Conversations on colour: aj blackadder

AJ Blackadder is the technical director at Urban Retreat in London. AJ is also a member of the L’Oreal Professionnel 20:20 Colour Collective; an elite group of colourists from across the UK. Here, we find out more about his life in colour. What do you love most about being a colourist? I love how colour can transform. You can totally change not only skin tone, haircut and quality of the hair but also completely change someone's confidence, mood and how they are perceived by the world. It can be so empowering. I also love that knowledge is power, and sharing that knowledge with other hairdressers and colour experts. What do you think are the biggest challenges facing professional colourists in 2015? Driving the consumer/client back into the salon and retaining them. Ensuring we stay at the top of our game and ahead too. We need to offer our clients everything we possibly can as trusted experts to ensure we deliver above and beyond, each and every time, gaining client loyalty and maximising service spend. What do you think is the most exciting ‎thing about being a colourist in 2015? Having recently join the incredible team at Urban Retreat at Harrods, I am thoroughly looking forward to working alongside them. Personally, one of the most exciting things for 2015 is being a part of the 20:20 Colour Collective. Being able to share and explore ideas with a group of the industry's most prolific technicians and colour brands is an absolute dream. I cannot wait to see where these two new opportunities lead and how they develop over the next 12 months. What colour trend or technique are you most excited about for 2015? The biggest revolution we are currently seeing is all about strength, longevity, shine, gloss and condition. There are so many tools now available to professional hair colourists to ensure that the overall colour, condition and integrity of the hair is kept at its optimum. The better the canvas, the more beautiful the painting, so to speak. What one piece of advice would you give to trainee colourists ‎who would love to be where you are now? Knowledge is power. The more you study, learn, experiment, play, train, share and communicate, the better you will be. Mix with people who have similar interests. You should surround yourself with like-minded people who want to constantly improve and push themselves, as well as those around them.