One of the difficult things when you are first starting out as a Hairstylist is knowing how to answer the many questions that a client might bring up and ask you. I’ve been a Hairstylist for 35 years and these are some of the most frequently asked questions...and the answers I give my clients.
1. How often should I get a haircut?
Hair typically grows 1⁄2 an inch a month. If your hairstyle is long, you can get away with a haircut every 3 months, because you don’t really notice the growth, but if your hairstyle is short, that 1⁄2 an inch of growth will change the weight lines of the haircut and make the cut look out of shape. So a generalized rule of thumb is that long hair needs a haircut about every 3 months, and short hair needs a haircut every 4 to 6 weeks.
This is an important client question, and the perfect segway into offering to reserve your guest's next appointment in 4, 5, or 6 weeks.
“I don’t know who needs to hear this, but your $5 dollar bottle of shampoo won’t maintain your $165 hair color.” @scissor.tech
2. My hair color has faded so much, what can I do to not make it fade?
Hair is a “fabric” and like most fabrics, it is affected by washing and the elements. It’s pretty similar to how you would treat your favorite black t-shirt. In order to extend the life of the rich black t-shirt you love, you would wash it in cold water with a gentle detergent formulated for dark colors, and you would hang it to dry. You wouldn’t wear it in a swimming pool or the ocean, because you would know the chlorine and salt water would quickly fade it out. The same goes for hair color. Washing in hot water with any old shampoo, blow drying, hot tools, swimming, and sun will definitely fade out the hair color. When we color our clients' hair, we need to be the “care tag” in the clothing and educate our clients on how to take care of their color in-between visits.
3. Do you charge different prices for a trim vs. a haircut?
No, a haircut and a trim are actually the same thing. I go through all of your hair and rework the haircut and weight lines. It’s actually not about how much I cut off your hair, it’s about knowing what to cut for the style that we are trying to achieve.
As Hairstylists, we get paid for knowing what to cut off, and knowing what to leave on.
“Hey Siri, wash my hair.” Unknown
4. How often should I wash my hair?
This has a lot to do with the density of your hair and your activities (how much you sweat).
Someone with incredibly thick or curly hair typically only needs to wash their hair about once a
week. However, someone with fine straight hair might need to wash their hair every day.
Individuals with thick or curly hair usually have dry hair and scalps, and individuals with fine straight hair typically have oilier hair and scalps. As people age, they don’t seem to produce as
much oil, and even someone with fine straight hair can go 2 or 3 days without washing.
Taking the time to talk about how often our clients should wash their hair allows us the
wonderful opportunity to be the expert, and guide our clients into the correct cleansing and
conditioning products and routine that is best for their hair.
“I have a new hairstyle, it’s called, “I tried.” Unknown
5. I can’t make my hair look the way you do it!
This is a wonderful clue that the client can use a tutorial! Whenever I hear this, I take the time to show my client at least one “hot tip” they can use in styling their own hair at home. When we show our clients how to style their own hair, there is a better chance that with our tutorial, our work on our client's hair will look good in between salon visits, and that client will be a “walking billboard” of our work.
6. Would you make my hair look like “this” inspo photo?
One of our biggest jobs as a Hairstylist is to manage our guest's expectations. We need to be
gracious enough to use our expertise, and explain what seems like common sense to us. When our clients bring in a picture of curly hair and want a perm so they too can have the wash-and-wear look that they see in their inspo picture, we have to explain that no editorial picture is a wash-and-wear look. Those curls were made by a curling iron and a Hairstylist, not nature or a perm. When they show us a picture of a blonde Kim Kardashian and want us to replicate it, of course, we CAN do it, however, it is our job to explain the initial cost of making their whole head of hair blonde, the frequency of future salon visits, and the cost of upkeep.
We need to explain the level of compromise to the health of their hair, and the products that will be needed at home to take care of their now very porous and fragile hair. When we share the information we know from our own learning and experience, it benefits our clients, they trust us more, and it allows them to make an informed decision as to what they want to commit to with their hair.
As Hairstylists we are passionate people, we are artists and we are creative. We need to
remember that most of the population is not like us. We spend our time thinking about and
creating beauty. They spend their time crunching numbers and facing deadlines. We need to
share our passion with our clients, be the experts that we are, and do our jobs well.
“Hairstylist”: An artist whose work is always on display.
Elevating The Industry,
Karen Spinelli
Cosmetology Students and New Hairstylists My intention with every post is to give New Hairstylists all over the world the tips, shortcuts, and tools they need to quickly achieve success. I would love to hear from you! You can reach out here, on my site, Instagram, or Facebook. Sign up for my newsletter to receive my weekly blog sent to your inbox.
Cosmetology Schools and Teachers I would love to talk to your students! To book Karen as a speaker at your Cosmetology School, click here.
Karen Spinelli is from Pasadena, California. She was behind the chair for thirty-five years, as well as Salon Director of Education for New Hairstylists for the last twenty years. Karen loves Hairstylists! She loves to be a part of “AHA” moments, and to watch New Hairstylists grow in their confidence and skills.
