What if your comfort zone is what's holding you back?

The pull of comfort

Most of us hairdressers have our favorite formulas, our go-to solutions, our "this usually works." And that’s completely natural. We find something that gives results, build experience, and add it to our toolbox.
Over time, these favorite formulas become a kind of safety blanket – and we cling to it. Because it gives us comfort. Predictability. Quick results.

But you know what?
What always works might also be what’s stopping you from reaching your next level.

From comfortable to bored

I’m not writing this to criticize – I’m writing it because I’ve been there myself. In the safety. In the predictable. I know how nice it is to rely on what “always works.”
But over time, it also became… boring. There was no challenge. I knew what was going to happen – but I stopped evolving.

Eventually, it started to show:

• In my engagement

• In my creativity

• In the atmosphere in the salon

• In my clients

• But most of all: in the joy I once felt in being creative

Why the comfort zone is necessary – but not forever

The comfort zone isn’t a bad place. On the contrary – it’s needed. It’s where we build confidence, find structure, and create a foundation to stand on.
But it’s not meant to be a permanent residence. Real growth happens outside of it.

Where it’s a bit uncomfortable.
Where we don’t have all the answers.
Where we need to pause, think, try, and understand.

Examples of stepping outside your comfort zone:

• When you try a technique you’ve never used before
• When you choose a shade you’ve always avoided
• When you dare to say, “I don’t know – but I want to learn.”

A spark of curiosity

That’s where something starts to happen.
That’s where curiosity awakens.
That’s where you begin to see new possibilities, new shades, new ways forward.

When understanding becomes more valuable than formulas

I see it often in my trainings. Hairdressers who’ve been in the industry for 10, 20, 30 years suddenly saying:
“Why has no one explained this before?”
Not because they’re inexperienced – but because no one has challenged their way of thinking about color.

No one has said:
You don’t need a formula. You need to understand how color works.

What works for others – may not work for you

It’s easy to become dependent on recipes, tutorials, and ready-made techniques. There’s so much to watch on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. We see other stylists showing amazing results, and we try to copy them. But what works in their chair, with their products, on their client—doesn’t always work in your world. Because you have a different client. Different hair. A different history.The knowledge that changes everything

The knowledge that changes everything

I’ve seen it again and again in my trainings – how uncertain we hairdressers can become when we need to create our own formulas.

And that’s when you need:

• Not just the technique

• Not just the instructions

But the knowledge of:

• What’s happening in the hair

• What’s happening with the pigments

• What’s happening during oxidation

• What makes some tones last – and others disappear

A shift in mindset

I remember one participant in my Become A Better Colorist training who said:
“Now I understand that my color isn’t bad – it just can’t do everything I want. I need a complement, not a new brand.”

That’s exactly the kind of insight I want to create:
Awareness of what your color can actually do.

Creativity doesn’t come from having more tubes

We talk a lot about creativity in our industry.
But true creativity doesn’t come from having lots of color tubes.

It comes from understanding how to use them.
And that understanding is born when you start asking questions:

• Why do I always use this formula?

• Why do I always choose this shade?

• What is actually happening when I mix these pigments?

Daring to think differently

It’s not about throwing out everything you know.
It’s about:

• Being open to rethinking things

• Trying a new combination

• Trusting your own analysis

• Trusting your own knowledge

From formulas to understanding

When I worked in color support, I often got the question:
“Can you give me a formula for this client?”

And sometimes I could. But most of the time, I had to guess – because I didn’t have the full picture.

That’s why I prefer to give hairdressers knowledge – so you can create the formula yourself.
For real.

That’s how Become A Better Colorist 3.0 was born

I wanted to create a system where you, as a hairdresser, get the tools to think independently.

• To see color on color

• To understand how pigments interact

• To feel confident in your decisions

• To not rely on a specific brand or technique

• To build your own structure, your own logic, your own flow, and your own formulas

Following isn’t the same as learning

We live in a time where it’s easy to follow.
But following isn’t the same as learning.

Repeating something you saw on TikTok doesn’t make you an expert.

What makes you an expert is understanding:

• Why it works

• What’s happening in the hair

• What’s happening in the color

• What happens in the meeting between them

It takes something more

And that requires something more:

• Courage

• Curiosity

• Frustration (handled the right way)

That frustration – when something doesn’t work the way you thought – can become the beginning of a new mindset.
A new depth in your role.
A new level of professionalism.

Reflect for a moment:

• Do you use certain techniques just because they "usually work"?

• Do you use the same formulas for almost every client, regardless of hair type or goals?

• Have you asked: Why does this work? Or have you stopped asking?

If the answer is yes – you’re not alone.
And it doesn’t mean you’re doing a bad job.
But it might mean you’re ready for the next step.

One step is enough

The next step isn’t about letting go of everything you know.
It’s about questioning just one thing. Just one. And seeing what happens.

• Maybe it’s how you choose shades
• Maybe it’s how you analyze natural pigment
• Maybe it’s how you use the color wheel – or that you don’t use it at all

When you start questioning, you start growing.
Because learning doesn’t come from having all the answers – but from daring to ask new questions.

That’s what we do in Become A Better Colorist

We challenge the comfort zone.

We don’t say "Let go of everything you know."
We say "Explore why you know what you know."

We go back to the basics – not just to simplify, but to deepen.
And that’s where real breakthroughs happen.

A moment of awakening

I remember a hairdresser who came to my course and said:
“I’ve never thought about color this way before.”

She was skilled, experienced, loved by her clients.
But she felt stuck.

Until we started talking about the building blocks of color.
Undertones. Reflections. Oxidation. Logic.
And something happened.

Her curiosity ignited.
And suddenly, she grew several years in her profession – in just a few hours.

Pause and ask yourself

Next time you find yourself reaching for the same tube, the same formula, the same strategy – pause.

And ask yourself:
Is this really the best choice?
Why am I reaching for this tube?
Or is it just the safest option?

And if it’s the latter – take a step outside.

• Try something new

• Ask something new

• Learn something new

You don’t have to change everything.
You just need to be curious about one thing.
And have the courage to follow that curiosity wherever it leads.

Your next level is waiting

I hope you feel inspired to step just outside your comfort zone.
Not because you have to – but because you want to grow.

And if you want help along the way, I – and Become A Better Colorist – are here.

With:

• Structure

• Logic

• Curiosity

Because you’re already skilled.
But you can become even better.

And that journey starts with just one question:

“What would happen if I thought differently?”

/Camilla Rörstrand