Noticed something weird at the Chicago cosmetology convention last month

I went to the Midwest Beauty Show in Chicago last March and saw this huge shift. Like 80% of the vendors were pushing keratin treatments and bonding systems, and barely anyone was demoing classic foil highlights anymore. Even the younger stylists I talked to said they only do maybe 5 foil sets a week now. Everyone's just slapping on bond builders and calling it a day. Is anyone else seeing this in their salon too, or is it just the convention crowd being trendy?

2 comments

2 Comments

lilyg8321d ago

Yeah, "slapping on bond builders and calling it a day," that's exactly what it's like now. I work in a busy salon in Minneapolis and we've gone from doing maybe 20 foils a day to like 5 on a good day. Everyone wants that lived in, melted look that doesn't need a ton of upkeep, and bond builders are the shortcut to making damaged hair look halfway decent while you do it. It's not just the convention crowd either, it's the clients driving it because they don't want to sit in foils for two hours.

jennyp1921d ago

Started telling my apprentices this exact thing a few months back. I used to be the guy who'd spend hours on a full highlight, but now the clients just want something that looks like they've been on vacation for a week. Tried doing the whole "melted root" thing on a few test heads and it was a game changer. Way less time under the dryer, way less damage to the hair, and the bond builder really does help cover up my mistakes when I get too aggressive with the lightener. Actually been using that technique on my own greys too, just a quick balayage with some dark color melted in and I'm good for like 6 weeks. Clients seem happier too, they're not sitting around bored out of their minds while I wrap foils.