Deliver More Personal Client Experiences with Phorest AI
AI is changing the way businesses operate, but in the beauty and wellness industry, one thing remains true: the human touch is irreplaceable.
by Staff
Vish Waste Warriors Awards Identifies 2022 Top Sustainability Champions
The color management system Vish recognizes the top colorists and salons who are preventing color waste. Meet the 2022 Waste Warriors and see how much they are saving.
by Staff
April 14, 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.
3 min to read
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.
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.
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
More Technology
BeautyDeskAi Announces Official Partnership with Square to Power Smarter Salon Operations
This collaboration marks a significant step forward in streamlining operations for salons and independent beauty professionals, bringing together customer service with thoughtful intelligence.
They Predicted AI Would Make the Salon Experience Feel Robotic. The Opposite Happened.
Salon owners expected AI to deliver efficiency. What they didn't expect was what it did to their team, and what their clients started saying in reviews.
Aura 300 Enters the US Market, Bringing AI Revenue Infrastructure to American Salons
An AI platform already trusted by salons across Australia, Ireland and the UK is expanding to the United States, with a focus on the data-driven salon community.
SEO and AI: How Clients are Finding Salons in 2026
Your Instagram may introduce your salon to new clients, but it's your digital footprint that seals the deal. Dawna Jarvis walks you through how clients are discovering you online and what to do to make sure you show up.
Here’s How to Make Running Your Salon Feel Less Like Chaos
If your day-to-day feels like a never-ending game of whack-a-mole, you’re not alone. The hair and beauty industry runs on creativity and connection, but behind the scenes, it runs on systems. When you spread those systems across a few different tools (plus a couple of sticky notes and a prayer), even the best-run salons feel like they’re working twice as hard for the same results.
Millennium Systems International Introduces MeevoPay Giving, Enabling Seamless Checkout Donations
Fundraising for important industry iniatives and philanthropies just got much easier, with MeevoPay Giving, which allows salons, spas and med spas to invite guests to give at checkout.
How Salons are Using Technology to Help Improve Customer Retention
Modern tools provide practical customer retention features. Discover which software platform can help increase your return rate.
Is Your Software Underperforming? Switch it Up with Shortcuts
Your salon software is the backbone of your business. And now is the time of year to evaluate its efficiency: Is it providing the tools you need to grow? Does it improve the guest experience? How does your team interact with it? Are you happy with your software’s customer service? If you’re not getting what you need from your current software, it may be time for a switch.
Sponsored by Shortcuts Software USA
Igniting Momentum
Choosing the right technology partner with Aura Salonware drives success and elevates client and staff experiences at Trios in Fort Collins, Colorado. Plus, Owners Joe and Karen DeAnda share a marketing success story.
Aura Partners with Tippy for Integrated Tipping Options
Aura Salonware partners with Tippy, the all-in-one customer checkout kiosk that electronically send tips directly to salon or spa service providers
An App to Keep Your Team Organized and Communicating Harmoniously
Meet Salon Symphony, one of the salon technology tools profiled in our "Salon Necessity, Tech Innovation" series. This robust app combines the best features from about a dozen platforms to create the perfect tool for salon team communication.
by Stacey Soble
The Phorest MedSpa Platform Streamlines Operations, Engages Clients and Boosts Profitability
The platform delivers a 48% lead-to-client conversion and 19X ad spend return of investment in one complete operations and acquisition system.
SALON TODAY 2025 Technology Solutions Guide
Your software and technology aren’t just tools; they’re the backbone of your business. This guide is designed to help you identify the ideal software platform or technology solution to drive your salon or spa’s success.
The Surprising Role of Payments in Creating a Great Client Experience
What keeps clients coming back—and bringing their friends—is a seamless, frustration-free experience from booking to checkout. Discover how payment preferences shape client loyalty and why modernizing your payment process may be the smartest upgrade you make this year.
Sponsored by Discover/Boulevard
Powering Your Spa Concept
From financing options and memberships to dot phrasing and medical documentation, software management experts list the myriad of features you should consider as you shop for a tech partner to power your wellness concept.
by Stacey Soble
How A Barbershop's HR Team Saves 15 Hours a Month with POS Integration
The Man Shop, with 13 barbershops across three states, promises its stylists same-day payout of tips. But when the company switched its point-of-sale system, that had to be calculated manually which drained the HR team. Partnering with Flexspring, a leader in HR data integration, helped the company get back on track with their promise.