Hair challenges aren’t part of a conversation happening somewhere outside the salon, it’s occurring right behind the chair, often between a client and a stylist who has known their hair for years.
The reality of this challenge is at the heart of Nutrafol’s Rooted In Series, brought to you by The Tease, which explores how hair health and whole-body wellness play a role in the professional salon experience.
Few people understand that evolution better than Rooted In host Johnnell Theresah Nidoh, whose childhood was heavily influenced by her experiences in her mother’s salon. She transformed her roots in sweeping floors to a 20-plus-year career working across brands such as Bumble and bumble, DevaCurl, and Salon Professional Distribution.
Before scalp health and holistic beauty made their way into mainstream conversations, Nidoh began to witness the industry shifting towards a more complete understanding of the complexity of hair care. Now, positioned at the core of the Salon Channel at Nutrafol, she is the driving force behind shaping the future of hair health and prioritizing beauty from the inside out.
On this episode of Rooted In, Nidoh sits down with Scott Buchanan and Nicole Honl of Scott J Aveda Salons to explore this shift in practice, and understand how conversations about hair thinning, shedding, scalp health, lifestyle changes, and hair development are vital topics in the salon consultation.
As a 4-decade veteran of the New York City beauty and wellness scene, Buchanan began as an assistant stylist and is now the owner of two top tier salons on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, with over 100 professionals.
Similarly, Honl’s career has spanned from leadership roles ranging from running an Aveda Institute to managing corporate retail stores, and has served as the General Manager of Scott J Aveda lifestyle salon for the past 25 years.
In conjunction, their conversations around hair wellness are a natural extension of their salon teams’ efforts to consult, listen, educate, and seek out solutions for their clients.
“Hairdressers are on the front line,” Buchanan says, emphasizing the importance of their aid.
What Hair Conversations Are Happening Behind the Chair?
When clients mention increased shedding, Buchanan starts by asking questions and understanding what they’re actually experiencing.
“The average head sheds a hundred hairs, so a hundred hairs looks like a lot at the bottom of your shower,” he says. “And that’s just normal shedding, seasonal shedding.”
From there, he tends to dive deeper into questions such as childbirth, surgery, or thyroid health, which can help him know when to direct clients towards additional help. Honl experiences similar conversations throughout the salons and within conversation.
This relationship between care and clients makes the salon consultation a natural starting point for stylists to ask informed questions while preserving professionalism and helping clients understand the full scope of their options.
Even longtime clients may be asked, “What’s new? Anything new that’s been going on with your hair?”
That simple question allows concerns to be uncovered while ensuring the client feels very heard, especially when solving a problem they have already identified. It also reflects the broader shift Nidoh has seen throughout professional beauty.
As consumers increasingly connect beauty with overall wellness, salons have an opportunity to provide education and solutions beyond traditional hair care.
Why Are Scalp Health and Hair Wellness Becoming One Conversation?
When asked about these new changes within the industry, Honl points to social media and the popularity of head spas as major drivers of consumer interest.
“I do think social media had a huge influence with that,” she says.
Buchanan remembers seeing extensive scalp services in Japan 10 to 15 years ago, long before the category gained widespread attention in the U.S.
“Your scalp is only an extension of your face,” he says.
At Aveda, scalp care, topical products, and internal hair wellness can therefore exist within the same conversation. Nutrafol sits alongside the salon’s Aveda offerings, giving the team another way to approach clients’ hair concerns.
Buchanan says helping clients address meaningful concerns can strengthen the stylist-client relationship and even generate referrals.
“They’re like, ‘Wow, you really did solve this problem for me,’” he says. “So they’re sending more guests to us. The energy and the spirit in the relationship is just better.”
Honl estimates roughly half of their Nutrafol business comes from customers who already know the brand, while the other half comes through conversations with the salon team. This dynamic allows a mutually beneficial relationship between salon and client.
“I get very intimate with my guests and therefore, you know, I can be a resource,” Buchanan says.
And when Buchanan and Honl are asked what Nutrafol ultimately brings into salon culture, they land on one word:
“Solutions.”
That may be the most impactful effect of bringing these conversations into the consultation process.
Learn more about Nutrafol Professional and the future of haircare by tuning into Rooted In wherever you pod. Check out our Instagrams here at @Readthetease and @volumeupbythetease.
