How to choose an individual image: the author's approach

Galina Shapovalovskaya , expert hairdresser, top colorist in Ukraine, ideological inspirer and founder of the creative beauty space Coiffure Shapovalovska, as well as a judge at PRO Beauty Battle Hair , about her mission in hairdressing, her signature style and relationships with clients.

— Galina, you have been working in the beauty industry for more than 20 years. When did you first feel interested in hairdressing?

— I grew up in Soviet times, when people went to beauty salons only on holidays. Back then, no one adjusted the hairstyle to the appearance and wishes of the client. There were simply popular haircuts and techniques, and all women looked like carbon copies. I wanted to stand out from the crowd.

Nature blessed me with blond hair, and at the age of 13-14 I began coloring my locks using carbon paper. There were bright, unexpected colors, even red and green. That's how much I wanted to be unique! After experimenting with my own hair, I went to study to become a hairdresser.

— Did you immediately manage to find your own style in hairdressing?

- It took years! We learned different patterns and techniques, but deep down I understood that the rule of standard hairstyle selection was incomplete. Not a single teacher has answered the question of how to understand whether a haircut is suitable for a person or not? This moment haunted me! It seems like I’m doing everything right, and the haircut is beautiful, but it lives its own life, separate from the client. I began to look for an approach that would allow me to create the ideal image for each person, taking into account his facial features, style and even character. It took 20 years!

I worked in different techniques, studied at different schools, observed masters, attended master classes. I drew knowledge and skills from everywhere, which served as the basis for my author’s style. I wanted to understand how to learn to feel a client without delving into his life’s ups and downs and without violating personal boundaries.

I understood many points at the level of intuition, but could not describe and systematize them until I attended Ruslan Tatyanin’s course “Face is the key to style.” The knowledge I gained turned my mind upside down and put everything into perspective.

— It turns out that “Couture Haircut – Your Style” is a combination of different techniques?

— This is a mix of vast practical experience, techniques and methods, as well as the author’s approach to reading the image and communicating with the client. Most of all I took from French haircutting techniques. I was inspired by their ease, freedom of choice and possibilities. I don’t like boundaries and monotony, so French techniques are close to me.

Getting a couture haircut is like ordering a custom-tailored dress that will highlight all the advantages of your figure. Even if I schematically give the same haircut to another client, it will look different because everyone has different hair density, different facial features, body type, style.

— What is your mission?

— My mission is to help the client open up. Emphasize the superiority of his hair and facial features, features of behavior, character, lifestyle. The images that I create consist 90% of a person’s wishes and are designed to emphasize his individuality.

— How do you build relationships with clients? Are they not afraid that you “look to the root” so deeply?

— I act very tactfully and carefully. During the first visit, I get to know the person, touch his hair, ask a couple of questions to feel if he is ready for a deeper analysis. If a person is ready to change, I ask what the changes are connected with, what doesn’t suit him now. I definitely ask you to show the images that you like, because hairdressers are visual people and dreamers: we look at a photo and immediately build an image in our head.

What’s interesting: 99% of clients want changes, but at the same time they ask to leave the color, length and are allowed to cut off only 1 cm of hair. 70% show photos with the same hairstyles as theirs, but with slight differences. If a person wants to change, but is not ready, I will not break him. You can add a couple of haircut lines, refresh the color, do some styling, and show how to care for your hair at home.

When a person comes to me who is ready for radical changes, I rejoice like a child! Most of all I like to see his smile and happiness in his eyes after changing his image.

- How do you feel at this moment?

— When, after my transformation, the client feels happy and is showered with gratitude, I experience a powerful adrenaline rush, as if I were snowboarding or skydiving! This is an incredible feeling!

— How much time do you spend on clients who want to change their image?

— If this is a regular client, then an hour and a half. I can do a haircut in half an hour, but I need to “cool down” from the previous client. I don't like the state of flow, especially during the holidays. Often I cannot refuse clients, I squeeze them into my breaks to give them joy, because this is my purpose. But after such a “race” I run out of energy. Therefore, it is necessary to allocate time for rest, for haircuts, and for full communication with each client.

— Do all the masters of the Coiffure beauty space practice an author’s approach or is it just you?

“The craftsmen are trained in all the subtleties, but they approach their work very carefully. I began to feel the client subtly and thoroughly understand images, haircuts and techniques only after 15-18 years. She gained tremendous practical experience working as a teacher at the Dessange salon, where she cut and recolored 35-40 people a week after or with the students. My masters are only on the way to the author's style. I teach them, guide them and cover them with my back in any situation.

— “Couture haircut – Your style” - is it about a new style? About the new look? Or about a new perception of yourself and self-love?

— Rather, it’s about presenting oneself to society in a new way. Agree, how others perceive us also affects our mood. When a person looks in the mirror and admires himself, he transfers this energy to others, bringing joy and happiness into the world. Such people always achieve success and fulfill their dreams.