I can’t even begin to fathom how many times I’ve gone to a hair salon and left not loving what I just paid over $100 for.  If you’re anything like me, you’re far too nice to stop and tell the stylist that you don’t like what they spent 2 hours creating. I can’t help you with the after issue, but I’m here to help you prevent it! Here are some tips I’ve picked up from experience about how to get your money’s worth at the hair salon.

Know what you want. You have to have your mind made up before you even make a phone call to see when your salon is available. If you walk into your normal appointment and say “just give me something new”, you are to blame for your own hatred. If you don’t like it, it’s not the stylists fault. This is dangerous territory because I understand the need to be spontaneous, but your hair may be a little too iffy to mess with. Knowing what you want helps you be able to better process the future change. Save the spontaneity for somewhere else — unless that’s your thing then heck all the power to ya.

Bring examples. Stylists love when you come with a physical picture of what you have in mind. My advice is to find a transformation picture that resembles what you want your hair to follow. This gives them a link to what you’re thinking, and more importantly is a check to make sure that you’re both on the same page. Pictured below is the photo I brought into my last appointment, followed by my actual hair transformation. I was able to see that my wants & needs were assessed.

-Some great places to find hair inspiration on instagram: @hairandharlow @thefoxandthehair @mollyconsidinehairstylist (Just some of my personal favorites)

Be upfront. Be upfront with your stylist about your hair history. If you got a bad coloring and this is a touch up, be honest. If you blow dry it and style every day, that’s probably something they’d wanna know. Also be upfront about cost issues. If you don’t want to spend x amount of dollars, you need to tell them what your limitations are. That saves everyone from a whole lot of awkward.

Find your stylist. Stick to your stylist. Returning to the same person who understands what you like can help you find a long term way to achieve whatever end game you’re looking for. Happiness is worth every penny at the salon, and this is a great way to be reassured you’ll love what you get. When you find that special someone, get their first and last name, as well as a PERSONAL phone number or email (not the number of the salon). If a stylist ever leaves their salon, the salon usually will not release any personal information about them, and you can be, for lack of better words, shit out of luck. If they know what you like, follow them to whatever salon they switch to. That’s money saved on a bad experience with someone you don’t already trust.

*My latest hair style was done by Garbos in Regency and I LOVED it. It was a spontaneous visit but I was pleasantly surprised. If you’d like the name of my stylist let me know, I’d be happy to pass her name along. (shouts out to her!).