The key to being happy with the way your hair looks is a good relationship with your hairdresser. However brilliant a hairdresser is — or you think he or she must be from seeing pictures of their work in newspapers and magazines — it is rare that you will obtain the perfect style the first time you visit the salon, although they will surely do their very best to make a new client happy and give the best possible cut.
Very often it is only after they have done your hair for several weeks, re-cut it, styled it for everyday and special occasions, seen (and heard from you) how it behaves away from their care, that you and they will begin to understand what is best for you and your hair. You must build up an atmosphere of mutual trust — you can expect thorough shampooing, advice on conditioning, coloring, permanent waving, straightening and all aspects of hairstyle and care. In return, they need to learn how much time you devote to looking after your hair, how good you are at doing it yourself, what kind of life you lead, whether you eat and drink sensibly, sleep enough, exercise enough — in fact, how much you really care about your looks generally. In time, you will learn to live with the hair you have and your hairdresser will teach you not to force your hair into shapes it cannot hold out to be happy if it’s in the best possible condition and behaving as well as it possibly can. These days few women go daily to a hairdresser for a ‘comb-out’ or even regularly for a shampoo and set; the modern approach is to go once every four or five weeks for a cut, regularly for a conditioning treatment, whenever it is necessary to adjust or change the colour — and occasionally for a special event. A regular cut is one of the best beauty investments you can make — it keeps hair in shape, ensures that the ends don’t dry out and split and makes it as easy as possible to look after at home. A professional conditioning treatment is also worthwhile — even women who have cared for their hair properly all their lives find that the condition sometimes deteriorates as a result of sickness (and intake of drugs), the stress of long-distance travel, climatic variations, and overexposure to the elements, or over-use of electrical aids like hair-dryers and heated rollers; for them, a deep conditioning treatment at a salon can be of enormous benefit.
Clients should listen carefully to their hairdressers‘ advice before rushing headlong into a new cut, perm or drastic change of colour — the chances are that what they’ve got in mind has nothing to do with what would be successful with their type of hair or what would suit them; a good hairdresser will be able to suggest changes that are possible, and will suit them, and will, therefore, give them the new look and change they crave.
An expert hairdresser never stops learning from his clients — using their experiences to help others with similar situations or problems. A jet-setter, for instance, whom he sees regularly, although perhaps only every six months, is usually full of tips and tales on how to cope with hair in whatever climate and place she’s just visited — and whether local hairdressers are good, bad or indifferent, whether she wished her hair had been a different length or whether it was just right for once: information invaluable to the next client, who is just off to that part of the world. A mother (who is a long-standing client) may bring in a teenage daughter who needs persuading that she’ll regret a hard, geometric cut with her pretty, soft features — and a clever hairdresser who has known her, or about her, will succeed in giving her a cut to make everyone happy.
Very often it is only after they have done your hair for several weeks, re-cut it, styled it for everyday and special occasions, seen (and heard from you) how it behaves away from their care, that you and they will begin to understand what is best for you and your hair. You must build up an atmosphere of mutual trust — you can expect thorough shampooing, advice on conditioning, coloring, permanent waving, straightening and all aspects of hairstyle and care. In return, they need to learn how much time you devote to looking after your hair, how good you are at doing it yourself, what kind of life you lead, whether you eat and drink sensibly, sleep enough, exercise enough — in fact, how much you really care about your looks generally. In time, you will learn to live with the hair you have and your hairdresser will teach you not to force your hair into shapes it cannot hold out to be happy if it’s in the best possible condition and behaving as well as it possibly can. These days few women go daily to a hairdresser for a ‘comb-out’ or even regularly for a shampoo and set; the modern approach is to go once every four or five weeks for a cut, regularly for a conditioning treatment, whenever it is necessary to adjust or change the colour — and occasionally for a special event. A regular cut is one of the best beauty investments you can make — it keeps hair in shape, ensures that the ends don’t dry out and split and makes it as easy as possible to look after at home. A professional conditioning treatment is also worthwhile — even women who have cared for their hair properly all their lives find that the condition sometimes deteriorates as a result of sickness (and intake of drugs), the stress of long-distance travel, climatic variations, and overexposure to the elements, or over-use of electrical aids like hair-dryers and heated rollers; for them, a deep conditioning treatment at a salon can be of enormous benefit.
Clients should listen carefully to their hairdressers‘ advice before rushing headlong into a new cut, perm or drastic change of colour — the chances are that what they’ve got in mind has nothing to do with what would be successful with their type of hair or what would suit them; a good hairdresser will be able to suggest changes that are possible, and will suit them, and will, therefore, give them the new look and change they crave.
An expert hairdresser never stops learning from his clients — using their experiences to help others with similar situations or problems. A jet-setter, for instance, whom he sees regularly, although perhaps only every six months, is usually full of tips and tales on how to cope with hair in whatever climate and place she’s just visited — and whether local hairdressers are good, bad or indifferent, whether she wished her hair had been a different length or whether it was just right for once: information invaluable to the next client, who is just off to that part of the world. A mother (who is a long-standing client) may bring in a teenage daughter who needs persuading that she’ll regret a hard, geometric cut with her pretty, soft features — and a clever hairdresser who has known her, or about her, will succeed in giving her a cut to make everyone happy.