2023 was the year of aesthetics, TikTok hair hacks, and Gen Z clients leading the charge when it comes to experimenting with haircuts and colour - all of this leading to the rise of the so-called "DIY" hair trend. But educating clients in the difference between DIY jobs at home and the benefits of salon colour is key to making this trend work.
Lead image: Louis Byrne
Speaking at An Evening with Grace Dalgleish, hosted by Ffor at The Haberdashery in Glasgow, Grace revealed a growing trend towards 'DIY hair'. “People are dyeing their hair themselves and being more creative. I’ve been inspired by how they are working with colours we wouldn’t typically place together – it’s perfectly imperfect colour.”
Louis Byrne, celebrity session hairdresser explains this trend is all about self-expression: “The ANTI-perfection, being bold and fearless and owning how you want to look and feel. It’s about rebellion,” adding that social and economic hard times provide inspiration for people to break the norms: “There has never been a better time to express yourself. We want to be seen and heard as individuals.”
Rachel Valentine, colour specialist, cites the at-home Wolf Cut as one attempt she’s been seeing on TikTok: “The rise of online tutorials, whether it be by influencers or hairdressers, has influenced this. It can be a great thing creatively, but can cause problems for those of us who have to fix it!”
From the Streets to The Salon
Louis often looks to the street and street culture as a source of inspiration. "I live in east London where the vibe is real, lots of students expressing themselves through hair, street style photography around fashion weeks is always DIY; I love seeing the models pre- and post-show,” he shares. Louis looks for personalisation and self-expression as inspiration for his work: “Punk is the most obvious representation of this. I’m a big bleacher and have a lot of clients that come to me for a professional bleach then they DIY their tones at home as this gives them freedom.”
Educating clients in the difference between colouring at home in the salon is key to making this trend translate to the salon floor, explains Rachel: “I always explain the risks in colouring at home and the techniques and results only a professional can achieve. Teaching your clients how to style their hair so they can re-create it at home will keep them coming back.”
Read next: How Trending Hair Colours Can Boost Your Social Media Engagement
