American Board of Certified Haircolorists  Newsletter,

By Andre Nizetich, President ABCH
View Results of ABCH Education Survey

            The outcome of the ABCH Educational Survey revealed some interesting results. The majority of respondents were haircolorists who have been practicing 20 years or more. This was surprising because of the massive number of young cosmetologists who have entered the


Andre Nizetich 

cosmetology field and for the most part are internet savvey. The largest number of haircolorists credit the ABCH study portfolio and the Energizing Summit for their haircolor knowledge, more than ALL of the manufacturers combined. That is an amazing statistic in light of the fact there are over 50 manufacturers teaching haircolor and there is only one ABCH. Are you paying attention manufacturers? The majority of haircolorists are charging $70.00 or more for their tint retouches. This is great news that haircolorists are able to command those prices for a simple tint retouch. It would be interesting how much those same people charge for a haircut and style.

           You can see the results of the survey by clicking on the following link. http://tinyurl.com/2badq4y Give us some feed back. It would be interesting to know what you think.

The ABCH Examination held in Washington, DC 2010
2011 DATES FOR ABCH EXAMINATIONS AND ENERGIZING SUMMIT
Chicago                  March 13
Denver                   April 10
Los Angeles           July 24
Boston                   August 14
Austin                    September 11
Washington DC     October 9
Atlanta                  November 6

The Energizing Summit will be held June 12-13 at the LAX Marriott Hotel,  Los Angeles, CA.    

To register for any of the above events visit Haircolorist.com.

An Expose' on The industry

"The Real Hair Truth"
Tells it Like it is, a Real
Eye Opener


       The Real Hair Truth is a documentary by Joseph Kellner, created for anyone considering a career in the hair industry, as well as the professional independent stylist, salon and business owner. Interviews are given with established artists and some highly revered icons in the world of hair dressing. They all
Joseph Kellner is
a folk hero

contribute to inform you on a variety of pertinent topics from different angles with varied opinions. The admirable Maurice Tidy, Robert Lobetta, Jessie Briggs, Albie Mulcahy, Eric Charles Mokotoff, Claudia Diesti, Phil Stone, just to name a few.  Their colorful contributions and opinions sharing their knowledge from individual experiences.
The DVD is smartly made and moves fast, and is loaded with valuable information giving the viewer much to think about. Topics varying from education, to booth renting vs commission vs salary, marketing and trade shows, to product diversion...and much much more. It is a expose' to pay close attention to.  While you may or may not agree with any or all of Mr. Kellner's opinions, they come through as caring and sincere. It is clear his words come from the heart with a true passion for his craft, and proud reverence for the hair industry. Whether you find it platform for debate, or to gain knowledge and have your eyes opened, you will be inspired and informed, this is a MUST see.  therealhairtruth.com

I have the greatest respect and admiration for Joseph Keller.  It is no fun going after the establishment.  Keller needs all of our support.  Read Gordon Miller below.  Andre
         
Gordon Miller Talks About the Labor Shortage

More Wisdom From
Gordon Miller

      

            Let's start with the simple (micro) math. Proponents of the labor shortage claim there are currently over 300,000 industry job openings. If we assume these are part-time openings, this number would equal 150,000 full-time equivalents. Let's also assume the need for a minimum of 200 clients on a six-week rotation (6.5 clients a day). If you then apply average service prices nationally, a 50% commission rate, and a 15% tip, you will arrive at an annual pay of $25,000.

            Moving that all up to the macro picture:150,000 openings x 200 clients = 30 million clients.

            This suggests 30 million clients that want, but cannot find, hairdressers. (Studies show a national salon client base of under 80 million.) The basic laws of market economics state that a sustained shortage of labor results in rising prices and, for our industry, full appointment books. Yet we seem to have neither in 90% of salons.

            The labor shortage is the big lie the industry has been telling itself for years. The fundamental problem with the argument is that we don't apply industry evolution to the question. New categories may have shortages, but the industry as a whole does not.

            Also, the average new salon does not open for the purpose of filling unmet clients needs, but instead to take away clients from existing salons. So a new salon may have a shortage, but the industry does not. A vocal minority has a shortage, but the industry does not.

            The bigger question remains: Can there be a labor shortage if clients don't perceive one? Is it possible to have an ongoing, ten-year labor shortage, while the average price of haircuts goes down? Not according to the laws of economics that the rest of the world goes by.

            The greater Reality is that, given the size of our industry, we are in the midst of a severe client shortage. We have 250,000 salons servicing under 80 million clients. That's just over 300 clients per salon. The average salon has three employees. Do the math. We're in a crisis - but the last thing we need is more staff to replace those that leave because they don't have enough clients to make a living.


