Whether you’re out of town, relocated to a new city, or just looking for a new hair stylist in general, consider taking these tips into consideration.
You can start on Social Media platforms such as Instagram by searching local hashtags in your area to target hair stylists in your community doing the type of service that you are interested in. Try using a combination of your city, or neighborhood and pair it together. For example #MelroseHairExtensions, #Melrosecolorist #HollywoodExtensions, #hollywoodhairsalon. #Hollywoodcolorist.
Play around with the combination of Hashtags until you find some options that provide you with links to stylists pages that you can view. Be aware when looking at Hashtags, to select between “top” which means most viewed and “recent” which is based on how recently the posts were made.
Here’s a few other important points to seek out when on the hunt for the perfect stylist for you!
- Quality of work: We live in an era where most Hair Artists are using social media to showcase their work and as their digital portfolio. You can tell a lot about a hair stylist by how stylists present their work! I like to take a deep dive and look at before and after photos, how they complete the look with their finishing styles, how often they post, and of course, the quality of their work!
- Budget: It might be hard to establish how much you’re willing to spend on your hair, or how much the going market rate is for services. They can vary so much for different reasons. There are two typical types of pricing platforms that most salons use. A la carte pricing: which means every individual service is an add on and an additional cost, or all inclusive hourly session pricing: which means you pay for only the time you reserve, and all products and services that fit into that timeframe are included with no additional cost.
I recommend booking a consultation with the stylist so you can go over your needs and get a price quote upfront. This is a good time to ask questions about the process. Useful questions could be:
One advantage to Hourly Session Pricing is you can ask for an option to have your stylist accomplish what they can in the time frame you can budget for. For example, if you’re looking to do a lengthy color transformation, you may break up your appointment sessions into multiple appointments to accommodate your budget, as opposed to having a lengthy and costly color appointment in one day.
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When price shopping here are some things to consider:
- What type of products a salon is using: Is it top shelf or is it lower grade? Types of bleach, hair color, and products used by a salon can make a big difference in your overall hair health and the total expense of your service.
- How experienced is your stylist?: Are you getting quoted by a junior stylist, intermediate stylist, or senior stylist?
- A stylist’s timing: Some stylists will charge a higher hourly rate, but be able to get the job done in less time. While other stylists will charge a lower hourly rate but may take longer to complete the job!
- What is the salon’s policy on a satisfaction guarantee?: If adjustments are needed, will the salon accommodate a secondary appointment to make a necessary adjustment to your service to ensure you’re satisfied, or will they consider all adjustments an additional expense?
Stylist Personality:
When finding the perfect stylist for you, personality can make or break your experience! This is why I feel it is an important thing to include in this article. You may be spending several hours with your stylist every couple of months. Here are a few things I look for in the stylists that I build a long standing relationship with.
- Their dedication to utilize the time reserved for my appointment, keeping the focus on me! Instead of catching up with their co-workers, I appreciate when stylists show an interest in me and my hair.
- A great personality goes a long way! Someone easy to talk to, open minded, and who aims to please! Ever need an adjustment to your hair and your stylists goes straight in with defensiveness? I appreciate when stylists can keep it cool, listen and apply the feedback!
Salon policies:
Before booking, be sure to understand stylists, or salons policies. This will ensure you understand the agreement between you and the new salon. Some common policies in place are deposits, cancellation policies and late policies. Policies are in place to protect loss of business. They are also a good indicator that you’re dealing with a professional workplace who is likely to value your time.
Consistency:
I’m a big believer that consistency is key to a long standing relationship with your hair stylist. You want to know that you can sit back, relax and let your hair stylist do their job without feeling stressed about the outcome! Once you trust your hairstylist, it should be a very enjoyable and relaxing experience to have your hair done! Consistency can mean being on time for your appointment, nailing the service every time, and the cost of the service staying consistent with each appointment.
What’s important to you? Do you like a stylist with common interests or hobbies? Maybe they have a similar style, or a style you admire? Maybe you listen to the same music or enjoy the same books. Stylists often feel like friends to us. We confide some of our deepest darkest secrets to them so it is important you feel like you’re in good hands!
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