Let’s talk curls with Sabrina Dijkman: As you will know, curly hair has undergone a metamorphosis lately. All over the world women who used to straighten their hair are finally embracing their natural texture. These days your clients with curls and coils hair want regimes and methods for making the most of their texture.
So, what does this mean for you as the professional? No curly haired client is the same. All your clients have different backgrounds, experiences, and levels of knowledge. Before any salon service it’s your job to have an in-depth consultation so your clients understand more about their hair type. This includes discussing the best styling and caring practises to help them love their curls.
Sabrina Dijkman, Alterna ambassador, shares tips for ensuring you have the best and most effective curly consultations.
The curly consultation by Sabrina Dijkman
Just like any successful, flowing conversation, much of what you ask at the beginning of a consultation should be focused on open-ended questions. An open-ended question requires more than a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. So, focus on questions like, ‘how do you feel about your hair right now?’ or ‘how do you want your hair to look or feel?’. These questions are based on personal desires and emotions. Your curly-haired clients are sure to have some emotional thoughts on their hair. For years textured hair types have been portrayed as something that must be tamed. In the workplace this means many women have experienced bias purely based on how they choose to wear their hair.
Let’s talk curls
During your consultation, take the time to listen as much as you can. It can be easy to let your knowledge and personal opinions guide a conversation, but that comes later. Keep things relaxed yet personal. As you find out the essentials like your clients’ daily habits (are they a gym-goer, etc) you can begin to ask more prescriptive questions. Ask them how they like to wear their hair? Would they describe it as frizzy when it encounters humidity? Does it shrink up a little or a lot when it’s wet? If your client is a person of colour, ask them if they ever wear protective styles? Do their hair habits change with the seasons?
Once you’ve gained knowledge on your clients’ personal style and habits, then you can get to the nitty gritty: How often do they wash their hair, what products do they rely on, how often do they cut their hair. This information, coupled with their personal wants and needs will enable you to create a style that works for your client and a care regime that makes them feel confident in their own styling ability.
All good things take time
If you’re only recently getting to know your curly clients, it’s useful to remind yourself that everything in life is about the journey. When it comes to your customer that journey includes everything from how you make them feel when they first walk in the door, to you learning more about their future hair goals. Curly hair requires attention to detail and that’s something that comes easily once you become more familiar with your client and their particular curl pattern. Most importantly, you need to feel confident in your curl knowledge and language, and if there’s something you don’t know, further training will benefit you in the long run.
Recently, we explored the theory that there is an unofficial hair texture tax. Click here to learn more about this
For more of the latest industry news, click HERE.
________________________________
Respect is a hub for UK hairdressers of all ages and stages to find out what We Love, We Hear and We See as the best product launches, styling advice, hairtools, education training and seminars and hairshows! Sign up to our newsletter which is sent fortnightly direct to your email, so you stay up-to-date with salon styling information, trends in session work, advice on presenting on stage or progress in educating – whatever your interest, whether you’re a trainee or creative director, an educator or team leader, you’ll find all the opportunities and ideas on www.respectyou.me
We love hairdressing; we see and we hear how you can become the best hairdresser, colourist and salon owner possible. Contact us if you’d like to know more about us. If it’s worth talking about, you’ll read it here.
