Sunlights Balayage, Inc., the makers and purveyors of one of the world’s leading balayage products and education announced its official launch in Australia and New Zealand.  Dateline Imports, headquartered in Sydney, with 180 employees and eight full service distribution centres servicing the region, has been named the exclusive Sunlights distributor ‘down under.’  

Sunlights, a two-year-old, education based, all -things-balayage company, was founded by celebrity stylist, salon owner and educator Candy Shaw.  Generally regarded as one of North America’s foremost balayage educator, Shaw is the creator of The Balay Box, the ‘complete balayage class in a box’ containing everything a stylist needs to learn and do balayage.  The kit features Sunlights Professionnel Balayage Lightener, a proprietary Kaolin Clay-based lightener designed exclusively for hair painting, as well as the tools and education stylists needed to perform the service.   

Shaw believes that balayage will replace foil highlighting the way cell phones replaced home phones and 35mm cameras.  “It’s inevitable since balayage is faster, more profitable, ‘greener’ and more fun than traditional foil highlights," Shaw says. "Balayage is what every woman wants – natural looking, sun-kissed highlights as if they summered on the Gold Coast.”  

Tanya Nelson, Dateline’s director of education, recently traveled to the U.S. to train with Shaw and join Sunlights Artisan Education Team.  Under Nelson’s direction, Dateline has scheduled Sunlights balayage classes in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.  For a complete listing of class dates and times visit: www.datelinecity.com

We asked Nelson to answer a few questions about the market in her part of the world: 

Q: Do they use similar or the same terminology to talk about balayage?  (Hair painting, etc.)

A: The word Balayage is predominantly used. Hair painting is a new term for our market.

Q:  Is balayage being taught in beauty schools there?

A: No Balayage is not part of any curriculum.

Q: What is the cost of a color service in Australia and New Zealand?

A: A color service is between AU$80-$120 for basic color. (US$60-$90). Highlights is AU$120-$250 (US$90-$187).  Balayage is AU$150-$300 (US$112-$224). Adding a toner is AU$20-$50 (US$15-$37).

Q: Do salon professionals typically specialize or is it more usual for them to be both cutting and coloring?

A: It is more typical that hairdressers provide all services.

Q: How much will you be recommending they upsell a balayage service?

A: Not so much up selling, its more about getting the application of Hair Painting done faster than foiling, this in turn frees the stylist up to see more clients in one day allowing them to make more money.

Dateline Imports, established in 1977, with principals Voula Karmichael, Michele Kannis and David Taylor, distributes premium haircare and beauty brands in both Australia and New Zealand.  Their distribution centers each include a showroom, warehouse and customer service facilities. "We’re thrilled to join forces with Dateline Imports and advance the Balayage Revolution in Australia and New Zealand," Shaw says. "We look forward to painting the countries Yellow.”     

Shaw will be at Hair Expo Australia, 10-12 June 2017, at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Sydney. 

http://sunlightsbalayage.com/about