So you finally bit the bullet and made an appointment at a fancy scmancy salon. Or...If you’re coming to see me, you made one at a nice little Salon Studio in Woodland Hills, California. This is a fantastic choice and I’m stoked you are coming to see me! Matter of fact, I’m stoked you are going to see a professional, even if it isn’t me! Here are my favorite tips to help guide you on how to prep and what to expect.
1. Fire up your Pinterest boards. Yep, that’s right..dust off that old Pinterest account you have had since 2009. Load it up with hair inspiration photos. Anything you find, go right ahead and toss it onto that board. It’s my job as a stylist to pick out the similarities in all of your favorite photos and then point out those similarities to you. This also gives me (or your stylist) a better understanding of what exactly your hair goals are. These photos also help me understand your definitions. For example, when a client says they want “rose gold hair,” I always start pulling up photos. To some, rose gold is the true definition; that literal rose gold jewelry that your mom wore in the 1970’s while in high school. To others, rose gold means iPhone Pink. Have a nice variety of photos because if you go in with one redhead photo, one brunette and one hot pink, that is three very different looks and you want to end up with hair you love. If you come to me with two redhead photos, one warm brown and one coral tone, I can easily see that you are drawn to warmer tones.
2. Show up on time to your appointment but also be flexible. If you didn’t previously consult with your stylist in person, what you are hoping to achieve may not happen the day of. Don’t fret, this isn’t a bad thing at all. A true professional will want you to absolutely love your hair and may need extra time to achieve your desired result. When I was in the military, our drill sergeants often said “ semper Gumby, soldier.” Gumby was this little green flexible toy. This saying meant that it was just easier to be up for things to possibly change. Sometimes, your hair can’t handle everything that needs to be done and it is necessary to have a few sessions over time to get you to that ashy blonde tone to prevent excessive breakage. It’s worth the wait.
3. Get quality products. Your gorgeous rainbow hair took 8 hours to achieve and probably cost you a fat check. Go ahead and spend the extra $40 to get quality, professional salon products to maintain it. There are so many amazing products out there and what’s a few more dollars to make your look last longer? Salon professional products are engineered to not only clean your hair, but they also don’t fade the color as much, they add moisture and some even have repairing properties. Some of my personal favorites are Kevin Murphy, Redken, Kenra Professional, Living Proof, Oribe and Amika.
If you would like to see a list of some of my personal favorites, click here.
4. Schedule maintenance appointments ahead of time. This is super important for a handful of reasons. If you can only make a certain day of the week, making your appointment in advance will guarantee you get that spot you love. Sometimes, a stylist is willing to “work you in last minute” but that means you will likely be juggled with other clients who made their spot in advance. Also, regular maintenance keeps your costs down. Base retouches are generally two inches of new growth or less as once the growth is more than that, the process becomes more complicated and the results are much less predictable. You may end up with banding that is unfavorable and difficult to remove. This increases pricing at most salons. Pre-booking will avoid all of these situations.
So there you have it!