What You Can Do For Your Hairstylist

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Today we're going to discuss the things you can do that makes your hair guru's job easier. It's basically an open message of what your hairstylist wants you to know. 

​The reason I'm doing this is because each year when fall comes around I turn my hair into a jewel toned shade. It's an actual labor of love honestly. Typically it's some sort of blue. This year we, and when I say "we" I mean Hair by Savannah (my hair guru) and I, did emerald green. I love it. However, we plan out my hair a year in advance. What I mean is as soon as it's starts to turn to spring I take my hair back to a "neutral" shade and cut the length, that way you don't deal with the fading of a "vivid" shade, the maintenance, and basically the hair gets to rest. As summer goes on we continue to lighten my hair. Not all at once, just some and then we let it rest again. When summer is winding down we do a pretty intense lightening balayage. That usually takes a few hours. This time it was around 4 hours I think in one sitting.  We let the hair rest for about 2 weeks. After all that we start putting "vivids" on the hair, usually using Pulp Riot colors. Because the hair was so light at this point the green was pretty bright. So then the hair rested for another week and we did one more coat and faded the base from the root down into the emerald. Thanks to the different shades and the balayage techniques the hair has a ton of dimension and picks up different hues of green. In total it took 12 hours to change my hair to emerald over the course of one month.

​With all that aside I've picked up some things that they appreciate and little details that make a difference for both yourself and them. 

First up if you're doing color, go in with freshly washed hair man. Like just go to the salon with clean hair. That way the hair takes the color better. For my green hair I went with clean hair that had no conditioner in it even. Also, wash your scalp twice. I'm serious, I don't even use styling products in my hair and I still have to wash my hair twice. Get the build up off man. 

Also, the length of your hair is going to determine a lot of things, including: price, evaluating the hair for color changes, amount of time that it's going to take in each appointment and also the time it will take to get to your desired look. My hair is long. Therefore it took a month, like I said, to get to the shade we wanted. So bear that in mind when you want to go from brunette to blond in a 2 hr session. 

Choose two inspo pics at most. Look, pinterest is our best friend when it comes to hair and crafts. So what I do is I narrow it down to 2 pics that I like, then we shoot for within that ball park. I know that my hair is going to be different, react different, and the cut  and also my complexion, is going to factor in with the color and how it looks on myself. So keep in mind that you're not always going to look like the inspo pic exactly. Especially when it pertains to hair cuts. Listen: your face shape, build, facial structure (ie: brow shape, nose shape, cheek bones), makeup application, is going to factor into how this new cut is going to look on you. I like my long hair because I feel like it helps my face from looking more round. I don't like short cuts (like super short) on myself because it's going to emphasize my round face and my features. I will say that I love those who have a very short cut and their makeup is always flawless and on point. I think that a lot of people rock a more bold style when they've got short hair and that is killer because obviously your makeup really stands out.

​Use cold water when washing your hair if you have bold colors in it. I use a color depositing conditioner to keep my hair from fading or getting brighter and brighter, because the hair bleeds when you wash it. It will stain your towels and your bath tub if you aren't careful. We took the color we actually used on my hair and mixed it into a conditioning mask I had. If you can't do that then check out Overtone they have such good options for color depositing conditioners and so many shades. I do this maybe once every two weeks in the beginning when the color is first done, and then once a week when it's been a while. Use gloves when you're applying it if you can. 

Be honest with your hairstylist. If you've dyed your hair yourself for years via box dye, let them know. In turn also allow them to be honest with you. Hopefully your hair guru wants the best for your hair and the hair health. Mine certainly does. Respect when they tell you if a certain goal is unattainable to the level you want it. Listen to them if they tell you that the hair is too damaged to bear any harsh treatments or if you need to cut some of the length off. Let them know if you have any skin conditions or even allergies to certain chemicals or ingredients. For instance some people can't use shampoos or cleansers that have SLS in them because it breaks them out. Be as up front with them as you can be knowingly, and let them be as up front with you because they're not trying to be mean, hopefully, they're just trying to save you some time, money, and steer you away from a look that either won't turn out as it should or won't look like you think it will. If they need an in person evaluation of the hair before they can get started, respect that. It's much better to be safe than sorry. Trust me you both want a beautiful outcome so it's important to communicate and be very open with each other to get to a look that you absolutely love, that makes you feel good. 

Be respectful enough to not be a "no show". Time is money. If they've carved out two hours for you and you don't show up without any notice, that's money lost.  A lot of salons are starting to not book people anymore if they are a repeat offender of being a "no show" and I don't blame them. They work their asses off and they deserve to be respected enough to get a heads up if you can't make it and preferably tell them before the day of but even if something came up and you're able to let them know, then let them know. I understand that in some instances you may very well forget or something serious has happened and they understand that too. However, if you've just changed your mind or don't feel like it sitting in a salon for however long, give them a notice. They aren't paid by the hour, they're income comes from how many customers they've had that day, or that week, etc. If you give them a heads up maybe they can schedule someone else in your place or take a "walk in" and not lose money. 

Finally, take their advice when it comes to products, hair tools, caring for the hair, supplements, treatments, etc. I've had mine tell me many a time to stop using this or that because it's too harsh on my hair, or do less of one thing and more of another, etc. Again, they want the best result for you so that you feel great about your hair and how it looks, and also that it stays and looks healthy. 

That's all I got for you today. This one goes out to all my people who specialize in hair and make people feel good when they leave their chair. You work your butts off, often times you don't get to sit down and eat or sit down period, you barely get a pee break. Often you're a therapist, a listening ear, a friend, and depended upon to make someone feel great about themselves. All while ignoring that you may not feel good, your feet and your back might be killing you, you're hungry, you've stained your hands from color or gotten it on your clothes accidentally, you might be in a bad mood or you might need a listening ear yourself, but you can't do anything about it because you need to be professional for who is sitting in your chair. You're often undervalued and over looked but you do more in the beauty industry than most. So this one is for you.

If you want to follow Savannah here's the links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hairbysavannahpratt/
Instagram: ​https://www.instagram.com/hairbysavannahc/