Technology is changing the way we learn, communicate and do business. Heather Landau sheds some light.

Beauty professionals are incorporating technology into their professional lives in new and exciting ways via the Internet, video and satellite links. Much of this technology has been around for a while, but it's the application-the way it touches our lives-that's unique. Video is being used as a teaching tool for assistants, students and clients. Salons, manufacturers and distributors are marketing on the Internet, and now manufacturers are debuting new product lines around the country via satellite link.

Traditional methods of teaching and doing business aren't being outmoded, they're being built upon. In an industry as personal and as high-touch as professional beauty, nothing can replace a hands-on approach to education and business. Technology, however, provides beauty professionals with a means of making information available at a faster rate and to many more people, as well as a tool for learning quicker and more efficiently. What follows is a sampling of some of the ways beauty professionals in every part of the industry utilize technology to enhance their businesses.

Classroom 2000

The classroom of the future is here today. Textbooks and live demonstrations and product launches are only part of the educational format as professionals begin to capitalize on video and satellite.

Videotaping haircutting techniques is nothing new. Toni & Guy International, London, revolutionized its salon assistants' program one year ago when the company incorporated a standardized video program, Classic Cuts, into its assistants' training. This was done to ensure uniform results in all of its salons worldwide. According to James Morrison, international artistic director, "Assistants are learning faster. What used to take three years now takes nine months." The results were so good that the video series was introduced at the Toni & Guy academies as well.

Meanwhile, The Wella Corporation, Montvale, NJ, recently held its first satellite news conference in a follow-up product launch to its new wet line, Liquid Hair. The conference was broadcast in 12 cities around the country. Wella platform artist Patrick Cameron appeared live from Fort Lauderdale, FL, where he demonstrated the line on models and then answered questions from callers in all 12 cities in a Larry King LiveŅtype format. Says Mario Argenti, chairman and CEO of Wella U.S.A. and Canada, "We could have done a sell-sheet on Liquid Hair. What we wanted to do was bring the United States together through a satellite news conference so hairstylists could simultaneously see the first products in the world to put hair back into hair and listen to their peers around the country ask questions and get answers about Liquid Hair and what it can do."

The Information Supermarket

So much hype surrounds the World Wide Web-what's really out there and how can salon professionals take advantage of it? According to Adam Broderick, owner of the Adam Broderick Image Group, Ridgefield, CT, "A website is a wonderful public relations and marketing vehicle." Salon owners such as Broderick and Robert Craig, owner of Color by Robert Craig, New York, have websites that contain in-depth information about their salon, the services they offer and even the products they carry (Craig has his own color line)-all of which can't possible fit into an ad in the Yellow Pages. For instance, Broderick's website contains pictures of his salon and discount coupons that users can printout and redeem once they come to the salon, which is a great way to bring in new business.

Another salon owner, Jeff Williams, co-owner of Unisex Haircutters in the college town of Pullman, WA, plans to launch a website as a means of luring computer-savvy students into the salon.

Manufacturers such as Aveda, Clairol, KMS, Matrix and others have sites to provide product and trend information, as well as to encourage consumers to visit salons and receive a professional consultation.

To locate salons carrying a particular manufacturer's product, consumers can simply key in their zip code to receive the name and location of the salon nearest them.

Emiliani Enterprises, a distributorship in Union, NJ, has a site that lists its trade-show information and the professional product lines that it carries. Consumers can also key in their zip code to receive the name of a salon near them that carries the products they're interested in.

Beauty professionals who are online know that consumers are already using the Internet to obtain information. Salon owners who either can't afford to pay a professional design firm to design a website (Broderick paid about $7,000) or who aren't computer-savvy enough to do it themselves, can become part of the HairNet for a painless fee. The HairNet is a website for both consumers and professionals completely dedicated to beauty. American Salon appears online at this website.

For $150 a year and a one-time set-up fee of $20, @HairNet, Glen Cove, NY, will design a website that contains as much as 250 words of text and two pictures or graphics. Only salon professionals can obtain this service. Stylists can also get samples of their work published on the HairNet by calling (212) 505-1936.

High-Touch Meets High-Tech

Using electronic equipment to help sell product and services may not seem feasible in an industry where discounted services and free samples are the preferred ways of introducing new services and product, but it's happening right now. For example, salons that are members of the Nexxus Invest for Success Program are eligible to rent Nic (Nexxus Interactive Consultant), a multimedia, touch-screen, in-salon kiosk that functions as an easy-to-use, product-reference guide for customers. Through moving images, voice and music, customers can get both a personal analysis of their hair and skin type, as well as retail-product recommendations. There is even a recorded voice that continually invites customers to give Nic a try.

The makeup artists at Yamaguchi Salon & Coastal Day Spa, Ventura, CA, have also gone high-tech by videotaping client makeovers for an additional fee. Eric Reyes, senior makeup artist, explains that clients can now relax and enjoy the makeover without worrying about how to reproduce their new look. They can just pop the video into their VCR at home and practice. What's more, salon-produced videos containing bridal, daytime and evening makeup looks are retailed in the salon. Says Reyes, "Video is much better than a face chart and helps clients to retain far more information."

It no longer seems strange to think that clients and beauty professionals are now talking trends, selling services and giving advice via some form of technology. New technological innovations and the way we incorporate them into our lives is truly exciting. But the most interesting part seems to be that no matter what technology brings our way, beauty professionals are finding ways to boost their business with it.

Beauty Online

To see what the professional beauty industry has to offer online, here is just a small list of the websites that were up and running as this issue of American Salon went to press.

Aveda Corporation http://www.aveda.com
Backscratchers Salon Systems http://www.backscratchers.com
Adam Broderick Image Group http://www.adambroderick.com
Clairol Professional and Matrix Essentials (both) www.womenslink.com
Color by Robert Craig http://www.robertcraig.com
Emiliani Enterprises http://www.beauty-net.com
HairNet http://www.hairnet.com
HDS Labs www.hdsskin.com
KMS Research www.kmshaircare.com
The Salon Association www.salons.org

Companies to look for online in 1997: Schwarzkopf, Sebastian International, Wella Corporation, Zegarelli Professional Hair Care and Zotos Corporation

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