Experience should sharpen your eye, not close it: Florian Hurel on knowing when to hold back

“One of the most difficult things has become knowing when not to do more,” he said.

He believes younger stylists can sometimes feel pressure to prove what they can do. “When you are starting out, you often want to demonstrate your skill. You want to create a transformation, introduce a new technique, or give the client something visibly different. With experience, you learn that more work does not always mean better work,” he said.

That can mean having difficult conversations with clients, particularly when their desired result is not realistic or suitable for their hair. “Sometimes, the challenge is recognising that a client's hair cannot safely achieve the result they have in mind in one appointment. Sometimes, it means explaining why a particular trend will not suit their texture or lifestyle. And sometimes, it means having an honest conversation that may not be what the client initially wants to hear,” he said.

With experience, he also feels a greater responsibility towards the client's hair and expectations. “You become more conscious of hair integrity, maintenance, realistic expectations, and the trust people place in you. You are not simply creating a look for that day; you are making decisions that affect the condition of someone's hair and their experience over time,” he said.

For him, this is where a stylist's real evolution happens. “The technical side of the profession becomes more instinctive, but the judgement behind it becomes more nuanced. I think that is the real evolution of a stylist, learning not only what you can do but what you should do, and when the best decision is restraint,” he said.

He also believes experience should never lead to assumptions. “A client's texture, movement, or natural growth pattern might lead you somewhere unexpected if you are willing to explore rather than impose a familiar solution,” he said.

His own approach comes down to staying open. “After two decades, I have learnt that experience should sharpen your eye, not close it. The moment you believe you have seen everything is probably the moment you stop seeing things properly,” he said.

Ultimately, the work that impresses him most is not necessarily the most dramatic. “Today, the work that impresses me most is not necessarily the most dramatic. It is the work that looks effortless, feels right for the client, and stands the test of time,” Florian said.