How To Transition Your Clients to Warm Blonde This Autumn

What to Prioritise in Your Warm Blonde Consultations

First up, integrity of the hair is imperative. “No colour is worth risking the health of the hair,” says Tim Scott-Wright, Schwarzkopf Professional Ambassador. “It’s about how we approach colour to maintain condition.”

Not only that, consultations are also essential for you to set realistic expectations for your clients. Something that Rio Agor-Watts, Group Education Manager UKI Revlon Professional Brands, prioritises is her ‘Fail Safe’ TED system when asking open-ended questions to obtain as much information as possible. She tells us: “T stands for tell me, E stands for explain to me, and D for describe to me. For example, I’d say, ‘Tell me what we’re looking to achieve colour-wise today and your budget to ensure we meet your expectations, explain to me what sort of tones you feel suit you, and describe to me on a scale of 1-10 how important is your at-home aftercare’.” Rio then explains how she uses TED the other way around when explaining the process to clients. “I’d love to share some tips and tricks on how we can best maintain your colour’.”

Likewise, Jordanna Cobella, Wella Professionals Colour & Trends Ambassador, tells us that it’s important to get clients to describe how they see colour. “I often use my own colour, some reference images, and even my colleagues as an example, and ask the client to describe what they see,” she explains. “Listen more than you talk, and you will learn what warmth is to them. You’ll also learn how much dimension they see versus over all block colouring. You’ll be surprised how much this varies from client to client.”

Your client’s lifestyle is also key. “This has an immediate effect on how well the hair looks in between salon appointments,” says Let Lew, ASP Ambassador. “So, I can still give my clients the best option for them in line with the current trends.” And of course, maintenance. “When I’m discussing a colour change with clients, the first thing I prioritise is maintenance and how they will look after their new bespoke shade,” explains Terry Longden, OSMO Technical Educator. “Plus, the importance of a top-up toner in between the full colour services.” One tip Jordanna recommends: “Don’t talk maintenance first because it can restrict the rest of the consultation. Most clients seeking the perfect blonde will commit to any maintenance so do not be governed by this. I believe it has restricted us for many years as colourists, reverse the order and discuss this last.”

The Best Techniques to Transition to Warm Blonde

In order to transition your clients to warmer tones, it’s not just all about the talk, you want to think about the best techniques too. Claire Heald, Elgon Educator, has been using express services to give clients natural roots, but to keep them more regular, offering halo/partial services and gloss services and techniques. “This helps to transition for light or darker brightening around the face but breaking up the full blonde using their natural base or adding blonde/warmer golden blondes as a root melt or partial lowlight,” she says. “Booking clients in for six-week gloss treatments is a good way to maintain the warm golden tones.”

Similarly, Tom Smith, evo international creative colour director, tells us how he tweaks the toner or gloss as the first step. “Then we can weave in deeper golden, biscuit or caramel tones to add a more intense richness,” he says. “The key is when adding lowlights for a warmer result, they must be warmer than you think you need them as some of the warmth will be drained from your formula choice due to the fact they are incorporated in a partial way rather than all over.” Finally, Tom adds that you must look at the overall average colour, if some areas are brighter and more neutral than the overall goal, others have to be more intensely warm to create balance and overall harmony.

Speaking of small changes that make the biggest difference, Marlon Hawkins, Brooks & Brooks London, for L’Oréal Professionnel Paris, shares: “My biggest autumn balayage hack is when you paint a face frame blonde, you paint on top of the hair rather than against the client’s skin. This allows their natural colour to sit more with their skin, keeping an autumnal look while still keeping a blonde pop.”

Jayson Gray, UK Colour Visionary Artist at Keune, tells us how he starts to diffuse the top areas and re-blend the hairlines with the Keune Semi Range. “I find these are an ideal asset when it comes to creating a ‘seamless blend’ with my freehand applications.”

And for Layla Smith, Educator at KEVIN.MURPHY, the KEVIN.MURPHY Gloss shades are her go-to choice when working with blondes. “The treatment benefits make the hair shine and feel amazing while the acid formula is low commitment and doesn’t create a saturation,” she says. “Even if you’re just adding some shadows to complement or contrast the shade overall, this gives a touch of a different look and plays with the shape of the colour.”

Something Rio is a fan of is high lift tints, explaining that when clients want to embrace the natural, buttery, sun-like glow with hair colour, a high lift tint is a great option. “Not only are we gently lifting, but we’re also going to have a softer grow-out compared to pre-lightener,” she says.

Meanwhile, Tim likes to introduce different tones using babylights and lowlights to create dimensional colours in warmer tones. “By using these techniques, it’s also easy to revert back if the client wants to go lighter again down the line. Schwarzkopf Professional Chroma ID is ideal for clients to keep their warmer blonde tones fresh at home too.”

Promoting Your Warm Blonde Services

Considering the desire for the ultimate golden hour glow remains popular amongst clients that are eager to hold onto that sun-kissed feeling, there’s no better time to start shouting about your services. “Swatching is an amazing tool I like to use!” shares Rio. “Why not custom-create your own toners to add an element of uniqueness and customisation? You can then talk about these on social to share with your clients, what trends and colour services you are offering.”

Likewise, Jordanna tells us: “I’m a huge advocate for creating your own services and branding them to your salon or business. We have our own moodboard pinned up at the salon called ‘Golden Glow’. It really helps bring the colours to life and helps clients identify with the type of person that would wear the colour.”

Meanwhile, the team at Billi Currie salon often trial new shades on their own hair to become the literal walking inspiration for visiting clients. “I believe that the hair team have a responsibility to be providing ideas and inspiration to clients, not just verbally but through their own hair choices and colour,” says Tom.

After all, what better way to go for the gold than transitioning your clients to… well, gold?

Lead image credit: Melissa Timperley