Whatever the level of service, today, it is social networks that set the trend for hairdressing. A large part of the clientele chooses their hairstyles on social networks where, to stand out from the crowd, trade shows must be present. A phenomenon which has increased with the health crisis. Globally, the hairdressing sector resisted the eight weeks of confinement from March to May 2020 and the constraints of the health crisis rather well. Some salons did not reopen and professionals had to bounce back by turning to hairdressing at home. But the high-end has found its faithful, while a support measure put in place by the Department in partnership with M's RoomReunion Island Crafts and Crafts, brought a new audience to local trade shows. A public addicted to social networks.
The Well-being Pass : as part of its economic and social recovery plan, the Department came up with this solution to boost activity. Worth 150 euros, this Pass allows beneficiaries of Active Solidarity Income (RSA) and people over 60 with modest incomes to benefit from welfare benefits (hairdressers and beauticians). Professionals are then reimbursed by the Department on a dedicated IT platform. Launched December 1, the Well-being Pass saved the most important month of the year for the hairdressing and aesthetics sector : December, wedding month, end of year celebrations, Christmas trees for works councils, etc.
Marie-Pierre Lafosse-Rivière, president of the UNEC-Réunion, professional hairdressing union, runs the Mary Pier’ Coiffure salon in Sainte-Anne : " Usually, our appointment books are full from August to December ! This year, with the health crisis, we feared the worst. Of course, customers started to come back, we feel the desire to live after all these months of tension. But it was the Wellness Pass that saved us. The salons which were affiliated with this measure and who were able to put themselves forward got a big breath of fresh air from it. The Pass brought us a clientele who did not frequent the salons. In place until the end of 2021, it creates a snowball effect with word of mouth. December 2020 was an extraordinary month for many salons. And January, generally calm, works very well. It's very simple, in 18 years of work, I have never seen that ! »
A thousand professionals
With 800 hair salons and some 180 home hairdressers, the selective hairdressing circuit is one of the most important in Reunion. We also see this in the fact that it is difficult to recruit both beginner and experienced staff.. Despite the two CFAs of Saint-Denis and Saint-Pierre and the hairdressing school of Saint-Louis (Hairdressing training area), job supply exceeds demand ! This shows the dynamism of the activity.
However, for Marie-Pierre Lafosse Rivière, if 80% of professionals are doing well, the remaining 20% live more difficult. There is no shortage of customers, but the new trends in the profession are no gift : starting with the use of social networks to make yourself known. Which does not go without raising the problem of competition deemed unfair. , she is also active on social networks. Thus the fashion of barber shop and hairstyle sculpture practiced by people without training and without professional certification (BP), the diploma required to open a hair salon. More generally, a quarter of hairdressing salons do not comply with regulations requiring the permanent presence of a BP holder in a salon. This is the estimate from UNEC-Réunion.
Social networks set the tone
Today, it is with their smartphone in hand that a good number of clients enter hairdressing salons. And the new clientele who take advantage of the Well-Being Pass further accentuates the trend. “People want what they see, a cut, but also a gesture because the hairstyle, it is also a ritual, a show” explains Marie-Pierre Lafosse-Rivière. For professionals to be able to do everything.
Hairdressing has always been a matter of fashion and therefore of continuing education to enrich know-how, acquire new techniques and master new materials, like 3D scissors which allow both cutting, degrade and thin. But the fashions, today, multiply, diversify. And they are known to everyone instantly thanks to social networks. Professionals have no choice but to follow suit. In Reunion as in mainland France, most salons have their Facebook page and more and more are on Instagram, Twitter, etc. Impossible to cut. To the point that the difference is between those who are there and those who are not there. “We must adapt and reinvent ourselves” summarizes Marie-Pierre Lafosse-Rivière.
