"Talk to The Expert" by Jorge Luis

Sometimes, to my experience; we tend to think that we know it all after working the chair for 5+ years. Well guess what, after 30+ years I am still learning. You must be open to learning otherwise you will set yourself up for failure. This was my case when I arrived to new York in 1996, I been the “star” of my hometown and thought I was god’s gift to hair, and how wrong I was.

My journey has been nothing but incredible, assured in the prestigious Louis licari salon and that was a dream come true, and that’s where the fun began, seeing the incredible colorist doing things in a way that I was just amazed. It was then and there I realized, Jorge Luis you are not in Kansas anymore. I decided to apply and observe. But remember this, you must also be smart enough to know when is time to move on. I did just that, it took me to meet the person I most admired and he began to mentor me. His name was Laurent Dufourge , founder of Prive Salons and products. After hard work I became his right arm man earning the title of Artistic Director for the prive salons. Among my duties, my dream came true , being the lead stylist to the fashion shows at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. Leading the prive runway fashion week team; with incredible talent from all over the world. I also became bicoastal flying with VIP’s to attend Oscar parties, The Grammy’s, Sag Awards, Golden Globes etc. So you see, it can be done, it’s always about hard work and always be the “Yes” man.

With this small Introduction, I wanted you to know a little bit about myself since I have been honored to become a contributing beauty editor to LAPALME Magazine, meet with the EIC Kevin LaPalme here in New York ,in the backstage of one of the shows I was leading. I must admit it was a pleasant surprise to find a very down to earth guy. Remember, I deal with some of the toughest editors in the world. So this was quite refreshing. We spoke extensively about how we could collaborate together. I had done an editorial for his magazine earlier, so we kind of knew each other. This is very exciting because this will give me the opportunity write about my passion; HAIR.

We are now entering a new era, Laurent Dufourg is opening a new salon to be called ” PRIVE Salon by Laurent D “. It will open June 16, 2015 at the iconic Sherry Netherlands Hotel on 5Ave in New York City.

Now that Summer is around the corner, let’s focus on Color, Trends, and Techniques.

What does this mean? Should I go lighter because it’s getting warmer?
These are a couple of the most common questions that I get at the beginning of the month of March. Thee answer is, There is no correct answer. Everything is personalized. Why you ask? Because, You must first know who is in your chair. Is it a wealthy socialite with lots of money and time? Is it a business woman with money to spend but very little time? Is it a housewife with limited money and time? Or is your client a struggling student with absolutely no money to spend? As you can see , you can’t base this answer soley on skin tone or hair tone, you must KNOW YOUR CLIENT !

Yes. This sounds complicated but this is the way it is, and once you know who who your client is you will have your answer. Believe me, If you try to sell a very high maintenance service to someone that doesn’t have the time or money you will eventually lose this client because it will simply won’t work for them. Get the picture?

jorge luis

Jorge Luis is a color maestro, master stylist and designer of innovative hair accessories.

For more than 30 years, Jorge Luis has honed his artistry, innovating his exclusive color technique called "color melt" where the color goes from dark to light seamlessly. Jorge has worked at some of hte most high profile salons in New York City and currently serves as the Senior Colorist and Stylist at the famed Sally Hershberger Salon in New York City.