The amazing L’Oréal Home Academy live education initiative has been the highlight of the day for many homebound hairstylists during lockdown. This was the creation of National Education Manager Taryn Bloem, who talks to Hairnews about her inspiration, and what Home Academy’s reach has been.
Tune in at 12 noon on weekdays to @tarynloreal on Instagram to watch Home Academy.
On Thursday 30 April, Jassy Mackenzie from Hairnews will be the guest on Home Academy with a discussion on the future of hairdressing and the dos and don’ts as the industry waits to be allowed to restart.
Interview
Hairnews: Why did you start Home Academy?
Taryn: The thought of not being able to educate my hairdressers during lockdown didn’t sit well with me. I wanted our community to stay relevant and stay together, so rather than talking too much about selling product, we decided to give hairdressers a platform where they could learn.
Hairnews: How does it work and what platforms is it available on?
Taryn: We did a lot of research on various platforms and found a great example on Instagram of fabulous live videos that worked. I contacted them and asked for best practices. I then tried to mould this into something relevant for our market and we went for it! It has been amazing!
We do our live videos on Instagram, record these and post them to Facebook, and in the past week or so we have had the opportunity of going on Instagram TV. This means that even if hairdressers miss a live session, they can catch up.
Hairnews: What has Home Academy’s reach been compared to in-person education?
Taryn: Normally in a year the L’Oréal Professionnel education team can see 1800 to 2000 stylists. So far, in just over a month on Home Academy, we have touched 2742 stylists which I think is phenomenal! We have reached globally as well as locally. Paris watches, New Zealand watches, Spain is now watching. We have gained followers from the USA and it is beautiful to see how the community is expanding and coming together more than it ever has before.
Hairnews: What has the feedback been?
Taryn: It has been so beautiful. Hairdressers have contacted us to say how they appreciate the hope and inspiration, the chance to keep their minds occupied, and the education. It’s been a humbling experience. I would like to give a special mention to L’Oréal Professionnel educator Eric James, who has been an incredible support to me and my team.
Hairnews: Will Home Academy continue after lockdown?
Taryn: Definitely! We will look at the best way of continuing it as well as the most convenient time slot, because we hope that hairdressers will be far too busy in the middle of the day when the industry resumes. We love having the interaction in the live experience, so we will figure out what works the best. I believe we will come out of this stronger, and changed. Things will get better, but it will be a different type of better, and hopefully the people who are using this time to educate themselves will be richer in all aspects at the end of the day.
If you have any questions please email tarryn.bloem@loreal.com and she will assist you asap!
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