Articles > Should You Give Your Clients Their Color Formulas?
A stylist in a color crunch recently reached out to the BTC community after she was approached by a client requesting her color formula so she could pass it along to a friend.
This sparked a lively debate among the BTC Community. On the one hand, stylists invest time and money in school, and work hard learning how to create custom colors for their clients—should they really just give them away? On the other hand, it’s important to be known as someone willing to go out of their way for a client—especially a loyal, long-term client—and holding up your reputation as a helpful stylist is important. So which is it? Here’s what you BTC-ers had to say.
Not all BTC Members feel the same way, however. Some stylists even went so far as to say they would alter a client’s formula to ensure they wouldn’t be able to get the same color results anywhere else, and would ultimately have to return to their chair. But many BTC Members strongly disagreed with this opinion—urging fellow stylists to be honest with their clients.
Jeanie Cote sums up the sentiments of many BTC Members involved in the discussion. She states, “I would explain to her that I have created a custom cocktail for her. That I use two ‘numbers’ with three different tones. I would explain how application, timing, proper measuring and mixing are going to make a difference in her end result. I would give her extreme attention, fabulous results and assure her that I value her business. At the end I would graciously turn over the formula and remind her I am just a phone call away, even if just for a cut.” One of the most popular responses came from Mary Jane Pierce Sims, who articulates nicely what is likely to happen should you give your client her formula.
“1. Don’t lie and give the wrong formula.
2. Give her the number.
The Formula Is Yours—Keep It That Way!
One more option is this idea from Kirk Bishop. “We charge $35 to release a client’s formula and give them a release form that tells the client ahead of time that this formula is given only as a reference,” he notes. Kirk says to make sure the client agrees and understands that the salon is not responsible for the end result when not applied in the salon. He says so far, this system has worked well for him and his salon team.