{"id":26158,"date":"2025-07-26T19:21:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-26T19:21:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/26158\/"},"modified":"2025-07-26T19:21:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-26T19:21:08","slug":"hair-stylists-are-bracing-for-a-hair-recession-and-seeing-more-recession-blondes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/26158\/","title":{"rendered":"Hair Stylists Are Bracing For A ‘Hair Recession’ \u2014 And Seeing More ‘Recession Blondes’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The latest recession indicator<\/a>? The number of \u201crecession blondes\u201d walking around with their natural roots showing. <\/p>\n

President Donald Trump<\/a> has played coy about the possibility of his tariffs causing a recession, telling NBC News earlier this year that any economic pain would just be part of a \u201ctransition period.\u201d<\/a> But hairdressers and others in the beauty industry are already seeing hints of a recession, as business tapers off, and clients let their hair grow long and uncolored.<\/p>\n

Kayla Lofaro, a hair stylist and owner of Discotheque Salon<\/a> in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, says she\u2019s definitely feeling some bumpiness because of Trump\u2019s economic \u201ctransition.\u201d <\/p>\n

\""I<\/p>\n

Peathegee Inc via Getty Images<\/p>\n

“I would never want my clients to feel guilty about taking a break from salon services or needing to downsize their hair routine,” said Christina Carlsson, a hair stylist and owner of Marquee Salon and Studio in Vancouver, Washington. <\/p>\n

The dip in clients mirrors the drop-off her salon experienced during the writers\u2019 strike<\/a> in 2023, when many of her clients in the entertainment industry were temporarily laid off and stopped coming in. <\/p>\n

\u201cLos Angeles is still reeling from the effects of the strike, and we\u2019re definitely feeling the economic downturn now,\u201d Lofaro told HuffPost. \u201cUsually, I have clients that maintain their color every six to eight weeks but now that is stretching to about three to four months. A lot of clients are also skipping haircuts and just getting color.\u201d <\/p>\n

Lofaro opened her salon at the height of the COVID pandemic, so she knows how to weather hard times like these. <\/p>\n

\u201cSomething that we did during COVID, that we will most likely do during these current unprecedented times, is to hold \u2018specials\u2019 for the month, like free haircuts with any color service,\u2019\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

When times are tough financially, Lofaro knows that beauty is bound to take a backseat.<\/p>\n

During the Great Depression, women staved off buying new clothes or going in for costly hair treatments but still bought lipstick when they could swing it. <\/p>\n

That phenomenon \u2015 where sales of relatively affordable luxury goods like lipstick increase during economic downturns \u2015 became known by economists as the \u201clipstick effect,\u201d<\/a> or the \u201clipstick index.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Beauty routines are becoming more low maintenance now, too. Like before, instead of cutting back on discretionary spending entirely, women on TikTok are sharing ways they\u2019re keeping up appearances while avoiding paying a small fortune at salons: There\u2019s tons of videos on how to apply lash extensions or press\u2011on nails yourself, and guidance on how to get an (almost perfect) DIY spray tan.<\/p>\n

\"\u201cRecession\u201cRecession blonde\u201d can absolutely still be beautiful \u2015 it\u2019s all about blending, tone, and face-framing placement,\u201d said Angelina Murphy, a celebrity hair extensionist and founder of SHEBA Luxury Hair.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s the aforementioned \u201crecession blonde\u201d and \u201crecession brunette\u201d trend: To save money, women are letting their hair grow out darker at the root and blending it out with lighter, more golden shade toward the bottom. Maybe they\u2019ll go in for a balayage or highlight treatment once or twice a year, which gives them a more lived in look that doesn\u2019t need to be touched up so regularly. <\/p>\n

Angelina Murphy<\/a>, a celebrity hair extensionist and founder of SHEBA Luxury Hair, said \u201crecession blonde\u201d can \u201cabsolutely still be beautiful,\u201d it\u2019s just all about blending, tone and finding the right face-framing placement.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor blondes or high-maintenance color, I actually always recommend going deeper, adding a root melt or shadow root to blur the regrowth line,\u201d she told HuffPost. \u201cEmbracing your natural base with subtle brightness around the face gives you more time between visits and looks intentional.\u201d <\/p>\n

Christina Carlsson<\/a>, a hair stylist and owner of Marquee Salon and Studio in Vancouver, Washington, specializes in color, but said more and more new clients are coming in for haircuts over costly color treatments. <\/p>\n

\u201cClients are wanting to see bigger changes to their style and are exploring more dramatic or alternative haircuts,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Carlsson said her regular clientele has remained steady but that\u2019s also because she\u2019s been consistently practicing what she calls \u201csustainable hair\u201d for the last decades. That means haircuts and color that can last months between appointments, educating her clients on proper home care, and intentional product usage and offering styling lessons so her clients feel confident about styling their hair on their own.<\/p>\n

To ride out the \u201chair recession,\u201d the hair stylists we spoke to said they\u2019re trying to diversify their revenue streams. For instance, Murphy is promoting her hair extension line and coaching other stylists through Sold Out Stylist Collective, a membership program she started during COVID to bring in extra money. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat season taught me to never rely on one income source and to always know how to market yourself online, recession or not,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\""When<\/p>\n

Mint Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

“When a client does express guilt for not booking as often, I always reassure them that their loyalty still matters, even if it looks different for now,” said Angelina Murphy, a celebrity hair extensionist and founder of SHEBA Luxury Hair.<\/p>\n

Because the bond between a longtime client and stylists can be a strong one, some people may feel guilty for not coming in as frequently. But the stylists we spoke to said there\u2019s no reason to feel bad about needing to scale back. <\/p>\n

\u201cI would never want my clients to feel guilty about taking a break from salon services or needing to downsize their hair routine,\u201d Carlsson said. <\/p>\n

Getting your hair done isn\u2019t the end of the world, but for plenty of people, it\u2019s \u201cabsolutely a meaningful source of self care,\u201d Carlsson said, so she tries to meet her clients where they\u2019re at financially. <\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the most important things to me as a hair stylist is that my clients trust that they can come to me when they need advice,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve had clients for 20 years who\u2019ve gone through financial hardships, and we\u2019ve worked together to find realistic options for downsizing.\u201d <\/p>\n

Murphy adds that there are other ways to support your local hairstylist.<\/p>\n

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We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves.<\/p>\n

Thank you again for your support along the way. We\u2019re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe get it \u2014 times are tough,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you can\u2019t come in as often, consider smaller support: book just a cut, buy your stylist\u2019s retail products, share their work on social media, or refer a friend,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a client does express guilt for not booking as often, I always remind them that their loyalty still matters, even if it looks different for now.\u201d<\/p>\n