“Social media allows our work to reach the audience using hashtags and the new reel trends.”

"The Professional Beauty & Hairdressers Journal Magazine has truly been a blessing. The magazine gives an opportunity to be heard and is a wonderful platform to showcase everything the stylist has got. It’s up-to-date and honestly have the best interest for its readers and viewers. They follow the current trending topics and make sure everyone is aware about the same and educate them about it too."

Tejasvi Contractor, Assisting Salon Manager, Style Director at BBLUNT Salon (Khar) and Educator at BBLUNT Academy, shares some interesting tips for budding hairdressers to have a successful start, learning and training, benefits of social media and the transformation that salons are yet to see.

YOU HAVE BEEN WITH BBLUNT FOR OVER SIX YEARS NOW. WHAT WOULD BE THE TWO TO THREE MOST IMPORTANT TIPS FOR A BUDDING HAIRDRESSER TO CONSIDER IN ORDER TO GROW AND HAVE A SUCCESSFUL START IN THIS PROFESSION?

The most important key to someone’s future is your foundation. I know for the fact that if my foundation course when I started would not be this good then I would not be the stylist or the person I am today. Over the years, I have only gotten more and more assured that BBLUNTs six-month foundation course prepares you for the stylist you would have wished to be. Second important thing to grow in one’s career or to start off well is attitude. When we are in the initial stage, it is important to keep an open mind and be willing to learn as much as possible. One must be willing to even explore areas that is outside their comfort zone.

HOW TOUGH HAVE THE PANDEMIC MONTHS BEEN FOR YOU AS AN ARTIST AND HOW HAS BBLUNT HELPED YOU IN UPPING YOUR LEARNING AND TRAINING SKILLS DURING THESE TIMES?

The pandemic has actually been tough for almost all the artists. We are creative people and it’s literally that we work towards creating a new design be it colour or cut. So not being able to do that restricts us. However, BBLUNT really helped because during the pandemic months, we had live sessions with different companies and brands that we work with, for instance, Wella, Davines and Olaplex. We had them to show us different techniques and educate us more about their products. We also had BBLUNT in-house training by Adhuna Bhabani herself display different haircuts and techniques. We had other trainers take trainings that would help us grow as a stylist and that focused on how to grow as a person.

Through the years, when you start becoming a busier stylist, we don’t really get a lot of opportunity and time working on ourselves and upgrading our skill-set.

Thanks to BBLUNT that we did manage to get many of these trainings and it also kept us occupied to cope with the situation that we were going through.

WHAT IN YOUR OPINION COULD BE THE BIGGEST TRANSFORMATION THAT HAIR SALONS ARE BOUND TO WITNESS IN THE MONTHS TO COME?

Honestly, now things are really changing because people are kind of getting used to the new normal and this has been with us for over two years. Moving forward, in the coming months, we are going to have a lot more footfall because of the fact that people have started stepping out. But having said that, I also believe that during the lockdown, people figured different ways – home care and a home routine – to work around situations. Some people even got used to their grey hair, some have grown out their hair. So we as stylist need to educate our clients again, we need to reach out to them and let them know what they should do, we need to make a future plan so that we can tell them how their hair can go back to pre-COVID times.

HOW CAN SOCIAL MEDIA BENEFIT YOU AS A PROFESSIONAL? WHY WOULD YOU RECOMMEND YOUR INDUSTRY COLLEAGUES SWITCH TO SOCIAL MEDIA?

This would not be the first time that you will be hearing someone cite that social media is ‘the’ platform now. It helps you engage with the audience that would not even be aware about you until and unless they were scrolling down their feed. Social media such as Instagram and Facebook allows our work to reach the audience using hashtags and the new reel trends. Your post can be educational or inspiring as well. Personally, I have also got some clients through Instagram, and that is the platform where they initially enquired about my work. You even have other people from your community who look up to you, follow your work because you have inspired them to do so. There are times where I use social media to share my favourite products, technique, and also share my current work in order to let people know what I am doing and what the trend is.

WHAT’S GOING TO BE EXCITING FOR THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY IN THE YEAR 2022?

The year 2022 is going to be exciting for everyone not only because it’s the New Year but because of how fast the industry is moving. There is so much to look forward to as every month or every quarter month, there is a new trend! There is something new that inspires us and I don’t only speak from a stylist point of view but even if I talk as a brand, there are new products with new technologies and new ingredients that keep coming up. There are new trends and techniques because anything and everything can be inspiring, right!

Especially when working with BBLUNT, which is a multi-brand salon chain, every month there is something that we look forward to. We work with many different brands such as Davines – its products are sustainable and it works with naturally derived ingredient, and Wella – they have a solution to every hair and hair concern. And just like me, each and every stylist out there is hoping for the year 2022 to be exciting and inspiring so that we only become even better than yesterday.