Samuel Rocher : The heart and the talent in the scissors !

Sara Svati

Livecoiffure : Tell us how you fell into hairdressing and how have you develop your career around great Messieurs like Alexandre de Paris, Jacques Dessange or even Bruno Pittini ?
Samuel Rocher : It all started when I was in San Francisco, I had long hair, red nose, I wasn't feeling good about myself and I don't know what's happened, I entered in Vidal Sassoon and I walked back out like metamorphosed !
I could finally look at myself in the mirror, I was feeling well, things fell into place ! And I said to myself I want to do that. Hearing my clients walking out of the salon « I'm feeling well ! » That was a dream entering in Bruno, Alexandre and also in the school Dessange. I was the youngest assistant of Bruno, I was 18 years old at the time.
At the age of 22 during classes at the school Dessange, my trainers would say to me « You still have a lot to learn ». I loved the salon, the team, we worked a lot, I earned a good living as an assistant, I wanted to be a hairdresser because I knew I could do it. I learned what was rigor, work, respect of the others thanks to these professionals.
They are great Messieurs; simple, strong and passionate persons. They are exigent with people but especially with themselves. We can't forget that the hairdresser is at the service of the client and not the contrary. There are not stars full of themselves – they are even very accessible.
They taught me, each in their own way, passion, simplicity, accuracy.
With Jacques Dessange, I learnt the bases of the blow dry, the highlighting, the chignons, he always had many innovative ideas. Pittini styled many important stars in New York at the time and I loved the collections with De Paris. I was very lucky to know these persons when I was young and to be able to learn different things.

Livecoiffure : After years of experience, how would you define your hairstyle creations?
Samuel Rocher : You know, I'm 45 years old, It is difficult to know what's my specialty. I travelled a lot - The United States, Middle East, Portugal- I was inspired by everything in front of me, I was a couture collection director and I was lucky to have a complete training… Today, I would simply qualify myself as a hairdresser at the service of his clients.
I think I am different in terms of the quality service. I listen to my clients, I like looking at her, understanding how she sees herself in the mirror, I then propose her haircuts and hair colors. I'm not going to content myself with a face or the hair, I focus also on the harmony between a body and a face. The most important is to observe the person and to highlight her/him.
Whether the client is a man or a woman, the objective is to emphasize the advantages of the face as much as the personality. We have a part of the salon dedicated to the advice where we can be in private with the clients.
We let them speak then we make them propositions according to what they like. In the end , the client makes the choice. We are to guide them, to advice them about good products. The evolution of our profession nowadays is to be totally attentive to the client! The specialty of my both salons is then based on service and high quality, that is a way to take into account those persons.

Livecoiffure : You went to Portugal to open a salon and to create your own brand, why did you choose that country ?
Samuel Rocher : That was by chance. I fell in love with Lisbon at the age of 34, I left like that on the spur of the moment. I franchised a Dessange but it didn't work so I decided to create my own brand seven years ago - Samuel Rocher – Paris – to have a new challenge.
Today, the salon works well, I go to Portugal every eight weeks to work two days in the salon. The clients are happy there and come back, I have beautiful clients and a great team, I'm delighted ! I also styled some stars during ceremonies similar to the Césars. I did have fun, I really fell in love for that city, for the people, I wanted to change my life to experience other things.

Livecoiffure : You went to the United Stated several times, what differences can you tell us between the American and the European market ?
Samuel Rocher : Los Angeles, Miami, New York are the cities where I worked most ! Where I went on holidays too ! [laughter] Honestly, in the United States, the hairdressers are not so good, well let's say that they are not special the service is often horrible. The European hairdressers are generally better trained, The French and The Italian hairdressers are the most renowned in that field.
By contrast, French hairdressers sometimes act like the Tower Eiffel ! You can't forget when you arrive there that you are a foreigner that they have their own culture and you must respect that. We must understand the clients, that's very important. The United States made me develop my market in Paris because I was inspired by the tendencies, there are a lot of innovations, it is also less conventional. I met many persons in luxury hotels who made understand that The Americans don't go in for subtleties and want results ! Exigency and perfection. The United States pushed me beyond my limits. I used many concepts from there in my salon in Paris.

Samuel Rocher Paris - Photo Pedro Pacheco

Livecoiffure : You have your salon Samuel Rocher – Paris, could you tell us more about that?
Samuel_Rocher-_Paris_Photo_Pedro_Pacheco_chignon_davines_centre_de_formation_3 Samuel Rocher : : In my salon in France, I wanted to add something new in the service, the way of talking to the persons. I want and I have great clients ! I must have a more refined contact. The hairdressing salons are a bit more democratized and long gone are the days of the former hairdressers when everybody would go to Paris to be styled !
My clients want a special service which is quite expensive, it is for active men and women, the average age is between 30 and 65.
I still think that there are many young women for a big salon ! We targeted clients and have them now. This is interesting to have a bit of « everything » in a salon : Young persons, older persons...I consider myself as a family hairdresser and I take care of every generation: grandparents, parents, children etc… That's interesting and enriching !
I'm often told about my expensive prices but there not too high if I want to keep my clients. Whether I have a secretary who comes for a haircut/hair color every three months or a billionaire who comes for a « one shot » - a client who will come once and will spend a lot of money -. I'm still the same, I know where I have to be, being always a simple person.
Small anecdote, I had one of my clients, a woman older than 80 years old who would come from the United States. She often brought me new clients offering to her friends « gift certificates » -for haircuts. It is very gratifying because she liked my work but and she trusted me so much that she talked to her relatives about me. The best clients are sent by other clients.

Livecoiffure : What are your future projects for the next year ?
Samuel Rocher : 2014 ended well, 2015 started very well, many persons are interested in opening new salons- the emirates, Asia - I don't want to franchise at the moment because I want be sure of the quality in each salon. I focus on my salons and especially in Lisbon where we will do some work and we will redecorate the salon.
We are planning to participate at the hairdressing salon in Aix –en-Provence and to do a show in mid-June Lima in Peru. This lasts five days and it is the greatest hairdressing event in Latin America ! The objective is to make known our know-how, the effort and the work we give hoping that we offer to the clients what they want so that they will come to see us ! This is the greatest pleasure I can have !

www.samuelrocher.com
SAMUEL ROCHER Paris - 24/28 avenue d’Iéna 75016 Paris
SAMUEL ROCHER - ATELIER DE COIFFURE
Atelier do Chiado : Largo do Chiado n°15 1, 1200 - 108 Lisboa

Samuel Rocher Paris - Photo Pedro Pacheco chignon Davines centre de formation