How do you feel about your hair?
I'm sure you have daily thoughts about what you think of your hair, because let's face it! We look in a mirror at ourselves daily if not more.
It's a scary and nervous emotion to face when deciding if you should brave up and see a new hairstylist, and for many women I believe the thought of trying someone new go's through their mind more then they think.
So! When should you seek out a new stylist? Well, I ask you the question...How do you feel about your hair?
Are you: happy, not sure, maybe you just feel that unless you walk into your salon visit with the knowledge of exactly what you feel like having that day that's about all you'll get, meaning that rarely is advice given to help you understand what will work best for your hair, your face frame and lifestyle, or you feel to scared to seek advice because you fear a change will mean you may not manage your hair, so the thoughts of 'better the devil you know' are subconsciously repeated back to yourself.
This is my advice;
If you are 15yrs to 25yrs old you will generally have great elasticity in both your hair and skin plus you are developing in your style and still exploring what is your most empowering presents. For these reasons you should feel as free as a bird, you haven't had a bad enough experience to stop you from trying lots of stylist and gaining lots of advice and you have the years on your side to always be able to chop and change your look and have fun with it even if you do something silly !
For those of you that are in the 30 to 40 year bracket, I find salon guests in this age range tend to be looking to find a style that gives them a feeling of confidence & control, yet is still fresh. So that they can dress up and down easily, because really in today's world we are always still working on our personal brand or career when we are not at work and creativity comes easier when you feel great about yourself. For these reasons the conversation changes from when you were in your 20's, you will hone in on a hair colour that pop's and has shine and want a haircut that maybe remains flexible in a length that allows you to dress it up for nights out while being chic/smart and on trend for the business days.
For the 50 to 70 age group, a quote comes to mind by Coco Chanel "Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance.". Words I would use to describe this group are — 'Contentment' that you have been there done that, 'Confidence' in who you are, 'Style' knowing what how you look best, 'Grace' in that you don't want nor need to look an age you are not. I find that more and more I have been working with women in the age group to transition into their natural grey/white hair instead of working against it, but the essentials remain the same: the hair cut needs to work for you.
When you are in this age group the conversation needs to be about a hair style that will lift you in the face not drag you down, a shape that will contour your bone structure and compress unwanted width or expand a narrow frame. One great tip for women in this group... are you listening, I'm going to tell you... Its Height!
Yes, height! height is needed to pull everything back up and because the elasticity that was there in your early years is now not I understand how hard it is to constantly try to style and tease in that height every day, which is why simply getting the Hair Cut right will do most if not all the work for you.
It is a case of less is more but done right. Even Leonardo Da Vinci said “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” It plays on the idea that being simple isn’t banal, it’s elegant.
So how do you feel about your hair now? Maybe relieved and content that you were right and are in a great place, that's always a great feeling to have. Or you might also feel that you have more tools in your bag to better understand what you are wanting and feel that you have a little more courage to go out there and have a consultation with a new stylist?
What ever your answer is I think it is important to feel comfortable with your stylist because even the best hairstyle can feel wrong if your experience was not pleasant.
let me know what you think about the above, I'd be keen to hear your thoughts and experiences!