How to Leave the Hair Salon With No Regrets

How to Leave the Hair Salon With No Regrets
Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care

We’ve all experienced a bad haircut multiple times in our lives—or, at least I have. I soon realized it wasn’t even my hairdresser’s fault that I was freaking out about my hair from time to time—it was mine. After deciding to put an end to my saga of bad haircuts once and for all, I discovered a fool-proof formula for not only being regret-free after the appointment, but remaining confident that I received the best haircut possible.

Here are three steps to leaving the hair salon while absolutely loving your hair (and your hairdresser!) up until your next appointment:

1. Always take a few days to reflect. Before your appointment, it’s important to decide exactly what you want in your hair cut and/or color, and make sure you give yourself enough time to sleep on your decision. You don’t want to confuse yourself and your hairdresser! It’s best to go into your appointment knowing exactly what you want, while at the same time being open to suggestions your hairdresser may have and then ultimately coming to an agreement together.

2. Always over-communicate. Since I’m a people pleaser and can also be shy, I have to work harder at speaking up for myself when I should. When I was at hair appointments, I used to sacrifice crucial opportunities to speak up if I sensed that my hairdresser and I weren’t on the same page whether it was about cut, color, or both. Now, before every haircut and color, my hairdresser and I have an actual conversation about every detail regarding what I want for my haircut and color. Since hair is very important to me and because I’m willing to leave it in the hands of a trained professional, I’m confident in telling my hairdresser what I want in great detail and then repeating myself if I feel unsure that she heard me or doesn’t understand exactly what I want. Remember that your hairdresser wants you to love your hair, too! As creatives, your hair is their piece of artwork and it means a lot to them when you truly love it.

…I discovered a fool-proof formula for not only being regret-free after the appointment, but remaining confident that I received the best haircut possible.

3. Always show your hairdresser a photo or two. While deciding on what you want in your haircut and/or color before your appointment, find one or two photos on Pinterest, save them to your phone, and show your hairdresser as you explain to him or her what you want. Hairdressers are visual people, so having a picture to show them is even more powerful communication than words. My hairdresser has so much more hair knowledge than I do, so when I explain to her what I want while showing her a picture, she sometimes tells me that she sees the hair differently than my explanation. This gives us the opportunity to re-assess what we’re both thinking and to land on the same page together. My hairdresser always tells me that photos are the best way to show her what I want.

As long as you follow each step of this formula, I guarantee you won’t have to suffer another bad haircut!

*Note: In this article, I am assuming you have already built a good relationship with your hairdresser and you trust his or her skills. This article focuses on bad haircuts resulting from our (as clients) poor communication skills and/or timidity. There are, unfortunately, hairdressers out there who give bad haircuts. The formula above doesn’t protect you against fundamentally bad haircuts!


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