Partnering the Profession | Pocketmags.com
Professional Beauty
Professional Beauty


3 mins

Partnering the Profession

Driving forward the development of the professional hairdressing industry, and the sustainable growth of salon businesses, is the commitment of newly appointed market director for L’Oréal Professional Products Division Ireland David O’Brien. PB/HJ Ireland reports

It has been an incredibly tough year for the salon business, how have you supported Irish salons? 

We created a host of support materials to help salons prepare and strengthen their business. These materials included advice on client communication, as well as information on how to open safely and care for clients. The free hygiene e-learning module on ACCESS gave salons confi dence, and for each completed course, we donated €1 to the charity Look Good Feel Better. From an education perspective, we have offered a huge amount of live and virtual education.

What has impressed you about the Irish salon market?

Joining the Professional Products Division just six weeks prior to the three-month lockdown was a unique introduction, and I was immediately impressed with how the industry stood together – and the resilience of the salons and teams. The volume of positive coverage the industry achieved over the past few months is testament to the role hairdressers play in our community. Salons have responded positively to new operating guidelines, and consumers have appreciated this; L’Oréal has just conducted research* in Ireland and 98% of women who returned to the salon told us it was clean and hygienic and 96% said they felt safe. Furthermore, 90% of women who returned to the salon post-lockdown said it had a positive impact on their happiness and emotional wellbeing. Beyond the pandemic itself, I have been impressed by the amount of creativity, innovation and passion in this industry – it is a great community.

What support will you have in place for salons going forward? 

Looking ahead, we will continue to produce valuable materials and assets for our partners and the wider industry. We have been listening to feedback, and this is what shapes everything we do – we want to add the most value possible and provide every tool we can to support salons. We have already started educating on new experiences, such as Virtual Consultations to help salons optimise productivity and time spent with clients in the salon, as well as creating assets for new services, such as Click and Collect. I think the most important thing is listening; we will work in collaboration with our partners to offer the best support possible.

What are your plans for education? 

As we look to the future and the evolution of the market, our goal is to continue to elevate our reputation of educational excellence both online and offl ine, helping shape the future of the stylist, and salons, in our industry. We can be extremely agile with our digital education platform ACCESS, spanning artistry and business, but going much further with digital, social and much more – all of the skills required to help salons grow in this ever-evolving landscape.

Most memorable moment of 2020? 

In September, we hosted the virtual L’Oréal Professionnel ‘Stronger Together’ event. I felt it was a moment of amazing creativity and connection that united the industry.

What are you hoping 2021 will bring for the salon community? 

I believe we have a bright future ahead, despite still needing to face challenges together. The pandemic has only served to strengthen our voice in Ireland and highlight the integral role that hairdressers play in people’s lives. Not only do hairdressers possess the creative skills to transform how someone looks, but, more importantly than ever, they have the power to support wellbeing and how clients feel emotionally. There is no other Industry like ours and I am extremely proud to be a part of it.  

*Source: Post Covid Research: Salon/Professional Hair Reopening in ROI. Conducted by 2CV Research on behalf of L’Oréal UKI via online interviews with 346 women aged 16-74, who had a salon appointment after lockdown was lifted. Interviews took place between 23rd-31st October 2020 in Republic of Ireland.

This article appears in the January/February 2021 Issue of Professional Beauty & HJ Ireland

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This article appears in the January/February 2021 Issue of Professional Beauty & HJ Ireland