Louisa Dumbrell is the Salon Manager of the well‑established Buzby & Blue, a much‑loved salon that has been part of Chichester for 36 years.
Like many busy salons, traditional skin testing had become an increasing burden for the business. With a strict no test = no colour, policy in place, the team were determined to maintain their five‑star standards, but the logistics were becoming unsustainable.
With 30 styling stations, 18 stylists and a dedicated reception team, implementing a new approach was never going to be a small undertaking.
“Skin testing the traditional way is a logistical nightmare. We pride ourselves on being five star and we will not colour unless clients have been skin tested”.
The conversation around Colourstart began when an email landed in the salon’s inbox. While the team were already familiar with the product, the message came at exactly the right time.
“It was a subject we needed to address, so we thought we really needed to look into this. Colourstart offered a realistic alternative that felt modern and much more sophisticated, so we explored it”.
Insurance requirements were also a driving factor. Skin testing every six months across such a large client base was proving particularly challenging, especially during the winter months.
“Our insurers said we needed to skin test every six months, but with a huge clientele it’s a real pain – particularly in winter when you’re having to put blobs of colour on clients. We looked at the salons already using Colourstart and thought this could be a real game‑changer for us”.
They officially launched Colourstart in January. Since introducing it, client uptake has been strong, with around 70% of clients now using Colourstart.
“Naturally, there have been some ups and downs while we figured things out, but overall, it’s worked really well for us”.
One of the most unexpected benefits has been that Colourstart also covers beauty services. That was a real surprise – it means clients don’t need separate tests for hair and beauty.
To support the launch, we ran a social media campaign, trained the entire team, and ensured Colourstart was offered consistently across all touchpoints.
We created an online video to show clients the journey, emailed them, added it to our website, used in‑salon literature and screens, clients are seeing Colourstart everywhere.
I also made a point of trialing Colourstart before rolling it out to clients. I wanted to understand the journey properly so I could confidently talk clients through it.
As with any change, early feedback was mixed.
“At first, we realised we hadn’t always communicated it thoroughly enough. Once the team started talking clients through the process properly, we had far fewer issues. Colourstart also provided a fail‑proof guide, which was amazing”.
The success of the rollout has been a true team effort. Our reception team have been incredible, and we’ve also just moved over to Wella, so the timing couldn’t have been better. We charge £15 for new client consultations, which includes Colourstart, and £9 as an introductory offer for existing clients.
Having that green light makes everything so much easier to monitor. We’re only just starting to see the return, but it’s already taken away so much anxiety for the stylists.
“Looking ahead, I feel confident that this removes the stress that comes with skin testing and allows the team to be as creative as they like. Going forward, I know it will only get easier.”