Lauren Ehlers, a stylist at the West 13th Salon in West Fargo, North Dakota, is named a 2022...

Lauren Ehlers, a stylist at the West 13th Salon in West Fargo, North Dakota, is named a 2022 Waste Warrior after bringing her color waste down to less than a penny per service. 

The winning stylist in this year’s Waste Warrior Awards has become so spot-on with her color formulas there is barely a smudge at the bottom of her bowl after application. Lauren Ehlers from West 13th Salon in West Fargo, ND, has become so exact at dispensing color that the cost of her waste is rarely above $0.10 per service. That represents a 71% reduction in waste, directly translating to an increase in profit for the salon.

“It’s amazing to be recognized like this,” says Ehlers, who has only been using Vish for a year. “I made it a habit from the start to reweigh just before taking my client to the basin to have her color rinsed. It’s fixed so I rarely forget. This allows me to see exactly how much color I’ll need for my client’s next visit.” 

Four more stylists and five salons made it to the final list of Vish Waste Warriors, announced this Earth Month, for conquering color waste in the salon. The Waste Warrior Awards recognize those who have made the most significant contribution to reducing color waste within their salon, and are judged using data collected from Vish on color waste, and how often the salon team reweigh their bowls after application. Reweighing monitors waste and helps refine formulas so less is dispensed at the client’s next visit.  

Vish Waste Warriors Awards Identifies 2022 Top Sustainability Champions
Vish Waste Warriors Awards Identifies 2022 Top Sustainability Champions

Top salon winner, Sage Tryall Salon from Lynchburg, Virginia, is relatively new to Vish, having installed it in 2021, but still managed to top the list by bringing the cost of waste down to $0.30 per service. 

“We thought we were good with waste but it was a shock to see how much was left once we started using Vish. Clearly, we’d been over-dispensing. Now we use so much less but still get fantastic results,” says Suzy Tryall, owner of Sage Tryall Salon. 

Last year’s top Waste Warrior recipient in the stylist category, owner of a small boutique salon in West Chester, Cincinnati, made the list again for keeping her waste down to miniscule amounts. Karen Welch, owner of SoZo HAIR by Bajon Salon & Spa, was motivated by her determination to channel all her savings into her charity work. 

“The thousands of dollars in wasted hair color that has been going on for so many years is now avoidable,” she said. “Thanks to Vish, salons can actually see a decent profit. Yes, it's that powerful. Vish holds hair colorists accountable and keeps our pocketbooks from bleeding money. As long as the system is used properly it is a Godsend. I will forever be grateful to the founders of Vish for creating this system. I know it was not easy, but they hit it out of the park through dedication, determination, hard work, and perseverance. The investment of time and money on their part is commendable. Thank you.”

Top Five Waste Warrior Awards for 2022 - Stylist Category:
Lauren Ehlers, West 13th Salon, West Fargo, ND
Karen Marino, The Village Salon, Pennington, NJ
Ariella Hansen, Sage Tryall Salon, Lynchburg, VA
Charlene Lynch, Salon 730, Fredericksburg, VA
Karen Welch,  SoZo HAIR by Bajon Salon & Spa, West Chester, OH

Top Five Waste Warrior Awards for 2022 - Salon Category:
Sage Tryall Salon, Lynchburg, VA
Flow Salonspa, Chesterton, MD
Jem Hair Studio, New Paltz, NY
The Village Salon, Pennington, NJ
Craft House Salon, Atlantic Highlands, NJ

To find out more, visit getvish.com/waste-warriors  


About Vish: Vish Ltd. is one of the industry’s leading color management softwares, which includes a suite of systems that effortlessly revolutionizes how salons and stylists run their color business. Based in Toronto, Canada, and available for use worldwide, Vish was created to help salon owners and colorists solve the universal problems facing the hair color industry - color waste, ambiguous pricing, and profit margins. Data-driven and intelligently automated, Vish is integrated with multiple point-of-sale systems, giving complete ease to the entire team.
 

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