respond to it. Only 38 of those people said that they knew what lived-in color looks like/is. Let me do the math on this really quick and see what the percentage of that is.

So, only 29% of those people actually knew what lived-in color looked like and was. I then asked, "Do you know what a balayage looks like/is?" Out of the 128 people who answered, 109 said that they did know what balayage looks like and is, and only 19 people said that they didn't. Let's do the percentage.

109 divided by 128. 85% of people knew what a balayage looked like, and 19 divided by 128, 14% said no, they didn't. And this is why real data and, and, and getting feedback is so important when you're making decisions, especially around your marketing in your business, okay? Real data and feedback is the most important thing that you could possibly get to make decisions, including when you're deciding what your ideal client profile actually looks like, and the language that you're using in your bio, in your I Help statement, in your website, in your everything.

Because you can now see what makes sense to your audience and the people that you're marketing to, the people who are interested in coming to see you, right?So without further ado with that— with this, let's get into this episode. I— I— I did this episode because... I'm doing this episode because I saw this freaking post on social that was debating about whether or not balayage was a color or technique, and I was just like, "We need to— we need to break this down and we need to talk about what's actually freaking important here," okay?

So without further ado, let's get into it. So, what we're gonna talk about here is something that I have just, like, noticed, especially f- when educating, um, for a brand when I'm doing color classes. Um, it's something that comes up, like, with consultations and I guess frustrations for hairstylists when it comes to, like, the client's expectations and, like, what they're walking in and asking for, right? And, I mean, it really all comes down to your consultation and how you're taking control of your chair.

But let me... So, I just wanna— I just wanna preface this by saying, like, I truly, like, I really, truly am not throwing any shade or hate at anybody, okay? Like, y'all— y'all preach what you preach, believe in what you believe. Like, please pop off.

Like, I do not care. I just want to bring some attention to w- what I find to be most effective in— in getting buts in your chair and how to manage the expectations and buts that are in your chair, um, when, uh, when they come in to see you, okay? Because I'm hoping that it'll empower you with knowledge, um, and peace about what is actually important and, um, hopefully some peace as to how you don't even have to give a shit about whether or not balayage is a technique or a color anymore, okay? A t- at least in the way that you speak to clients, okay?

So let's talk about it. So this post was reposted by somebody very cool, um, and it was posted on this big, like, industry publication Instagram, um, and it was a bold statement. It said, "Balayage is not a color," and love it. Like, it's a great, like, great marketable post.

I'm obsessed with it. I, like— um, I think it's brilliant , don't get me wrong. Um, and it was— i- i- the- the- the premise of the message in the caption is that the most mis- the biggest misconception that is- is debunked behind the chair is that balayage itself is a color when in fact balayage is a technique. And like, sure, yes, great.

I completely agree. It's completely true. Balayage is a technique. It is hand painting.

It is sweeping color or lightener onto the hair, right? And that is relevant to us as hairstylists. That is correct and proper vocabulary for us as hairstylists to be communicating with each other properly, effectively, especially in learning and education spaces. So, I completely 100% agree with that, right?

But here's where I get a little upset. Not even upset, I'm just like, "Why do you care?" Like, why do we care? Wh- what I get— where I get upset is that— is that this post was— was written for clients.

This post was written for clients, and I just don't believe that we need to explain this to clients. I think that it's, like, it's fine to explain it to clients. I don't think it's, like, a bad thing. I'm just saying, why do you care if your client is coming in and asking for a balayage and they show you an inspiration picture and a "balayage" is not the right technique for them?

They don't have to know what technique you're going to be freaking using on them, friend. I'm going to very much encourage you to start taking control and ownership over your chair and start to, like, really step up into your power of being the expert. For me, I have literally, literally never had one client ask me to hand paint their hair instead of foil it or vice versa. Like, I've literally never had that happen to me before because it's my job, it is your job, to decide what technique is used on somebody's hair, okay?

And if somebody is coming in and they're like, "I just saw this tutorial on TikTok. Can you do this tutorial on me?" you should be redirecting that conversation into, "I don't want you to have to worry about the technique that we're gonna be using today. What I want us to worry about is dissecting what you want to see in your hair, and what I will do for you, if you trust me as the professional, what I am gonna do for you, what my job is, is for you to be able to sit back and relax and let me deal with all of the little details.

But what I need to know is what you're actually looking to see in your hair." And I am totally all about some, uh, inspiration pictures. I'm totally all about some Pinterest posts and pins. I wanna see a whole-ass Pinterest board.

I am down to see that, okay? Because visual tools to be able to communicate, um, the proper things that you need to know are super powerful. Um, but where it kinda crosses the line is when i- I mean, I've literally never had this happen, but, like, if somebody were gonna show me, like, a video of, like, "I want this technique done to me. Like, I want this exact thing."

Like, I would just be like, "No." Like, "I- I don't wanna see this. I wanna see an inspiration picture. I wanna see what you're trying to do and where you're trying to go."

And then we'll talk about, um, exactly, like, what is possible and what's not possible. And sure, I will break down what I'm gonna do, but I'm not gonna be saying, "I'm gonna hand paint," or, "I'm gonna foil." I'm gonna say, "This is what your hair is going to look like. I'm going to put highlights here.

I'm going to make this happen in your hair. This is what this is going to be when it's done." I'm not telling them my formula. I'm not saying I'm mixing up an eight gold.

I'm not saying that I am painting this onto their parietal ridge. I'm not saying any of that shit because it doesn't effing matter.It does not matter. So, if you feel like you're really frustrated with, like, the rise of social media and TikTok and YouTube becoming the authority of our industry, if you are sick of, like, people saying, "Well, Brad Mondo said this," like, all you have to do is redirect the conversation and not overexplain yourself and just say, "I want you to sit back and relax and let me take care of the backend shit because that's what I'm trained to do.

