2023 will be remembered as the year Artificial Intelligence (AI) went mainstream, however with technological advances in salon booking software and marketing platforms improving the industry from a business perspective, some hairdressers were cautious about the impact it could have on their careers creatively. Considering the ways in which AI can be embraced, we spoke to the experts to find out how they are using AI for hair colour inspiration.
“As hairdressers, the world around us heavily impacts and influences everything from our clients, trends, the looks we create and the hair we craft,” says Seung ki Baek, Southern Hairdresser of the Year 2023, Rush Hair, who was influenced by AI for his collection Mixed Reality. “I went into the depths of AI to create something special. Through research, it became apparent that it is more than just virtual images, light is a huge aspect of AI and using different lighting techniques and tubing, brought a virtual reality to life. It took a lot of practise to achieve my vision.”
Safy B, Safy B Salon, agrees that AI is a talking point across every industry and therefore something to embrace early, commenting: “We are seeing clients refer to AI generated images as part of their inspiration, therefore for us to be able to produce results like this we need to be one step ahead with our own inspiration and influence.” Safy goes on to explain that she has explored AI for colour inspiration in order to find out how it works and what it can produce: “Trying new things is something that I enjoy and it inspires me. I look at virtual images and replicate where I can through experimenting in the salon and on dolls heads.”
Traditional forms of inspiration, however, are not to be forgotten says Brian Leo McCallum, owner of ROAR Hair & Beauty Salons: “Consistent colour education and working on events such as Fashion Week, allow me to be ahead of the game when it comes to identifying upcoming trends and colours. By being aware of this in advance, it allows me to explore using these colours in the salon and in my creative colour work.” When it comes to clients, Brian has seen a rise in AI during consultations: “The AI hair technology allows clients to try on different colours and see if this will suit them before they visit the salon. This can be more helpful than when they visit the salon with a celebrity inspiration image because it will show the client how the colour works on their skin tone.” Although clients trust their colourists knowledge and expertise and it is always essential to discuss whether the hair colour will work for their lifestyle and how it can be adapted to suit them Brian explains.
Ready to get stuck into some AI inspiration? Check out these AI predicted hair trends for 2024.
