Conversations on colour: carolyn newman

Carolyn Newman is colour director and operations director at Charles Worthington. She splits her time between running all three salons and educating colour techniques around the world. Carolyn 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. What do you love most about being a colourist? I see myself as an artist not a colourist. The right colour palette can do so much for a haircut and look youthful and uplifting. What do you think are the biggest challenges facing professional colourists in 2015? Most salons offer great colours and techniques, so you need to offer a bespoke service to stand out. You must work hard on giving your clients an unbelievable colour and service every single time and keep it fresh for them so they return to you very regularly. What do you think is the most exciting ‎thing about being a colourist in 2015? Embrace the digital world. You can be inspired not only by collecting your own ideas but also by those from colourists all over the world‎ at the touch of a button! What colour trend or technique are you most excited about for 2015? This Spring/Summer season is all about the blonde. That means any blonde too, from soft shinelights for the brunettes (brondes) to colour contouring (adding blonder tones in the correct placement to contour and enhance your face shape) and being able to create your ow‎n blonde services from granny grey chic to sun-kissed and subtle. What one piece of advice would you give to trainee colourists ‎who would love to be where you are now? Have passion for your job forever, work hard, smile and be polite and a friendly professional to everyone. Practice and play with hair colour as much as you can, don't view it as work, be prepared to do it in your own time too.