You visit a new hairstylist, strongly recommended by your best friend. You are welcomed into the salon and escorted to the styling chair where you are met by the artist who you are hoping will be able to give you that special cut that will make you look different, feel good and always makes you look fabulous.
After 2 hours of washing, cutting and blowing you walk out of the salon, feeling more or less happy.
The next morning … reality strikes !
Your hair has again developed a mind of its own and is doing its own thing, which is very different from what it did yesterday.
This cycle has to stop !
What can you do? Here are the guidelines:
1. Before surrendering yourself right into the stylist’s hands and hoping for the best, book a consultation, time before the hairstylist actually cuts your hair.
The consultation is for the hairstylist to understand your needs better and for you to understand whether what the hairstylist is suggesting really will work for your lifestyle and personal style.
2. Share your daily routine to explain your lifestyle. Inform the stylist, whether you are a working professional, a busy mother or both. How much time do you really have in the morning to spend on styling your hair. Your hair stylist should suggest something that is easy to manage, which in turn means a good cut rather than one that needs work and products to style.
3. Share about your style personality and image you need to project. Do you want a personal style that is ‘elegant’ or ‘ smart’ or ‘fun’ or ‘edgy’? At work, are you needed to look creative with smart casual look or look authoritative with a formal and professional appearance? Your hairstyle should project or contribute towards projecting these characteristics through your overall look.
4. Share about your hair type. You know your hair best. You should advise your stylist on the quality and texture of your hair. Is it wavy, straight or curly? How does it behave with humidity? Ask your hairstylist to suggest styles that work best with your hair type. If its wavy then a hairstyle that requires straightening will not work well for too long.
5. Share about your ability or inability to use hair dryer, hair straightener or even hair products. Short hair styles usually will need hair styling product, therefore, after the cut is done, do spend a few extra minutes to learn exactly how to use the product and in fact, ask your hairstylist to let you try out using the product yourself.
Our image consultant advises: Once decided on the hair style, let the hairstylist explain exactly what technique they are going to use to create volume, texture (which of course will have to match your face shape) etc. A good hairstylist should be up-to-date with their skills and incorporate volume or texture in the cut without you having to add products to create that effect.
The key to getting a hair style that is a joy to wear everyday is to be well informed about what you want and being able to explain it to the stylist.