Salon Love for Karine.

Salon Love for Karine.

Karine Jackson is our brand ambassador and owns Karine Jackson Sustainable Hair & Beauty in Seven Dials, London. Her salon was the first in London to be Certified Sustainable. Nicknamed the ‘Green Queen’, Karine has worked tirelessly to remove all single use plastic both at work and at home. She is a former London Hairdresser of the Year and super passionate about colour. She moved to the UK from Australia because she was so inspired by the fashion and hair here. 

How did you get into the world of hair?

I always wanted to be a hairdresser and didn’t think of anything else. I worked in a local salon from the age of 13 washing hair and my parents gave me a leg up as I did my apprenticeship in my parents’ salon in a small suburb of Wollongong, Australia.

What do you love most about being a hairstylist?

Every day is different and you’re creating new looks, whether it’s for a show, shoot, education or on my wonderful clients. I love working in all areas of my industry.

How did you come across Organic Colour Systems?

I had a client who had cancer but wasn’t going to lose her hair; she wanted to keep colouring it but asked me to look into colour that was less chemical heavy and gentler. I went off and researched with a heavy heart expecting to find lots of rubbish henna type colours, which a lot of them were, but then I found Organic Colour Systems. I was so impressed that I changed all of my clients onto it and never looked back. I always had a nagging cough that I put down to London living and pollution but within a week of swapping colour brands it disappeared…

How are you coping with Covid-19?

We are now closed along with every other salon. This has been the most daunting action taken since I opened my salon doors 16 years ago. After spending a few days stressing and worrying myself to death, I sprang into action, speaking with my landlord, suppliers, (not just hair but utilities, website host etc) and of course my team where communication is essential. They need to feel secure with the decisions you take. We had an open team meeting where I shared all the facts of what financial impact this is having now and will have in the future on the business.

After timeout, I am going back to basics when we are allowed to work again. I am going to look at this business challenge like I was a new start up business.

I am going to leave my strategic plan for now and use a start up plan. I will need to borrow money, but I did this in the beginning so I can do it again.

I need to go back to basics with how I run the salon. The plus side to this is I have a great team already. We will start with new targets and fresh views. Life has changed now: we need to embrace it and make it so much better for us and the environment. This is our chance.

What do you think of our workshops and why would you recommend stylists attend? 

Workshops are one of my favourite days, I love meeting fellow OCS salon teams. We share our experiences and I get to show off some great OCS colour work. It is the perfect day to network and learn some different hair tips for cutting, perming and colouring.

Perms are now more popular than ever, why do you think that is and what do you like about the hairstyle?

You’re often referred to as the ‘Queen of Green’. Why are you so passionate about being sustainable?

I don’t think anyone can disagree that global warming is an issue and that we must urgently amend our ways if we’re going to halt the damage we’re doing to our planet.

As a hairdresser I feel that I’m in in the right place to inspire clients to introduce small steps to become more sustainable in day to day life. In the words of Annemarie Bonneau: “We don’t need a handful of humans doing zero waste perfectly, we need millions of humans doing it imperfectly.”

Every day I feel a step closer to making a dent in our part of climate change and that is an incredible feeling.

What are your top tips to other salons who may want to become more environmentally friendly?

I have started doing Plastic Assessments, and recently undertook some at Pro Hair Live on the Organic Colour Systems stand and they were a huge success. This is where we show you how to use our assessment structure to note how plastic is entering the salon, much like a fire risk assessment. When I highlighted to guests what was in their salons and what simple steps they could make to use less, they were excited to go back and implement these small changes.

Why do you think many find hair up such a daunting task?

Hairdressers have not been taught properly to put hair up and when you don’t know how to do something it is scary! But like anything, it is really easy when you know how.

I had a boss in Australia who was a world champion at hair up and she trained us to work the same way; personally I love creating hair up, it’s fun!

Do you have any top tips for hair up?

Break the look down. Prep the hair well with rollers or a good blow dry, start with a foundation to build your look around like a pony tail. Stand back and look at the balance of the style.

What is your favourite product and why?

I love curl memory spray; it’s light but gives good hold great root lift.

Why would you recommend Organic Colour Systems to fellow stylists?

It has a brilliant colour range, you can bespoke any colour you can imagine. The smell is pleasant; you’re not breathing in harsh fumes. The company is sustainable, approachable and always there to help. You are not a number in a big corporation, you are a stylist, salon owner and part of the OCS team.

What is your favourite colour formulation?

On a base 7 this is an amazing colour combo:

• 7cr 20mls
• 7 20mls 
• 7bc 10 mls 
• xbo 10 mls

How do you deal with difficult clients?

You need to listen to what they want, take notes, do a thorough consultation.

My team often think my clients are difficult, but they aren’t, you just need to listen to the client, what their hair needs really are, ask the right questions and make sure you make them feel comfortable about what they’re asking, remember they don’t have the same hair language as you.

We don’t know what day clients have had before they get to you. We need to make the client feel great. They will become less difficult and so loyal to you.

How do you relax after a long day in the salon?

Anyone who knows me know this answer – a glass of Champagne.

But seriously, I now like to cycle home or do the 20 min walk from the tube listening to a great sound track (Don’t ask me what tracks; this changes every week in every genre).  This helps me process the day unwind.

Would you like to be our next Salon Love Feature?  Send us your story, we would love to get to know you more…