Hairdressing: a profession in danger or an evolving profession ?

During this first semester 2014, an important movement of hairdressers created a buzz on social networks. The agitators want to fight against the sale of professional hair products sold to general from the region of Mulhouse at the head of four high range salons in the field of the service of global beauty, Marc Thibault.
Marc Thibault, what is the cause of all that agitation on the networks reaching the ministry of craft ?

« It was a pure coincidence that surfing on the forums; I come across in February an information which says that the professional products, the quatre fantastiques – that’s how I call the historical hairdressing providers - were on e.boutique of la …Redoute ! This choked me !
I wanted to know more and I became aware of the scope of the commercialization of the professional products to individuals and without any strategy, I published online a petition to fight that phenomenon and I created the facebook page, Coiffure en danger. In just four months, 4900 hairdressers signed this petition.
I want to add that we deal with two other points: the VAT at 10% for our profession and the regulations of the salons openings. »

Late reaction or utopian reaction ?

It turns out that the do it yourself exists for about fifteen years.
The openings of retail shops are increasing like Shop Coiffure, the Boutique du Coiffeur, Bleu Libellule… which promote the use of professional products at home and that for very interesting prices and that develops that feeling of unfair competition. Furthermore, even the providers have their own online sale shops of «exclusive hairdressing products».
The other concern deals with the public health community.
With that possibility of using products considered dangerous for the population. The last point is the questioning of the legitimacy of a profession and the recognition/ utility of diplomas necessary to open hairdressing salons and the right to manipulate chemical products.
But these angry hairdressers didn’t give the stick to be beaten because they thought sale was not part of their profession, their skills, their artistic sensitivity ? In his own time, the famous Jean-Louis David was the first to say that a hairdresser is not a seller. A few decades later, pertinent entrepreneurs have had that good intuition to gain market shares on the Achilles heels of a whole profession: the advice sale…
However, there are advantages to trust a professional !