How to talk to your Hairdresser
My Name is Kimberly Creekmore, Owner of HairLoveDesignLLC and founder of Salon Professionals of San Diego. I have been in the beauty industry for 10 years, If you ask my family and my friends they would tell you that I have been doing hair for as long as someone would let me close to them with scissors, color or a pair of clippers.
As someone who prides them self with being extremely passionate about my industry and even more passionate about taking care of my clients and friends, I wanted to start addressing some common question and problems that people have when visiting their hairdresser.
I started a thread on FaceBook and asked my friends and clients “If they could read an article about hair what would they want to read about?”
The most liked answer was How Do I TALK Hairdresser (so my hairdresser doesn’t have to ask 423 questions). Well, The answer is simply this. If you are fortunate enough to have a hairdresser who sits you down to ask you questions about your hair each time you come to visit you have found your self a diamond in the rough. The truth of the matter is that so many hairdressers start the conversation with “what do you want to do today?” and therefore, so many of you have found that is it really hard to communicate clearly what it is you want with your hair and ultimately leave unhappy with the result or without the change you desired. Chances are you love your hairdresser, so it seems like a logical choice to just wait a couple weeks till the color fades and the hair grows a little, so you can enjoy your hair fully.
What I want to give you today is a format to communicate effectively with your hairdresser in-case they ask you the dreaded question “What do you want to do today?”
One
Don’t let them take you directly to the shampoo bowl or leave to mix your color without initiating conversation first.
Tell them “ Hey can we go talk about my hair” this will startle them, just reassure them you want to talk before you get started.
They may at this point start asking questions. This is a survival instinct because they are nervous something may be wrong. Most of us were taught some consultation skills in beauty school, but quickly forget once we get busy. Say to them, “ I wanted to tell you what I like and don’t like about my hair” Proceed to tell them all about it.
A hairdressers JOB is to find out what challenges you are having and how to fix them so to start with this question is key.
Two
Tell them about ALL of the products you use in your hair and which ones you seem to like best, and also which ones you haven’t liked so much. You can be generic and tell them you have been using a conditioner for dry hair and a mousse for volume. Don’t feel bad for using XY&Z products you bought from the grocery store. Chances are they haven’t been recommending things that are for your hair type and you have been guessing at what would be best in your hair.
Three
Most people keep it simple and want Wash and Go hair. I think this is great, but if on Monday you wash and air dry, Wednesday you straighten and Friday you curl, you may need a product to help you achieve those things. And It allows us to know if we should cut shorter layers or leave them longer so you can put everything in that early morning ponytail.
Four
If you want to wear your hair in a certain style, ask to be taught how to use the round brush or curling iron. Chances are if you watch how they do it, you will not be able to recreate a similar look at home. Get your hand on the product and put it in your hair your self, ask to use the blowdryer so you can see and feel how the round brush should be used and most importantly make sure you feel comfortable before you leave. At this point, it is critical to consider all products being use to create this look, Sometimes going home and using that mousse when you really needed a smoothing cream will lead to disappointment. It is possible that you will need to schedule a blow-dry, styling class with your stylist, or ask if they have a bit of extra time to really go through styling with you.
Five
Make sure to ask based in the discussion what they are planning on doing today. You don’t need technical hairdressing terms, you just want to know how long it will be, where you think the layers will sit, and How the bangs will look. Certainly, you want to make sure they address any challenges and how they plan on fixing them.
Six
If something wasn’t quite right last time or is seeming not right before you leave, let your hairdresser know what is bothering you. We would love to read minds but unfortunately, that is a skill we don’t posses, so please give us a chance to make it right. As a person who’s career lies in the fate of good yelp reviews and client referrals, we only want to make our clients happy so we can thrive as a stylist and provide for the family. Please be open and share what’s on your mind, and ask for that re-do if you are not happy.
Stylists, If you are looking for advanced hairdressing or salon business education or if you would like to have a format of your own to communicate more effectively with your clients, please find me on FB on our Group Salon Professionals of San Diego or you can email me kim@hairlovedesign.com www.hairlovedesign.com