Conversations on colour: ashleigh hodges

Ashleigh Hodges is director at Flame Hair Studios in Towcester and one of the hairdressing industry's brightest rising stars. A former member of the FAME Team, she now mentors the Project X team, is a Matrix guest artist and is a regular face backstage at fashion week. Ashleigh 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 her life in colour. 1. What do you love most about being a colourist? I love the creativity. Colour to me is the hairdresser's equivalent of a new coat of paint and it's where we can really enhance hair. 2. What do you think are the biggest challenges facing professional colourists in 2015? I think the biggest challenge is that clients think they know what they're talking about. Thanks to TV, advertising and blogs, there is a lot of information that gets thrown around. Clients hear bits of this and think that they know and understand how colour and hair works. Our challenge is proving to them that we are the professionals and that they should only be listening to us and taking our advice. 3. What do you think is the most exciting thing about being a colourist in 2015? The freedom. Anything goes nowadays. Every colour I do is bespoke to the individual and I find it really exciting that we can be creative with everyone. 4. What colour trend or technique are you most excited about for 2015? Freehand techniques are what get me excited. I'm not one to stand for ages doing highlights; I'd so much rather get creative and personalise hair. With the new freehand techniques, people are wanting more and more we really can do that. 5. What one piece of advice would you give to trainee colourists who would love to be where you are now? Don't rush. Make sure you take every piece of information in and really learn your foundations, especially your colour wheel. It's so easy nowadays to try and rush to be the best, but the people with careers that last are the ones that have taken their time and made sure they know their stuff.