Hair Nerds for Hairbrained
Hairbrained launched in March of 2009' with a few text messages and emails sent to a small group of friends. Less than three years old and Hb is energizing the industry and has become the most relevant ecosystem for growing talent and fostering creativity among hairstylists worldwide.
Hairbrained is often described as "facebook for hairdressers", but in reality it is so much more. Hairbrained is a safe haven for Hair Nerds. It is like a (not so) Secret Society for you and your shear slingin' besties.
We caught up with the co-founders of Hairbrained Randy Taylor and Gerard Scarpaci to get the down low on why they created this amazing tool.
What inspired the Hairbrained site?
Both Randy and I were industry educators with several different manufacturers. Every time we would take new opportunity we would lose the network of salon owners and people we had worked with... The idea was initially to help educators stay connected to the people they educated on the weekend and met at hair shows, but it quickly became much more than that. - Gerard Scarpaci
As educators, Gerard and I felt that hairdressers needed a truly professional community to inspire each other, seek knowledge/mentorship, and a place to make a name for themselves among their peers. - Randy Taylor
How is Hairbrained changing the way hairdressers interact?
They can access peer to peer information about products brands and techniques. Which is more than just receiving a one way advertising from the brands. There is much more honesty involved.. I truly believe it will compel brands to be better and offer more to hairdressers.
On hairbrained the content is generated by the members and anyone who creates something of value and beauty can rise to the top and create opportunity for themselves. - Gerard Scarpaci
Facebook taught hairdressers how to be social online, but Facebook has no culture it's just everybody, the good, the bad, and the indifferent. Hairbrained is raising the quality of the interactions, since our culture is that of excellence and mentorship.- Randy Taylor
How does HB benefit stylists?
Hb is always there . There is always a new photo ,video,or blog to help you feel connected to the craft and inspired to be successful. On a personal level, hairdressers can connect with mentors who where inaccessible before and create relationships on a deeper level.- Gerard Scarpaci
Randy Taylor - 1. Success is driven by the quality of who you surround yourself with. Forming solid relationships with the best stylists in the industry has always been important and Hairbrained has made this easier.
2. Inspiration fuels the stylist's spirit. A daily stroll through the Featured Photos will keep you fired up and is a great way to keep a global perspective on style.
Why should every Hair Nerd be involved with HB?
(Nerd Note* We have a million reasons)
I have one reason, GROWTH. - Gerard Scarpaci
The industry needs more stylists who are "Nerdy' about hair, and those 'Nerds' need to be with their tribe of Hairbrained friends. Together, we have both an opportunity and responsibility to raise the standard of hairdressing, and quality of life for hairdressers.- Randy Taylor
Getting Started
This is the easy part and it takes a nanosecond to sign up...
Hairbrained makes it super easy to get going by basically giving you a road map to invite friends, customize your page and add content.
Features we LOVE
Community
Don’t be friendless!! Search for members by role (haircutters, colorists, etc.), glance at the featured members or hit up the Hb All-Stars. Hairbrained is where Hair Nerds live...
Hb very quickly taught me to discern the other stylists out there who were into hairdressing, and the stylists who just showed up to collect a paycheck. Being on Hairbrained, you're surrounded by the people who love hair, it's like a vacation away from the salon, where some (or lots) of your co-workers might not care as much as you do. - Damien
Did you meet someone at an event or class and want to stay in touch? Look them up!
Before hairbrained there was not a "professional" social network to interact with Stylists. I found I would have participants attend classes I taught and then not be able to interact with them until the next course. This site helps with any questions past participants might have with their new information. - Lupe Voss
The Hair Nerds do a lot of recon work on hairbrained.me before we actually begin the stalking process. You can search through the 16,000 members who are currently connecting on the site.
Hairbrained has changed the way I interact with stylists because I see there are more people out there that share my sometimes "Radical" views on the industry. It's nice to see that I'm not alone and that the trade shows aren't really the best indicator of what the industry is all about. You can find the best of the industry all in one place and connect rather than searching through 50,000,000 profiles on facebook. I also think it's cool that it's social place where people s'hair their art without sifting through pictures of babies and what people had for breakfast.- JoshXO
hairbrained.tv
Brand Channel
We love these for brand specific events, product knowledge, etc.
Sebastian Professional (tons of PK and tutorials) , KMS California, Goldwell, ARROJO, Aveda, Bumble and Bumble, Davines, ghd, Hikari, Kevin Murphy, Loreal, Matrix, Nicky Clarke, Oribe (We have dubbed this channel “Hair Porn”), P&G beauty, Paul Mitchell, Redken, Sam Villa, Sassoon Academy Schwarzkoph, TIGI, Unite, Wella Professionals
Indie Channel
Whether you want to take a peek at BABAK’s latest photo shoot or JoshXO’s most current video creation (see below) . We shamelessly stalk Joshua Flowers aka JoshXO on hb, fb, twitter…pretty much everywhere except outside his home. (This is only because we have been unable to locate his exact address... just give us time.)
Curator Channel
Hairbrained asked Lupe Voss and JoshXO to provide a list of videos that inspire them.. this channel is their response.
Show Channel
Can’t make it to every. single. show. ? No worries.. hb has your back with video documentation of the event.
I love that the hair shows are documented on HB. It gives the hair show legs and allows those that couldn’t make it there, a chance to feel like they were apart of it. – Ira Pope Sage
Photos
Need inspiration? Look no further!