This is mind boggling.  In California we have 400,000 cosmetologists with 35,000 being licensed each year. To me the more you have of something the less value they have. 


The Haircolor Vending Machine Re-visited


            The idea of having a vending machine that dispenses haircolor sounds like a fascinating idea. With 26 colors
The machine is the size of a soft drink machine.
downloaded into a machine about the size of a soft drink machine,  it dispenses haircolor as needed.  You can select from a palate of 86 colors from a color chart and the machine will mix the color you choose and add your selection of peroxide.  All you need to do is stir and apply to your client.  It is completely computerized so it remembers all your formulas, keeps track of the total amount of color  used in the salon and monitors the amount of haircolor each employee uses. It also can remix a small amount of the formula if you should run out on a client. It could save you up to 30% on your haircolor cost. (This is the claim of the company.)
            All these features are not yet in place, but it is just a matter of time before the company will be in full
Computer screen allows haircolorist to formulate

production. The machine, originated in  Holland,  is currently being  produced in Chicago.  The machine colors use  no ammonia or any MEA, and to process the color you must  place the client under a dryer.  The company will be answering questions and demonstrating the color machine at the ABCH Energizing Summit.
Disclaimer: The ABCH is not in any way endorsing this machine. We only feel it to be a product different enough to see.
 Candidates For Atlanta
 Surpass 50% pass rate.

Atlanta Produces 19 new ABCH's 

         The Atlanta examination produced 19 new American Board Certified Haircolorists.  The Atlanta

Chi Chan high score
performance 122

examination always produces the greatest number of candidates.  There were 36 candidates who took the exam.  Of the 36 there were 19 who passed all three portions of the exam.  Some of those who passed were among those re-testing, having failed one or more portions the first time.  Candidates who are not inclined to travel will wait an entire year to retest for the

Krissie Looper high score written 227

performance exam.  Being able to practice for the written examination online by signing up for the 7 different exams of 60 questions each has increased the pass rate for the written by 35%.  Very fe w of the candidates now fail to finish the exam in the time allotted for the difficult 250 question examination.  Following is  the complete breakdown

A. Anderson high score interactive 49

for the high scorers for the Atlanta ABCH examination:


Number taking the  examination:                  36


Number passing the performance

examination:                  19


Number passing the

written examination:       23


Number passing the interactive assessment

exam:                              24


Number of new America

Board Certified

Haircolorists:                  19

        

B&b Creates a Great Promo For Salons  
Peter Lichtenthal and Mary Rector of BTC

            In the last newsletter we scoffed at the notion that B&b were looking out for the best interest of their professional salons.After listening to Peter Lichtenthal, president of B&b, explain to Mary Rector of BTC.com how the partnership is going to work with Sephora, it all makes perfect sense. He used terms like "Bridge the gap between retail and salons," "Driving customers into the salons," "Form a partnership," "What it does is get clients in the door." That is everybody's struggle. 

           This is an opportunity to have a new client come into the salon with a discount coupon for a service.You have the opportunity to impress her enough to come back.The salon then turns the coupon in to B&b and they will reimburse the salon 50% of the coupon in product.In talking with a few salons who carry B&b they say the only down side of this promotion is the same client could go back to Sephora buy another product to receive yet another discount coupon to go back to a different salon and receive an endless stream of discount coupons.It would appear there needs to be a limit placed on the number of times a client can avail herself of the discount.B&b has the right idea, helping the salons by getting clients through the door.We hope it is a success so others may follow their lead.

   
More Testing on INOA Haircolor


We ran the INOA haircolor through the same paces as we did all of the other 6N colors.

The extra thick brand peroxide was used for one batch
      The INOA was omitted from the 6N comparison because it was not available when the tests were conducted. For this reason we conducted this test independent of the others because,"people want to know."  We used both the brand peroxide and another cream peroxide to determine the differences between the effects of
Another cream peroxide was used for another batch
the peroxide when mixed with the color.  The color requires the brand peroxide to be used. With a regular cream peroxide the color was not suitable for application. Clearly the brand peroxide is what gives the INOA haircolor the beautiful creamy consistency. With the regular peroxide not only did the color not have consistency, it oxidized right when the color was mixed and the results of the color were much
Mixed color oxidized and runny
darker. On the positive side the brand peroxide was more difficult to apply and did not hold up as well in the shampoo and UV test. It is clearly visible in the three swatches on the left which were the swatches with the brand peroxide. There are voids in the swatches where the color did not have same durability as the three swatches on the right.
It is a double edge sword, the brand peroxide is necessary to get the beautiful consistency, but the results are substandard when compared with the swatches on the right, which were mixed with regular peroxide.