Beauty
DIY or Die:
I
How the do-it-yourself trend has
changed the face of the industry
n the aftermath of the recession, many industries
have faced serious changes, the hair world includ-
ed. One of the biggest changes being that more and
more people have resorted to doing their hair at
home. We wanted to take an in-depth look at how this
has changed the face of the market.
One of the biggest changes to the hair industry has
been that consumers are heading into the salon less.
Many turn to DIY solutions whether it’s weaves or col-
or. Salon experts say that this change has affected them
in different ways. To start, many suggested that only
older salons really noticed the difference—many con-
sumers left the salon for at-home treatments during the
recession and never returned. Salons started up after the
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recession haven’t felt the same customer loss as those
who were in business before.
One stylist we interviewed noted that there were a
few distinct segments of the population. One group still
visit the salon regularly, with some creating loyal bonds
with stylists. Some treat salon treatments like basic cuts
as luxury treatments doing them irregularly at best. The
third group is the oddest—they are almost regular salon
goers, but rather than sticking with one professional,
they use ‘salon surf’ sites like Groupon to pick salons
based on deal and advertisements rather than quality of
services. All of the stylists we spoke with noted that
the biggest change in salons was the need to do more
advertising. Whether through Facebook, Yelp, or Insta-