Hairbrained offers me a safe forum to post my work and support others. I have yet to receive negative feedback from any of its members. I feel like it is a higher level of professional that interacts. - Brig Van Osten
Hairbrained its a great tool to share your work, passion and love for the industry, being in contact with other hairdressers around the world give you the opportunity to see whats going on with other brands and people from other countries.- Joel Torres
Videos
The Hair Nerds love the voyeur aspect of this feature. We love watching your personal journey at a show, your step-by-step haircutting video and just general craziness.
Are you a budding movie maker stoked to show the world your skills? Show us!!
Maybe you are in the mood to watch an industry rant… That is cool too, it is all right here!!
Lately, I've been posting some exclusive videos of my travels, the brands that I love and the people who inspire me. - Fabio Sementilli
Like you need anymore reasons to sign up? You get an inside look at Fabio's world...seriously.. What are you waiting for??
My favorite thing about hairbrained is that it levels the playing field for people up and coming in the industry trying to compete with the established names. It's the ultimate litmus test for the art you produce, A big name guy can post a vid and it will get a couple likes and comments, an Indie kid comes along a and posts an awesome vid and it blows up on the most viewed bar and gets a ton comments and favs. It's the art that has merit not the names of the people posting. You may think something you post is the shit, but, if it doesn't get any reaction from the HB community, it probably wasn't that great to begin with. - Joshua Flowers aka JoshXO
Groups
We feel this is really the heart and soul of hairbrained. Join a group and engage in conversation!
HB has allowed me to see the brilliant work of hairdressers form all over the world! Giving me the platform to create dialouge, hence create relationships with fellow hairdressers from other cultures. Thank You, HB! - Ira Pope Sage
Lupe created a Hair Color group where colorists can go to brainstorm and help each other.
She recently uploaded a post about the color Teal. She had received many questions about the best way to create the color and BAM! here it is… If you don’t think the groups feature is BRILLIANT, nothing will impress you and you should probably return your Hair Nerd badge immediately.
Chair s'Hair
Gerard recently issued a statement about how Chair s'Hair came to be...
[box] Hairbrained has always been about community and creating a space where stylists can engage with each other and contribute. Recently, after teaching a cutting workshop at Seiren Salon in Providence RI, I joined some members of the salon team for a nice cold beer. Sacha Chevalier, one of the stylists, was honest enough to tell me she felt disappointed after joining Hb.
Sacha imagined it would be a place where she could post pictures of her salon work and get feedback and interaction from other members. When she saw the main page she felt intimidated by the high production value of what was being featured and decided not to post her pictures. That made me feel awful.
Since day one our goal has been to encourage all members to participate no matter what their experience level or production budget, that is what s'Hairing is all about. I came to the realization that Hb needed a place where a stylists everyday , behind the chair work could be spotlighted. Making a client feel and look beautiful is truly the most rewarding part of our craft and to share that moment with others can only be a good thing for our community and ultimately help to elevate the standard and perception of our industry.
It also needed to be easy and instantaneous so you could upload your pics while the moment was still fresh and relevant to you and your client. So, last week we launched Chair s'Hair supported by our smartphone picture uploader (Learn how here). I am pleased to say we have had so much positive feedback that I can confidently say that Chair s'Hair is here to stay! [/box]
These are just a handful of images recently posted on the Chair s'Hair feature. What we love is that some of the images are in front of the salon, others are of clients still in the chair and there are even pictures of hair finished in someone's kitchen. So snap it with your point and shoot or your smart phone... it doesn't matter, either way!
We love the idea of being able to share your work in an atmosphere that is positive and supportive. While we adore highly stylized shoots and editorial work, there is definitely something to be said for the purity of our industry in its rawest form.
So much to LOVE...
We asked some trusted names why Hair Nerds should join hairbrained.me ...
[box] I love Hairbrained because I feel like I'm talking to my people and not just anybody. If your a hairdresser and not on Hairbrained, then you're finger is not on the pulse. - Fabio Sementilli[/box]
[box] Hairbrained is the place to get inspired, receive fresh new information, Share ideas, and connect with your industry. It is sooooo much fun! - Lupe Voss[/box]
[box] Hair Nerds should post on HB because it's a way to stay connected with the true hairdressers that really give a shit about the industry. It's a place where people can post honest opinions without fear of them being censored due to advertising conflicts with other media companies. It's a place where nerds with a voice can be heard and critiqued in a constructive manner by their peers (the peers that matter anyway) And of course I'm there so thats probably the most important reason to sign up, because, I'm pretty fuckin awesome!- JoshXO [/box]
[box] Because there's hunky hairstylists to #NerdStalk? Like me! Haha! - Damien[/box]
[box] All hair nerds should sign up for HB for inspiration from others and to inspire others… to share and be apart of the tribe. – Ira Pope Sage [/box]
[box] My Fav thing about hairbrained is The Sunday News where I can see jaw dropping incredible work from Hairbrainers all over the world! The videos are also super for grabbing some new techniques from true working stylists and creatives! Why should all Hair Nerd's sign up for hairbrained? See above and... because I'm on it and then we can be friends there.- Brig Van Osten [/box]
There you have it!! This is logic you can't possibly argue with... Sign up today and don't forget to follow hairbrained.me on Facebook and Twitter.