Landé does not like to change brands, especially if the brand is satisfying her needs. However, she was struggling to neutralise underlying red pigment in some of her clients’ hair and received advice from a stylist friend to try the matt family from the Inebrya permanent hair colour range. When she tried it, she was astonished by the result and decided to try other nuances from the range. She was so happy with the results, that she decided to change to Inebrya for her hair colouring needs. She has been using it for over 8 years and says she will never look back. She has been a vocal supporter of the brand and has recommended it to several other stylists, thus slowly “inebriating” the industry. “If someone tries it for the first time, they fall in love with it and easily change from their current brand.”
Lande completed her studies at Vuselela College in Klerksdorp in 1996, so she’s been in the industry for 28 years. Jeanne also qualified from Vuselela College in 2016, both under the capable hands of Ms. Hendrien Olivier. Little would they know that their paths would cross years later to form a beautiful and harmonious salon partnership. Landé starting out as a home-based salon but moved to rent-a-chair after COVID. This is where she met Jeanne. Jeanne just returned to SA after 3 years in China. They decided to open up their own salon at Beauty Vibrations in Pretoria East 2 years ago. “We just clicked from the start! We make such a great team. We both work for ourselves but will always jump in and help out where needed.”
They focus on hair services. Jeanne also specialises in hair replacement systems and medical wigs. “I get to change people’s lives one head at a time.” She is fluent in Mandarin which helps with the importation of the medical pieces from her Chinese suppliers.
When I asked them why they decided to become hairdressers, they both reacted: “Ons love ons werk, want ons werk nie ‘n dag nie!” Jeanne says: “I was born to do this! I’ve been playing with hair before I could talk and used to sneak out of the house to sit and watch the hairstylist at the salon down the road. To me it looked like the perfect job: Playing with hair the whole day.” They have this theme song: “A-a-ayy, I’m on vacation. Every single day ‘cause I love my occupation” They have a true passion for their work, and gets so much satisfaction from making people beautiful, and to help them feel better about themselves. “Sometimes people can feel so down and depressed, and a simple thing like a new look or hairstyle can help people feel better about themselves.”
They agree that the biggest challenge is clients with unreasonable expectations. Some clients expect radical changes, e.g. going from box colour to platinum blonde in one sitting, not understanding the complexities and risks involved. So they really have to put a lot of effort into educating clients on hair colour chemistry and to ensure that clients trust in their professional expertise and knowledge. Clients will easily go to a stylist that can perform their required service for as cheap as possible, not taking into consideration what effect it could have on the integrity of their hair. They believe in offering a specialised service, maintaining the integrity of the hair and ensuring that clients are satisfied, will come back and that will speak highly of the professional service that they received.
Landé recently got married, so when she is not working, she spends time with her family. Jeanne is a social butterfly always looking for the next adventure.
Landé loves the Onlys Brazilian system because it is formaldehyde free, without compromising on the result. “We do a lot of brazilians, and it does not only affect the health of our clients, but our health also. The Onlys is safe and can be used in a multi-chair salon as it does not pose a risk for a client that might be expecting, sitting in the next chair under the hands of a fellow stylist. It does not make fumes thus making the experience for the clients that much safer and enjoyable.”
They prefer the Megix bleach. “It gives great lift and leaves the hair in great condition.” For backbar they use the Megix color saver range, and also retails this range to clients. For damaged hair they recommend the Shecare repair or the Keratin restructuring. Landé’s favourite styling aid is the StyleIN Thermo Spray. “It gives great protection but does not make the hair sticky. It is very soft and silky.” The Crystal Beauty and Illuminator are also great favourites on the trolleys.
Lande gave great praise to Nebeau for always being willing to help out with urgent orders. “I always leave orders until #99 and then have to rush to get it for next day delivery. My rep is always willing to help.”
