Using Colourscreen.Me has been a great way for salons and freelance colourists to ensure their client safety without having to carry stock or arrange product dispatch and tracking. This week we talk to salon owner Anna Green, from Malton in North Yorkshire. Anna’s business introduced her clients to Colourscreen.Me in 2022, after years of battling with her colour manufacturers’ and insurers’ to skin test every time a client has colour.
I met Anna recently and she explained how this single decision has freed up one member of staff and completely revolutionised her business. Read more below.
Anna Green Interview:
“A large percentage of our clients have colour, and I have always insisted that there would be no exceptions to our policy. No skin test equals no colour. However, our previous patch testing policy was honestly a nightmare for our business. We use Keune colour and their guidelines state that you must test every time a client has colour. This was a lot of work for us, as we are a busy salon with a lot of colour clients. It was such a mammoth task, I had one member of staff who was purely employed just to do dab testing.
I approached my insurance company to see if they would override the manufacturers guidelines with something more realistic, and they wouldn’t. Then at Salon International I got talking to Sentio Insurance about the issues I had with constant dab testing, and that conversation changed everything.
Sentio helped me with a new policy and suggested I try Colourstart. It’s been game-changing. I told our clients about our new policy and they’ve now all switched over. It wasn’t optional. The process is, they book in, we text them a link, they order from colourscreen.me online and then test themselves at home. We don’t carry any stock; we simply log in and check that they are up to date every time. It’s so easy, and the fact that we just don’t get involved in the supply process makes it really simple.
“We don’t carry any stock; we simply log in and check that they are up to date every time”.
Our policy is simple – we won’t colour anyone’s hair unless they have tested using Colourscreen.Me, unless there is a medical reason why they can’t use it. I think it would be impossible to run different ways of skin testing alongside each other, so it’s not optional – this is the only way we run our business.
The £15 cost hasn’t been an issue. Once I point out to clients that they are saving on petrol and costs to come to the salon every time for a skin test, they completely get it. I also tell them it is a one time test and it is for their safety.
Using Colourscreen.me is saving the business so much time and money and it’s so much easier for clients. I love the fact that I don’t get involved in having to buy the tests and that clients can take all of that into their own hands. I think every salon should be using Colourstart – to explain to a client why some salons test differently and some not at all, is not easy. I truly believe we need uniformed guidelines across all manufacturers, so that every brand is giving the same guidance and then every salon has to test the same.
“I truly believe we need uniformed guidelines across all manufacturers, so that every brand is giving the same guidance and then every salon has to test the same”.
My advice to any salon who is considering Colourscreen.Me is don’t even hesitate – do it immediately. Sure, you need to invest time initially, but after that the benefits are amazing.”