What Your Stylist Really Wants To Know

When was the last time you sat in the salon chair and told your stylist exactly what you don’t want?  Most of us do the opposite.

We arrive armed with saved photos, screenshots and a vague idea of what we’d like. A bit shorter, but not too short. Something different, but nothing drastic.

That’s all useful. But sometimes the quickest way to better hair is to tell your stylist what drives you mad about the hair you’ve already got. What drives you mad by Tuesday morning? 

Forget how your hair looks when you’ve just left the salon. Think about an ordinary morning at home.

Is your fringe forever in your eyes? Does your hair look flat by lunchtime? Do you love your colour for the first couple of weeks, then hate seeing the regrowth? Perhaps those face-framing layers looked fabulous initially, but you spend most of the day tucking them behind your ears.

Tell your stylist.

If you hate having hair around your face, I want to know that before we start talking about fringes or shorter layers, those little details help us work out what’s really going to work for you.

Life after the blow-dry

Your stylist also needs to know what happens when they’re not there.

If your morning styling routine is a quick blast with the hairdryer before running out of the door, say so. Equally, if you love getting the brushes, straighteners and styling products out, let us know. There’s little point falling for a cut that looks fantastic after a professional blow-dry if you’re going to wrestle with it every morning at home.

The same goes for colour. If you hate visible roots but don’t want to be back in the salon every few weeks don’t be shy tell us. Your colourist can look at other ways to get the effect you want without signing you up for more maintenance than you’d like.

Your hair habits are clues

Think about the things you do without even noticing.

Always tuck one side behind your ear? Tie your hair up by lunchtime? Straighten the same troublesome section every morning? Avoid wearing your natural curls because you’re never quite sure what to do with them?

Those habits tell your stylist a lot about how your hair really fits into your life. And that’s what matters. Your hair needs to work when you’re standing in front of your mirror on a wet Wednesday morning. Not just when you’re sitting in our salon chair.

How ‘low’ is low maintenance?

‘Low maintenance’ is one of those phrases that means something different to everyone.

Maybe you don’t mind regular salon visits, but the most your hair gets at home is a quick blast with the dryer. Or perhaps you’re happy to style it every morning, but six-weekly colour appointments? Absolutely not.

Tell your stylist where you draw the line. The best hair isn’t just about what suits you. It needs to suit your life too.

Before you get in the chair…

Keep saving the pictures of hair you love. But before your next appointment, make another little mental list too.

What annoys you about your hair? What are you forever fiddling with or trying to fix? And what do you absolutely not want to spend your time doing?

Then tell your stylist. Because knowing the hair you don’t want can be just as useful as knowing the hair you love.