Questions to Consider When You Want to Change Your Hair

I have been getting a lot of requests to do a blog post like this one, so here it goes…

When you are ready to make a big change to your hairstyle, it is sometimes difficult to decide what is best for you.  I have listed questions that I ask my clients during a typical consultation.  Here my client and I can create the perfect hairstyle to fit their lifestyle, hair texture, facial shape, and features. You can ask yourself these questions when looking to get a new style! Be sure to answer them honestly!!!

1. How much time do you have to spend on your hair in the morning? For example, if you are someone who doesn’t have much time to spend on your hair and you have natural curls, put down the picture of Carrie Underwood with straight, flowing hair and embrace your curls. If you do have time to flat iron your hair every day, then you will want to consider purchasing an excellent quality flat iron and investing in hair care products, and most importantly, investing the time. Make sure that you are choosing realistic styles.
2. What is your occupation? If you are in a career that expects you to have your hair out of your face, you may want to consider a length that you can pull your hair back or maybe totally opposite and go with a pixie! Something in between could be a hassle and short layers are hard to keep in braids and clips. However, if you are someone who can wear your hair down and styled daily, then you want to ask yourself question 1 again and then skip down to question 3!
3. How do you feel about maintenance and can you schedule regular appointments? Longer hairstyles require less maintenance when it comes to cutting. If you are wanting to wear a shorter hairstyle, you need to realize that you may have to get a haircut on a regular basis. I have some clients that come to me every 2 weeks to every 6 weeks depending on the length they want to maintain. However, if you’re someone who prefers “popping” into the salon when your ends are feeling funky, than avoid a shorter hairstyle!
4. What facial features are you trying to disguise? Believe it or not, a hairstyle can be just like camouflage to unwanted facial features, but the wrong style could be like a spotlight! If you are unhappy with your forehead, consider a fringe in the front.  Does your nose appear large to you? If so, rock a side part instead of a center part.  Do you have a long pointy chin? Consider face framing layers to round out your face shape. High cheek bones can look unflattering if you create mass volume around the temples. The ultimate goal is to make your face appear as if it is an oval shape. Pull back your hair away from your face and use the guide below to determine your facial shape. Be sure to pay attention to where your temples line up with your jaw line. After that, research hair styles that are most flattering to your facial shape.
5. How thick is your hair? It may be hard to hear, but your texture is going to play a big role in your outcome of your hair style! You may not have that sleek, soft style if your hair is thick and coarse, just like you probably wont have that full bodied-style if you’re thin and fine.  Be realistic when choosing a hairstyle and consider the thickness of your hair.
6. Is your hair naturally curly or poker straight? This is going to be a game changer, as well. Refer to questions 1 and 5 for more consideration.  Your stylist should be able to teach you what products are best and how to style your hair based on your curl pattern! Extremely curly styles can be embraced with the right knowledge on how to take care of your curls; straight hair can be manipulated into delivering a nice style in a hurry. Analyze your curl pattern below. 
7. Are you trying to grow your hair out?  If so, you don’t want to continuously cut off the length that you are making progress growing (your hair grows around 1/4 of an inch per month).
8. How long have you been considering this change? If you are a little hesitant in going with a major change don’t go for the cut all at once.  Work in baby steps. I have witnessed many tears of people who were shocked after a major change.

Now, with all of those questions there are still other solutions that you and your stylist can come up with. When my clients are looking at hairstyles I ask them to bring me up to 3 pictures of ideas on ways to style their hair. This helps open up communication so there is no confusion. With sites like Pinterest and Google, it’s easy to come across hairstyle ideas. Analyze your hair and use keywords in your search like curly, thick, straight, fine, etc.

In the conclusion of your consultation, your stylist should have a thorough understanding of what you are looking for and give you suggestions based on the criteria above.

I hope this helps!

 

xo,
Er

 

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