What— What your job is, is to help me discover what exactly you want and then I'll explain to you what is possible, what's not, and what you can expect from today's appointment." Like, that is it. That's what your clients need. And let me tell you, my friend, I am a micromanager.

Like, hands down micromanager so hard, okay? And I've had to very much, like, learn how to not be that. And can I tell you, when I find somebody who, like, I can really trust and tells me to sit back and relax and, like, they'll take care of it, and they prove to me that they know what the hell they're doing, not by overexplaining themselves, but by just fucking doing it, it is the most amazing experience. And it's just so great to find somebody that I can actually trust and just go back to and know that they'll take good care of me and do exactly what I need them to do.

That is the feeling that your client wants, no matter who they are. They just want to be able to show up, not have to overexplain themselves, they want to be able to get to the freaking point and just know that you're gonna do a good job and leave. And every single time we have these conversations, over-explaining ourselves about the techniques that we're doing and what we're, like, physically doing or, like, volume that we're using, you're reducing... You're not creating trust, you're actually reducing trust 'cause the client feels like they have to micromanage every single decision that you're making every single time, and that's exhausting.

Okay, so that's kind of my rant. Sorry for ranting. Again, I want to make it super clear, I am not throwing shade, I'm not throwing hate. I really, really, really, truly just want us to not have to worry about stupid little bullshit anymore.

Like, it's shit that's just exhausting and ends up burning us out at the end of the day. I just don't want us to have to be frustrated about it anymore, okay? And so I want to give people a different perspective. And so, um, uh, I just want to make that clear.

But that's my rant about managing your in-the-chair experience when it comes to these types of things, when it comes to misconceptions about professional language or professional techniques. Um, you know, it just... It— It— I mean, it's bound to happen with the rise of social media and— and how, you know, everybody's a freaking hairdresser now that we have TikTok and Instagram and YouTube, you know? It's just bound to happen and— and what you need to do as somebody who's charging, um, and establishing themselves as the authority is take control and— and— and— and take responsibility for being the expert, right, and allowing your clients to just trust you, you know, without overeducating or overexplaining yourself I'm all about education.

I'm just not about, like, uh, you know, managing or spending any energy on things that really don't matter at the end of the day, you know? Okay, so going back to, you know, what I was talking about at the top of the episode which was, um, uh, marketing and— and— and— and vocabulary and words and meeting your client where they're at. So, what we really need to take in consideration, um, when it comes to planning out our marketing and looking at what that customer journey actually looks like, right? Like, like, how they get into your world, where they're coming from, and what they're experiencing when they first get into your world, right?

And, like— like, w- w- w- as far as, like, where they're coming from, like, where are they at right now? Like, what are their pain points right now? What are their past experiences? What are their current understandings?

And— And how can we speak their language? How do we make somebody feel like we really fully understand them inside and out? And the way that we do that is coming up with having an ideal client profile and getting real data and feedback about exactly what that person believes and— and what search terms they would be using if they were looking for a new hairstylist. And, um, and— and really doing some thought- thoughtful thinking and research and...

To— To decide and figure out how you should be approaching the language that you're— that you're using in spaces where a new potential client is finding you for the first time, because that is the make-or-break point, friend You have five seconds to make it very clear about what you do, who you are, and how are you relevant to the person who's looking at you, especially nowadays. You do not have much time. And you may not ever even be discoverable if you're using incorrect verbiage that you're... Or not incorrect verbiage, but, um, not...

Non-relevant verbiage to what your ideal client is actually looking for online, right, if you want to get discovered online. So, when it comes to these types of debates and all of this bullshit that we s- that we have to see and endure on social media within our industry, what I want you to do is only consider when it comes to what you're posting and the language that you're using and the experience that you're creating for your client and yourself in the chair. Uh..I want you to consider only your client, and your mission, and your goals, and I want you to consider your intentions behind the language and the verbiage that you're using from here on out, okay?

Don't let other people's bullshit get in the way of you showing up as the badass CEO business owner that you are. Trust yourself. Sit down and really, really, really think about who is it that you're serving? And if you go onto your Instagram bio, your Facebook business page, your Google My Business, and most importantly, your website, go on it, put yourself in your ideal client's shoes and ask yourself, "Would I understand all over...

All the words that are on this page? Would I, as a client, feel like this hairstylist really gets me inside and out and really understands where I'm at right now and where I'm trying to go? Would I, as a client, be like, 'Holy shit, this is the person I've been looking for all along'? I feel like everybody else doesn't actually get it, but this person finally gets it."

Because I'll tell you, my friend, that is what blows you up as an entrepreneur in any business, and that's what blew me up in my Salon Suite. So, I hope... I went on a lot of rants in this episode. I went a little bit all over the place, but I really hope that, uh, you enjoyed it nonetheless.

And if you did enjoy it, I would really appreciate if you took just one moment of your time to leave me a five-star review, um, wherever you're listening to this. And if you're listening to this on Apple Podcasts, you have the option to leave me a short little testimonial. And if you wouldn't mind leaving me a short little testimonial, it would really help me reach more hairstylists and beauty professionals just like you who are looking to grow their beauty business without the overwhelm and with more efficiency. And so, as per usual, I really appreciate you tuning in today.

Please connect with me on the Instagram @hairbyhunty and I'll catch you next time, friend. Peace out, girl scout. Bye-bye.

End of transcript. © 2022 Hunter Donia LLC.