SOCO by The Sober Colourist

Today’s job… judging the Young Colourist category at the Colour Trophy 🏆

A real privilege to be asked. Now let’s see what they’ve got 👀

I’m not even a cutting girlie. We know this 😂

BUT when I tell you these scissors are GORGEOUS to work with.

My pal has brought out his own line of scissors, BOE, and honestly… he nailed them.

Japanese steel, beautifully balanced and they literally cut through the hair like butter.

Coming from someone who would happily colour hair all day and leave the cutting to someone else, the fact I’m actually ENJOYING cutting with these says everything 😂

Fair play 👏🏼✂️

BOE. I’m seriously impressed.

What do colourists overcomplicate?

PLACEMENT.

More foils doesn’t automatically mean a better result.

I could put two highlights in the right place and make it look like there’s six. Or put 20 in the wrong place and still not get the result I’m looking for.

The skill isn’t how much hair you can foil. It’s knowing why you’re putting that highlight exactly where you’re putting it.

What is it going to create?
Where is the eye going to see it?
Does it actually need to be there?

You don’t need to overfoil every head.

Sometimes less hair, placed better, does more. .uk.ireland

Formula drop 🧡🧡🧡

When you’re used to being REALLY blonde, lived-in colour can feel dark at first.

She hadn’t had her colour done in nearly two years. She’d been unwell, maintaining her blonde simply hadn’t been a priority, and when she was ready to come back to colour, she wanted to feel bright again.

Before this, she was used to being a full blonde.

And that’s where the balance comes in.

When someone is used to seeing themselves really bright, leaving depth in the hair can initially feel dark even when there’s plenty of blonde there.

So I concentrated that brightness where she’s going to see and feel it most: around her face.

That keeps the whole colour feeling elevated and blonde, while the depth through the rest of the hair gives us dimension, healthier hair and, most importantly for her, a really soft grow-out.

Could we have packed more blonde through it? Of course.

But then we’re putting her straight back into the cycle of more maintenance, more overlapping and more stress on the hair.

This way, she gets to feel blonde again without her hair dictating her diary.

She can get 6–9 months from this colour and it will simply get softer as it grows.

The goal isn’t always the most blonde I can possibly fit into your hair.
It’s finding the balance between the hair you want, the health of your hair and the life you actually live. 🤍

COLLABORATION HAPPENS AT THE TOP.
COMPETITION HAPPENS AT THE BOTTOM.

The longer I’m in this industry, the more I understand this.

The people doing really well aren’t sitting around worrying about what everyone else is doing. They’re sharing rooms, sharing knowledge, recommending each other, opening doors and having conversations.

Because someone else being brilliant doesn’t take anything away from you.

You don’t need to dim somebody else’s light to make yours look brighter.

And you don’t get better by always being the best person in the room.

You get better by surrounding yourself with people who challenge you, inspire you and make you raise your own standards.

IRON SHARPENS IRON.

There is room for all of us to be fu***ng brilliant.