Feature - Interview with Jo McKay

Text // Images by Jamie Harrison // Published Friday 16 September 2011

Jo McKay of Aveda discusses her life as a colourist and shares her inspirations and her experience of working with MyHairDressers.com following her first shoot in June 2011.

Tell us a little bit about your background  

I’m Australian and my mother and great aunt were both hairdressers, so I did my apprenticeship with my mother. After that I looked around for the best salon and joined Next Hair in Canberra, which is seen as one of the most innovative and successful salons in Australia. I got involved with shows and events there, which was really inspirational. I then saw Antoniette Beenders on stage in Sydney, which inspired me to move to London to be part of Aveda where I’ve been for the last nine years. I work around Europe working with credit consistency in education and do shows and events for Aveda.  

What shows have you done recently?  

I’ve just returned from a show in Italy launching a retexturizing product and recently completed MasterJam for Aveda with Bastian and Bee Watson. I’m just about to start a colour road show around UK and doing Congress in Minneapolis in the US in October.  

What was the idea behind the colour for the tutorials?  

The ideas really come from the model – I always consider their hair texture, skin tone and bone structure. I had already thought about some concepts prior to coming - I’d thought about some watercolour effect with shadow on Sarah’s blonde hair. With Nadia I worked with the shape of Bastian’s haircut and placed the colour shape in. It’s like a colour merging where there’s a darker perimeter, working lighter into the top and even lighter into ends.  

How important is it to work with the cutter when you’re planning your colours?  

I think it’s extremely important to have a close discussion about what you’re going to do for both the cut and colour so you collaborating ideas. If you work separately the final result is not as a collective and it’s interesting for me to discuss why he’s done what he done before I colour it.  

What gives you inspiration?  

Every year I go to the big photographic festival, Les Recontres D’Arles in France, which is very inspirational. I remember Christian Lacroix curated a big fashion photography exhibition there; I think different images from around the world are very inspirational.  

I live in Shoreditch in London so spend a lot of time going to the museums and galleries. I love painting and artists – Gilbert and George, Miro. The Shoreditch area is like a hub of young people who I love to see and watch what they’re wearing and how they’re doing their hair. The catwalk is also a major source of inspiration – I’m always looking at what’s coming up for the next couple of seasons. I love the various Fashion Weeks around the world and seeing how the hair is styled. I often look back over diffrernet eras for ideas and mix them up for a twist.

On the hairdressing side, I think people like Trevor Sorbie, Tim Hartley, Vidal Sassoon, all the great iconic hairdressers, are inspirational because they set the standards that we all aspire to. 

How would you describe your philosophy?  

Because I work for Aveda, there’s a big philosophy attached to the brand – the environment, and pure natural products. The colour products are 97% derived from natural products. I like that environmental aspect of the brand and also that it’s quite holistic. It’s relaxing for the quests and high in aromas and essential oils. Also the fact we’ve moved into the fashion side, and working with MyHairDressers.com. I love working with other teams; it’s very inspiring.  

What’s hot at the moment?

I just did a show with Aveda, which was very monochrome. Fashion recently has been very bright colours, so we had one section in black and white and one with bright oranges, apricots and reds. It’s kind of limitless what you can do with the block bold colours, and it’s all down to just picking the right tone for the person’s skin tone and lifestyle.

How had you enjoyed your time with MyHairDressers.com?

I’ve absolutely loved working with the team for the last two days; I’ve found it really inspirational. Working with people you don’t know and collaborating ideas is really refreshing and I’ve loved it. I would love to come again, if you’ll have me. It’s been a really positive experience for me, and the whole set up you have here has been extremely professional, so I’ve really enjoyed myself.  

What’s your opinion of online education?  

Online education is the way of the future, especially for people who can’t access or afford the academies. They can go online and have it there in their house, the salon, even on their phone! People still need that one-on-one contact, but the accessibility for everyone online is important.  

What do you think of MyHairDressers.com?

When I first looked at MyHairDressers.com I first noticed the people you had – like Tracy Hayes and Tim Hartley. The type of people you have gives the company prestige with the standard of work they produce. So that was a big thing for me - the standard and quality of work.    

The delivery of the material is very impressive and that was an important factor for me, because the delivery and the standards of professionalism are so high with great artists. It makes it a place where you want to be. It’s like a hub where hairdressers can come and hang out and communicate ideas and it’s a great environment to learn from and work in.