“Creative is about driving fashion within your clientele and giving them the option to be more adventurous with their look…”
You may be working every day in a salon environment where your clients want a commercial cut or colour – soft lines, subtle colour and easy-to-style hair. But what if you want to be more creative?
Four-times British Hairdresser of the Year, Akin Konizi from HOB Academy and nominee for 2026, believes it’s not about being dramatic but about being aware of moving trends. “Being creative is about finding the village fashionista; the cool girl who wants something different, or Mrs Jones who you know would look great with a pixie. Creative is about driving fashion within your clientele and giving them the option to be more adventurous with their look,” he explains.
“Every time a client comes in – whether it is six or 15 weeks – it is our responsibility to guide them into their next look,” he explains. “They don’t wear the same jeans or trainers for more than a couple of seasons, so why should their hair stay the same? It’s our job as hairdressers to be promoting change and inspiring not just our clients, but ourselves and the industry too.
“Creativity is the most important factor in hairdressing; we’re not artists but we are craftsman, and if there isn’t a passion for creativity within your work you might as well become a factory worker.”
He adds: “The creativity is what will drive you to improve your skills, develop your understanding of your clients, give you an understanding of fashion and open up a whole new world of possibilities within your industry.
“It seems creativity has taken a back seat to long hair and commercial hairstyles, but creativity can be used at any time to keep you motivated and pushing for growth in yourself and your clientele – it’s not just a trim. Even if a client doesn’t want a creative hairstyle, she wants to know that you could give her one if she was ready for something new. Otherwise, she may just go somewhere else for that change.”
Akin’s top tips for being creative in a commercial environment:
- If you are a successful salon stylist, being creative is about pushing yourself to be fresh and introducing something new. It doesn’t have to be strong angles or crazy colour placement; it can be a change in the fringe you are cutting, or the length of hair you are used to creating.
- Everyone needs to be creative to a degree, but there should be a creative element in every salon that gets everyone thinking about the work they are creating.
- Put a sign in your window asking for creative models for a show or shoot. In-salon events are a great opportunity to play with the hair in a different way.
- It doesn’t matter where you live, there will be cool, trendy people in the area; just because you haven’t seen them doesn’t mean they’re not there!
- Offer to do their cut and colour for free, so you build a pool of clients you can experiment with. That way you’ll build a new clientele who will talk about you but will also grow your creative outlook.
- Research your favourite creative haircutters and colourists and ask them for some guidance. Understand their work, copy it and create your own version and develop your own techniques.
- Update the way you cut a bob, or apply a colour, there’s no barrier to being creative, make it work for you and your clientele.
Find out more about HOB Academy at @hob_academy and hobsalons.com/academy.