Social Sessions #006: True Technique
As a salon owner, stylist, and mom, the rose golds and pearl tones Patricia Nikole paints on clients every day is responsible for inspiring over 330,000 followers on Instagram through her coloring technique, Painted Hair. From her studio in Northern California, she’s building a brand rooted in her personal style that gives her clients versatility while having a strong point of view.
Idealogue x Painted Hair
I’m blessed, because I’ve had amazing opportunities right here in my own hometown – and that’s good- not only for my personal brand, but also for my family. I like showing people that no matter where you’re from, you can be successful. As long as you’re doing exceptional work and people love what you have to offer, they’ll follow to you on the moon.
I’m originally from Sacramento, but I started out in Georgia doing apprenticeships.Funny story here- In my first apprenticeship, I had a situation where in order to get credit for work, your employer is supposed to submit hours quarterly — only mine didn’t. I worked there for a whole nine months before finding out I wasn’t credited at all! I lost all that time! School wasn’t an option for me because I couldn’t afford it…I then decided to work anywhere I could to get my foot in the door. I happened to walk into an Aveda Salon one day, hoping to take whatever role they had available. Even if that meant taking a position as a secretary, not even doing hair, at this point I was desperate. I met the loveliest manager while filling out an application. She was very interested to learn the purpose of my visit and what my thoughts were on pursuing an education in hair. When I walked out I suddenly had a full-ride scholarship, a sense of relief and accomplishment, and excitement for the new opportunities that were to come! It was the beginning of my start; and it would inevitable pave the way and lead to how I learned my technique. Overcoming adversity is so important in this industry, and without my setback with the apprenticeship, I would have never walked into Aveda and I wouldn’t be where I am today.
LBP: How’d Painted Hair come about?
I’ve long been obsessed with doing more for my clients, and after leaving Aveda the biggest question I couldn’t stop asking myself, was “how I could make my color look more natural, and less harsh?,” so I started with painting to learn my own way to do it myself.
The name itself didn’t come until much later. In the beginning, social media started out as necessity for me. I’m a Mom with two kids, and wasn’t able to get out and network like my peers did, so I used the internet instead – posting photos to MySpace, then sending friend requests to people in my zip code. When Facebook came out, I did the same thing. I used social media strategically to grow my client base, and I was lucky to be an early user of it.
About four years ago, I had branded all my pages Hair by Patricia Nikole. And one day, my friend told me, “Patricia, I love your page, but your name is too long.” So we talked, and at one point I remember saying, “well, I paint hair – why don’t we call it Painted Hair?” I still can’t believe someone didn’t have that name! So I took it and ran with it. People don’t even call me by my name anymore at shows! It’s “Hi Painted Hair.” Finding the right name was such a blessing for me – it’s what I feel defines me and what I identify with.
Now that I have a bigger audience, I can be more efficient with my time. The different channels on social media have different strengths and weaknesses, and if you aren’t careful, you might find yourself spread too thin. By the time Instagram came out, I remember realizing that it would be the best place for me to focus because I wanted to showcase my work. After the name change, I had seen my following grow so rapidly! I decided that if I could get enough people to follow me on Instagram, I could use my audience there to build my other platforms. Focusing and building a huge audience on one platform is like getting yourself a big megaphone. I just started on Snapchat – and so I told people about it on my Instagram account and now they follow me. I still work behind the chair every day, and efficiency is so important to juggling all the things I need to do.
LBP: How’d you connect to so many people?
It’s not the most exciting answer, but to be honest I’ve gotten to where I am now with steady growth over time – and I think people need to know that. It was never a big explosion of followers for me, I just kept working extremely hard. After a while, more and more people reposted my page, and then more and more people started seeing it. I think the thing to always keep in mind is that working hard isn’t always exciting- but the reward is.
LBP: Were there any challenges to getting here?
Well, that last part is why I have a watermark on all my photos now. We’re stylists and visual people, and we love to share the things that inspire us, but at the start, I remember getting messages from people that were like “so-and-so is using your photo as their own work,” and that was tough for me! I work really hard at what I do, and sometimes I just wondered, ‘why share what I’m doing when people will just steal it?’ Not to mention, just think about all these clients being deceived! But quitting isn’t how the world works. If you’re not sharing, on these platforms or elsewhere, you won’t grow your clientele, you won’t reach as many people, and you won’t ever get out of your shell. Initially, I designed something because I needed a way to ensure that when my work got reposted, people knew it was mine, and after a while, it became my trademark. Like my experience in Georgia, out of every negative there’s a positive – my audience came from working hard, putting in the time, having faith that it would work out, and not giving up.
LBP: How has the industry changed since you’ve been in it?
I feel like people are more informed when they sit in my chair. A few years back, I remember my clients would always bring in magazines to tell me what they wanted. The style and trend was all driven by editorial coverage and what celebrities were doing. But now, while celebrities still have a big impact, people aren’t looking at print for inspiration, they’re going to social media, learning about what’s new, finding the people who are doing it well, going to the source, and asking for it. They come in already knowing what I can do, and they want me to achieve that same thing for them. I think social media is really positive for the industry in the way that everyone is able to carve out a niche for themselves with their own style; we’re all growing together and attracting the right clients who fit with us and what our strengths are.
No lines — that’s my inspiration. I approach every client with the thought that if you leave my chair, I would wear your hair. I work by incorporating my style and personal way of doing things into all the appointments I have, and it’s helped me stay authentic and build a brand around an idea. My goal is to continue getting better and better at what I do and what I’m known for. I work every day behind the chair as well as teach classes as an educator. I give my clients what they want, and I feel like if I spent too much time to doing what’s trendy, I would lose myself. It’s so easy to be influenced by all the great work out there – but my page needs to be me, I want to be solid and who I am. Together we could decide to do a silver, or a mauve, or a chestnut, but when you come to me, it’ll always be painted hair. The best referral I can get is a new client coming in and saying ‘what you’ve done on your page is what I want on my hair.’
Want to learn more about Patricia? Follow her on Instagram, on Snapchat by adding Pa1ntedhair, or visit her at PaintedHair studio in Sacramento. To hear from her live along with other exciting movers-and-shakers in the industry, get a ticket for LBP Idealogue: The Social Media Sessions, focusing on how social media is changing our industry, happening October 21-22 in NYC. Get one here.
