Another Burned Scalp-Warning Graphic Photo

American Board of Certified Haircolorists

Newsletter

mid-September 2012

In This Issue

Seattle Nets 9 New ABCH

Upcoming Exams

ABCH Advertising Program

Consumer Protection

Clairol Stages of Lightening

Ion Color Grows

Lowlights from the Editor

   American Board   of
Certified Haircolorists

invites you to

   join us next year for the

13th annual  Energizing Summit
  June 9-10, 2013

Seattle Earns 9 New ABCH on 9/9!

Congratulations to the newest ABCH

SEATTLE EXAM NETS 9 NEW ABCH'S

With only 17 taking the examination in Seattle, 9 new ABCH's is a decent showing. We are looking forward to having a 100% pass rate. It is clear to see the individuals who worked hard to pass the examination. There were two English as a Second Language (ESL) candidates who received high scores. It is difficult to imagine taking a test in other than our native language, yet these two individuals showed us how it is done.

Sure we granted them extra time for the written examination, the other two sections were given at the same time as the other candidates. They were so serious in their desire to master this examination, that they hired Toni Mondragon, ABCH, to mentor them via Skype. They spent 9 hours in front of their computers with Toni on the other end measuring their progress. It was a lot of time and money but it paid off! Maria Rodriquez received a high score of 121, Inez Acosta received a score of 120. Sure the examination is difficult, it's supposed to be; but don't tell us its too difficult. The bottom line is you have to want it and do what it takes to get there!

American Board of

Certified Haircolorists

Upcoming Certification Exams:

Washington D.C. October 7, 2012

Atlanta, GA November 11, 2012

www.haircolorist.com

The ABCH Advertising Program

National advertising for certified colorists

The ABCH advertising program, available only for board certified haircolorists, offers your name listed in over 25 full-page color ads in a variety of the most popular hairstyle magazines on the consumer market. The ads will appear over the next calendar year in hairstyle media magazines available across America. You are identified by name and state as one of an elite group of haircolorists. Your info will also be listed on the ABCH website.

$325 advertising (ABCH certified only)

25 full-page ads in national hairstyle magazines
September 2012 to August 2013

Andre warns...

CONSUMER PROTECTION AGENCY,

MY EYE!

The agencies who issue licenses should be made aware that consumers are less apt to do damage to themselves if they color their own hair, than getting haircolor in some salons. How can a state agency who is sworn by the taxpayers to protect the consumers, issue licenses to individuals because they know how to put shaving cream on the hair and pretend it is bleach? I wonder how much faith the consumers would have in hairdressers if they knew how little training they receive in coloring hair and the dangers involved.

We have included another example of what can happen if instructions are not followed. This happens much more frequently with the inception of booth rental. With booth rental, the haircolorist who knows nothing is on their own, they don't have the supervision of the salon owner to fall back on. After all, they are independent. Much more of this will be occurring in the future with the increase of both rental. Without anyone overseeing what goes on in the salon, there are bound to be more burned heads.

Clairol Changes to Stages of Lightening

Clairol is the first manufacturer to adopt the stages of lightening to better define the undertones that the hair goes through to become blonde. Up until Clairol made the switch, all other manufacturers used the level system to define the stages of lightening. Everyone knows the level system cannot be used to define the stages of lightening. The undertones that are exposed when lifting hair through the stages of lightening are all important when formulating your haircolor.

The hair is both the haircolorist's pallet and the canvas, since the hair's undertones contribute to the final color result. It behooves the manufacturers to give as accurate a rendition of the undertones as possible for their customers to achieve the most desirable results. Now that Clairol has taken a giant step forward with their stages of lightening, the next logical step is to adopt the ABCH haircolor categories. Our hats are off to Clairol for being a leader in haircolor education. ABCH has been using the stages of lightening since its inception. Let's hope the other manufacturers will follow suit. What is so unique about Clairol is that they actually use color swatches as opposed to paper prints to define undertones, making it so much easier to understand.

ION COLOR GROWS TO #4

Sally Beauty has successful grown their Ion Color brand to fourth place. They are no slouches when it comes to marketing. It is amazing when you think they have done this with very little educational support. That is to say, they do not have a staff of haircolorists who go into salons and educate haircolorists. What would have been impossible years ago, Sally Beauty has managed to accomplish in just 5 years. Of course, having multiple locations make purchasing the haircolor very convenient. Their price for a tube of haircolor is $5.29, which is the mid-range of haircolor pricing. They are catering to booth renters by charging $1.79 if you purchase 12 tubes of color. The news of Sally Beauty's growth can be found in a report by the 2011 Professional Salon Haircolor Study from Professional Consultants and Resources. A full report on professional haircoloring will be given in the next newsletter.

Lowlights from the Editor

Over the next few newsletters, as promised, I will suggest new marketing ideas to help promote your career and make the most out of your ABCH certification. My marketing tip from last newsletter bears repeating, though...

Mentoring works, as noted by Maria and Ines's story above. Toni Mondragon, mentioned above in the Seattle article, is the renowned "Color Dragon" (ABCH Mentor Extraordinaire!) Skype takes the mentoring experience to the next level. Since the long distance interaction during the learning and training experience of preparing for the ABCH exam is visual through Skype, the nuances of techniques and concepts are enhanced. No Excuses...If Maria and Ines can do it, so can you!

Problem? Question? Complaint? Suggestion?

Write to me... I love getting email and talking to other stylists about haircolor!

mary.petillo@yahoo.com USE subject line: ABCH

Certifiably yours,

Mary

editor

Mary Petillo, ABCH