Finding a hairstylist can be tricky, and I get a lot of questions about how to find a new stylist or salon. Maybe you just moved to a new town, your regular stylist left, or you are just looking for a change. Here, I’ll cover some ideas and pointers about how to find a stylist who you’ll love.
I think that *the* best way to find a new hairstylist is to get a referral from someone else. It can be a friend or a stranger; find someone who’s hair cut (for the sake of simplicity, I am just going to say “cut” though this applies to color, or any other service as well!) you really like and ask them who does their hair! Really, you don’t want to find just anyone who’s hair you like though, try to find someone who has a hair cut similar to the one that you want. If you have curly hair, look for someone with curly hair. If you have very fine hair, find someone with very fine hair. If you have super thick hair, ask someone with super thick hair. Not all stylists are awesome at everything. Some specialize, and everyone has their personal strengths and weaknesses. If you have a pixie cut and thin, fine, straight hair, and your best friend has long, thick, curly hair, her hair stylist MIGHT be great at doing your hair type/cut too, but you’re probably better off finding someone with hair similar to yours to get a referral from.
Once you have some ideas of places to go, use the internet. Sometimes this is where people start if they are having a hard time getting a referral from someone. Check out the salon’s website. Do they have a gallery of clients? Read their reviews on Google, Yahoo! Local, Citysearch, and Yelp. This will give you an idea of what their clients think of them.
If you have a salon in mind but you’re nervous about getting it cut, just book a shampoo and blowout with the stylist that you are interested in. This will give you a chance to check out the vibe of the salon, meet the stylist, see their portfolio, get a feel for their personality, see if their style meshes well with yours, and talk to them about your hair, all without any commitment. Ask the stylist if they are comfortable doing your type of hair, or the kind of cut you have in mind. If they seem uneasy or say no, don’t push it! If they don’t feel comfortable with it, then find someone who has more experience doing what you want. If you’re happy with your experience, book a haircut appointment before you leave!
As I mentioned, I get asked by a lot of people who don’t live near me, and clients who are moving away, how to find a new salon. These are the ways that I would personally go about it, so I hope that you found this information helpful. If you did feel like it was helpful, or if you think I left anything out, please leave me a comment and let me know!
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This was perfectly timed for me. I just moved to the frozen tundra (aka Buffalo) and was looking for a stylist, but was a little lost about how to do it. To the internets!
Oh good! I hope this helps you out then; Let me know how it goes!
Great info ! =)
Thank you! And thanks for the comment, I love to know that people are reading! ;D
I was thinking “sit outside a salon and watch clients as they leave” but I guess booking a ‘poo is much less creepy ;) that’s actually a brilliant idea, and since I’m in the market for a new stylist, I think I’ll try that out. For me, I’m thinking I’ll book a conditioning treatment, that way I can see if the stylist is an ingredient geek like me! Thanks!
Haha that works too, I suppose. My salon is upstairs in the same building as a cafe/bar/tattoo shop, so I have actually gotten quite a few new clients who said they were in another area of the building and kept seeing people leave with awesome hair so they wanted to make an appointment. I guess if you are just sitting outside on the sidewalk, it’s a little creepier! Conditioning treatment sounds like a fabulous idea!
Twitter: theMollyMurder
says:
Okay, seriously, her calling it poo all the time now is confusing the fuh out of me. She said it to me last night and I legit though she meant POO. Like, fecal matter.
And I love me some fecal matter, but I was so confused.
LOL.
WAY TO CONFUSE ME JESS <3
haha “i love me some fecal matter”
Twitter: theMollyMurder
says:
This is an incredibly informative post. I agree 100% that if you love someone’s hair and you’re looking for a stylist you should definitely find out where they get it done. Ask them questions. People LOVE compliments so they’re (hopefully) not going to get offended by the question!
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So when I first moved to a new city I was HEARTBROKEN that I was leaving behind my stylist. She was so cheap and she cut my hair alright (note: alright.) so I was a teeny bit nervous to try someone out in my new area.
Once I had you awesomely cut my hair up there in Seattle it was only a matter of finding a stylist qualified enough to “follow the lines” of what you already did.
From there I asked around and saw some girls with similar cuts and discovered a new salon. Now I get questions about where I get my hair done all the time. The salon was smart enough to hand me these little cards with my name on them. When I give them to a person and they book an appointment, I get a $10 credit and they get %20 percent off. It’s a win win.
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