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Education: Guidance for Hair Professionals Using AI

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Using AI to help with your salon or freelance marketing can be an absolute lifesaver when you’re between clients or trying to keep up with all the digital-demands, but if you aren’t careful, it can end up sounding very obviously AI-generated, which can damage reputability and not get the results you were hoping for (costing you more in the long-run).

An AI Quick-Fire Guide

Here is a quick-fire guide to using AI for its time-saving capabilities, while keeping your brand’s personality intact

  • Treat it as delivering a 'draft', not the final version: Don't be tempted to just "copy and paste." Use AI to generate the first draft (the "bones"), then add your own "flesh and skin"—your specific advice, salon news, or an example of something that you've experienced personally.
  • Give it a "Persona": Don't just ask for "a caption." Tell the AI who it is. Try: "You are a senior hair stylist in a trendy London salon known for being blunt, funny, and obsessed with hair health."
  • Feed it Your Best Work: If you have a post or an email you wrote yourself that performed really well, paste it into the AI and say: "Study this writing style. This is my 'voice.' Use this exact tone for the next task." Or, write some sentences offering examples of your writing style and ask it to keep the same tone.
  • Focus on the "Hook": AI is great at helping generate ideas, if you're feeling stuck for inspiration, ask it for some suggestions around the topic, or theme you're looking at and then pick your favourite to develop.

How to Write "Human" Prompts

Instead of... "Write a caption for a balayage photo."

Try this... "Write a cheeky Instagram caption for a gorgeous creamy blonde balayage. Mention that this took 4 hours but was worth the wait. Use a mix of short and long sentences and avoid the word 'transform'."

Instead of... "Write an email about a 10% discount."

Try this... "Write a short, punchy email to my regular clients. Offer them 10% off for Tuesday bookings in March. Use [insert language, e.g: UK English], keep it warm but professional, and don't use any cheesy sales clichés or emojis."

Instead of... "Give me 5 blog ideas for hair posts this month."

Try this... "I specialise in curly hair. Give me 5 blog titles that solve busy mum's biggest problem: lack of time. Make the titles sound empathetic and helpful."

The 'Clues Card': Is it Obviously AI?

Before you hit "Post," check your copy against this card. If you see these signs, you need to edit. The Red Flags (Common AI Cliches):

  • The "Elevate" Trap: AI is obsessed with the words Elevate, Unlock, Unleash, Discover, and Transform.
  • The "Hearth-to-Home" Vibe: It often uses overly poetic words like Tapestry, Testament, Embark, Journey, or Nurture.
  • The "In Today's World" Intro: AI loves to start with "In today’s fast-paced world..." or "When it comes to [Topic]...". Delete these instantly.
  • Perfect Balance: If every sentence is the same length, it feels robotic. Humans use "bursty" writing (one short sentence. Then a much longer one to explain a point. Then another short one. See?).
  • The 'it's not this, it's that' trap: it can read so well, but it's now unfortunately obviously AI, delete and re-word before posting (or use very sparingly!)
  • The beloved m-dash (—): An editor will argue this one (and we agree!) but unfortunately the m-dash has become so overused by AI it's now one of the biggest tells
  • Short punchy sentences, often on three separate lines: It looks and reads well, but again it's become so overused by AI, if you see it, chances are the writer's not human.

How to "Humanise" the Result

  • Search & Destroy: Use 'Find' (Ctrl+F) to look for: Delve, Realm, Comprehensive, Seamless, Synergy. If you find them, swap them for "normal" words.
  • Add "Localisms": AI doesn't know there’s a road closure outside your salon or that the local coffee shop just changed hands. Add those tiny real-world details, they can make sure a difference..
  • Read it Aloud: Do you sound natural (human)?
  • Check the Emojis: AI often puts 3 emojis at the end of every paragraph like a robot. Mix them up or put them in the middle of sentences instead (or don't use them at all).

A Note on the Environmental Impact

While AI is a powerful tool for your business, it’s worth noting that it comes with a significant environmental footprint. Training and running large language models require massive amounts of energy and water for cooling data centres.

Energy Consumption: A single request to an AI model can use significantly more electricity than a standard Google search. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), data centres' total electricity consumption could double by 2026.

Water Usage: Research from the University of California, Riverside suggests that a conversation with AI (roughly 20-50 questions) can "drink" a 500ml bottle of water to keep servers cool.

To stay eco-conscious: Try to be specific with your prompts to reduce the need for multiple "re-generations." Use AI for the heavy lifting, but keep your usage intentional and considered. Ask yourself 'Can I do this myself?'