2021 Hair Trends Predicted by 15-year Expert Beautician
Black Texture Hair Stylist, Honey Andrade
How are the beauty salons, which had to close down for several months due to the pandemic, overcoming these hard times? In the December 2019 issue, BNB met again with Honey Andrade, a beautician who had 15 years of experience and told the story of beauticians. Hairstylists, who are more quickly exposed to customer changes and beauty trends than anyone else, say that COVID-19 will change the trend of the hair industry. Together with her, we looked back on last year and heard about future beauty trends.
How are the hair trends these days?
After the pandemic, natural hair is the trend. There are a lot of guests who come in completely messed up hair because they haven’t managed it for a long time at home. Some people come with hair dangling with braids(laugh). When this happens, you naturally think about repairing damaged hair and growing it healthy. Because you don’t wonder outside much, you don’t want to pay extra for hair extensions. In 2019, I once said that natural hair is going to be the mainstream, but the trend caught on a little faster due to the pandemic.
These days, customers only want to trim damaged hair off and prefer treatments such as moisture treatments and silk presses. What’s interesting is that people are satisfied with looking “just okay” when doing video chat for work. The reason hair accessories are selling so well these days is that they help you make your hair look less boring. People don’t even buy pants these days (laugh).
There are some more customers who want to grow healthy, natural hair, but what I recently realized is that there are quite a few customers who want to give up their natural hair and use a relaxer. This is because short hair with relaxers are much easier to manage.
@hairbyhoney.a before and after silk press treatment
Will the demand for hair extensions increase as before when the vaccine is released?
It will be more than now, but I expect it will not be the same as before because of the increasing number of customers who learned how to manage natural hair during the pandemic. Of course, there are customers who want hair extensions on special days.
Where do you get the latest trend information?
Instagram grew into one big ocean of information and is able to tell you all of the latest trends, as you know. The most prominent influencer among them is rapper Saweetie. She’s about my age and keeps showing the trends that are from my childhood. You know, the styles that were popular in the 90s? I think butterfly clips, hair scrunchies, and hair bubbles will be popular again.
@redbull.com Saweetie, the rapper who recreated the look of the 90s
Are there any beauty products you are interested in recently?
Dr, Bronner’s soap products are catching my eyes these days. I began using its products recently and the cool thing about it is that it can be used for hair, skin, and body. It’s especially effective in removing sebum in the scalp after braiding. I myself often use it at home when taking a shower. It’s great because it has several functions such as tea tree and lavender. Since I make my own products, I have a habit of checking the ingredients when I visit a beauty supply store. I avoid products with harmful ingredients, with the exception of products that are essential for specific styling, such as spray.
Dr. Bronner’s – Pure-Castile Liquid Soap
What is the beauty industry’s outlook for 2021?
DIY(Do it Yourself) and beauty online tutorials
Starting from the pandemic, I started consulting customers with Zoom video chat to teach them how to do their own hair. Not long ago, I planned the bride’s hair and style through video chat and went on a business trip only on the day of the wedding and completed it successfully.
Particularly, the DIY craze is good news for beauty supplies. In order not to lose customers to supermarkets like Wal-Mart, I think it is necessary to actively recommend and inform customers of products that help manage hair consistently at home. The products that should be recommended to customers should vary depending on their hairstyles, too.
Eco-friendly trend
This year, guests will respond more favorably to products such as Eco-friendly, Non-GMO and Vegan. I think it will be helpful for sales if you display them in separate sections from regular products and put them in a 100% natural products section.
Subscription economy
Someone I know recently started the Beauty Subscription box business. It’s a monthly service that includes the beauty products you need, and you pay a subscription fee of $29 per month, and you get a monthly box of samples of the latest products at home. This month, I received a box containing hair care products, makeup, and hair accessories. I didn’t have to go shopping, but I felt like I was taking care of myself. Like this, people will continue to find ways to care for themselves even when they are at home.
doing bridal hair
How did you spend last year?
It’s probably the same for everyone, but last year went crazy fast for me too. On February 28 of last year, my salon was closed, and when it reopened at the end of June, there were many customers who visited because messed up while doing their hair at home. From customers who cut their hair in zigzags to customers whose hair was clumped like a ball, or customers who tried dying hair but staining it so bad that she made the whole process extra difficult. Although there were many customers who ruined their hair in the early days of the pandemic, now about a year later, customers seem to be getting used to managing their hair on their own.
Before After
@hairbyhoney.a before and after the treatment of a customer who could not manage hair due to a pandemic
After the pandemic, the demand for hair salons must have decreased. How did you cope?
Now I don’t just focus on treating hair in the salon like I used to. I thought that the way of generating profits should also be changed in line with the “untact” trend.
First, I launched my own hair product.
Since before, I’ve been preparing to make my own hair products while running a hair salon. The goal was to make natural products that I could even use on my son. At the time of the 2019 interview, I had been planning roughly, but then the pandemic broke out. As I couldn’t work at the salon, I had time left, and I was able to focus more on making products, and made them faster than I thought. Covid actually helped this time (laugh). My product is 100% vegan, with vitamin B and Sativa added to hair nourishing oil, edge control and body oil. After testing for about 18 months, I sold it on my official website and to my salon regulars.
Vitamin Bee – 100% vegan hair nutrition oil / Vitamin Bee- edge tamer, braid, dread Gel
Order at www.misshoneyandrade.com
Second, I prepared exclusive content for customers who have VIP subscription on my homepage.
This includes videos that cannot be viewed on my Instagram, access to limited edition products, and podcast discussions. You can also book 1:1 online hair tutorial and take online master classes related to hair as a group. They are available for $5.29 per month.
Reopening update posted on the website
How are you managing your hair salon?
Previously, the interval between guests were about 15 minutes, but after the pandemic, I made it an hour. Also, we had to monitor which people were visiting the salon. For example, older and younger guests aren’t booked on the same day and guests that are COVID essential workers’ reservations are prioritized. All notices are shared on email and on the homepage so customers could see before visiting. I also thought a lot about how to make customers with COVID anxiety visit comfortably.
You always have red hair. Is there a reason?
That’s what everyone keeps asking me (laugh). I’ve been doing this hair for 10 years. I do color, barber, extension, braiding, and hair care, but my specialty is hair care stylist. People ask me, “if you dye your hair for 10 years, won’t it fall out?” but if you know how to keep your hair healthy, you can maintain healthy hair even if you dye it for 10 years. Some customers want to bleach or dye in an unreasonable way to reach the desired hair color in a single day, but you should never do that. Bright hair color has to be created slowly over time. I think that the basic of beauty is to balance what you can and should do to your hair and what you want to do with your hair style.
In addition to the safety and health of my customers, I learned the importance of my own health after I went to the emergency room with a high fever worrying about possible COVID-19 infection earlier last year. This year, I wish every business owner put safety and health above all.
