2015 Featured Educator and KEVIN.MURPHY COLOR.ME Educator Shelly Wilson is catching up with us as our November Educator of the Month!

Shelly Wilson, KEVIN.MURPHY COLOR.ME Educator is our Educator of the Month for November 2020.

We featured you as an educator back in 2015. What's changed for you since?

A lot! I relocated my salon in 2016 and took on a full-time position as an educator with KEVIN.MURPHY. I recently switched over to an independent contractor role and have a 15-month-old.

Have you been able to teach during this time? How has that changed?

Unfortunately, I have not been able to teach during the pandemic, and I really miss it; I miss the in-person interaction—talking color formulas, working on models, and seeing people inspired by new information and techniques.

I did recently record a COLOR.ME Start Class video with Premier that will be available soon, and I'm really excited about it as a teaching tool for this new "normal" we live in.

I've also been getting my education fix through in-salon education. We're currently operating at 40% capacity under Illinois guidelines, which has given me some more time to work with my new colorists on color theory and the fundamentals of color work. I'm also using the time to stay educated myself.

After everything with COVID-19 settles down, what are you most looking forward to doing?

I can't wait to travel again—especially abroad. I also really miss eating at restaurants!

What color trends are you predicting this winter? Do you feel like the pandemic has influenced that at all?

The warmer blondes are taking the place of the more ashy blondes. That's really trending in high fashion right now, and we see that eventually trickle down to our clients. I think it's also trending because more people are doing their color at home, where they get warmer results.

We're also seeing a lot of clients looking for a more low-maintenance look. That seemed to be a trend before the pandemic took hold, but now it has really taken off. A lot of people just want their look to last longer between services and the pandemic has kind of forced that.

Clients want to transition to their natural gray or go with shadow roots; they really want something that looks more lived in and doesn't require them to be at the salon every four-to-six weeks.

On the flip side of that, the pandemic's monotony has a lot of people looking for some excitement, so they're going with fashion colors or more creative looks.

I think the switch to virtual meetings also has people looking at themselves in a different light; they constantly have to look at themselves on a screen, causing them to think about their hair in a new light (literally).

What do you typically see people looking for in terms of color going into the fall and winter?

In the past, we have seen people leaning toward the warmer, richer tones—the coppers and chocolates—but I think that's changing a bit, corresponding with people's personalities as opposed to seasonal cycles.

Are there any KEVIN.MURPHY products you've been working with lately that you absolutely love?

The pandemic has given my staff and me more time to play around with some of the new products, and we all love ULTIMATE.LIGHTENER. It gives up to nine levels of lift so it's a great product for clients looking to do all-over blonding or go from something really dark to blonde. I love that it has built-in bonding protection too.

We also have been experimenting quite a bit with the pH.D Alkaline to Acid Transformer in blending grays and toning blondes. We've been having a lot of fun with some of the new toners as well—the new gold toner falls right in line with the warmer blonde trend, so we've been using that quite a bit.

If you had to color your hair to match something on your Thanksgiving table, what color would you choose?

I'm actually already there! I'm using an apricot toner that gives me sort of a copper cast. My hair is usually a funky color, so I'm ready for Thanksgiving!

What's something that's on your Thanksgiving table every year without fail?

Turkey: It's always there, but to be honest, it's really not my favorite. If I had to choose, macaroni and cheese is my preferred Thanksgiving dish.

What are you thankful for this year?

I am thankful for being alive in these crazy times. I'm also really grateful for the close community I have right at home, between our neighbors and my husband and daughter.

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