Find The Right Hairdresser
The first step is to truly ask yourself if you're happy with your current hairdresser. Too many people who are unhappy with their hairdresser just stick with them because they feel bad about changing, they're too afraid to try elsewhere because they're used to the one they have or because they're not prepared to look at where they can find another hairdresser near them. Finding the right hairdresser is extremely important. This person is dealing with YOUR hair. Your hair makes ALL the difference to your overall look. Not only that but they're taking YOUR money on top of it. Why wouldn't you want to be picky about who you let cut your hair and take your money? You have every single right to find a good hairdresser. So shop around, ask people who they think is a good hairdresser in your area. The best way to experiment is to go to a few places just for a trim. Note how the staff act, how clean the inside is kept, how attentive they are, etc. A trim is usually the cheapest thing you can get done at the hairdressers so this will enable you to try out a new hairdressers without spending too much money.
I have also witnessed many younger people going to hairdressers that are more mature when they themselves are young. I do not mean to sound offensive but I feel a lot of the time that younger hairdressers understand what suits me better as a young person than maturer hairdressers. So if you're a young person, find a young hairdresser. Otherwise, your mature hairdresser may end up unintentionally making you look like a grandma or grandpa. Younger hairdressers tend to be more knowledgeable on what is flattering because they are freshly trained. Sure, mature hairdressers have experience but I personally like to go to somebody who is in the know how about the here and now.
So once you find one you like, great, we're on to step two.
Find The Right Style
The first thing you need to do is be honest with yourself when you look in the mirror at your hair. Seriously. Don't sugar coat it.
Be honest with how it makes you look and what it does for your face shape. Look at the colour, is it flattering your skin tone or washing you out? Is it making you look older? Would your style suit your grandma more than you? Are your ends split so bad they're one hairbrush away from getting divorced?
If your hair in a horrible, fried condition? Your hairdresser is trained to help fix split, fried hair so before you get anything done to it, they can advise you on fixing the condition of your hair first. You want your hair to be in good condition before you get it cut/styled so that the results will be as best as they can be.
Use a deep conditioner at least once a week and use hot oil treatments if you use lots of hot tools. Heat protectant products are great but they only go so far in protecting your hair so try to give it a break from heat tools as much as you can. Only straighten or curl when you absolutely need to. Let your hair dry naturally as much as possible too. I do understand the difficulty with that last one - my hair takes HOURS to dry fully so sometimes I have to blowdry it. I can't stand going out or to bed with wet hair, it's just not practical and feels uncomfortable to me. So, if you must blowdry, try to lower the heat setting on your dryer to reduce the risk of heat damage as much as you can.
I have thick, wavy hair so when I don't straighten it, it remains extremely wavy. I don't like wearing my hair down when it is like this since I resemble a lionness (lol) but I also don't like straightening my hair constantly. So what I do is try to find cute hairstyles that I can wear that will accentuate my waves like a low side ponytail or some plaits (braids). This gives me a cute hairstyle for that day with no heat damage.
At The Hairdressers
When you go to the hairdressers, TAKE A PHOTO OF THE STYLE YOU WANT. I can not stress this enough. Too many people rely on describing the hairstyle they want and then end up miserable because they got the opposite to what they asked for. Your hairdresser needs a visual aid full stop. You can't play guess work with hair. Once it's cut off, it's gone for at least a little while, depending on how fast your hair grows. Once it's coloured, it'll take quite a bit of effort to reverse or fade out. It makes their life easier and makes sure that you will get the type of look you want. Be sure that your hairdresser understands what you want before they begin.
Do not put up with a hairdresser who is too busy gossiping to concentrate on doing your hair. Whenever I have had this happen to me, I have made my feelings known to the management and believe me, they don't want a bad name so they usually make every effort to focus on you completely and rectify the situation. Same goes if your hairdresser does things in a sloppy manner. Tell somebody before they sloppily cut your hair!
If you're looking to have something specific done - like a fringe cut, a new colour, etc...then ask at the hairdressers for somebody who is very good at that specific thing. All of the staff should be trained in all of these areas but sometimes, you might find that one member of staff is better at another at specific things and it never hurts to ask for them to recommend somebody to you. Trust me, they don't mind. Make sure your hairdresser knows how much committment you're willing to put in to keeping the style so they can best suit it to your needs. At the same time realise that you will need to put in some time to make it look nice, and why wouldn't you want your hair to look good for YOU?
Ask Questions
Don't be afraid to ask what product your hairdresser is using on your hair and why. Ask them for tips on how to get the best out of your hairstyle and improve your hair's condition if it needs improving. They should be willing to show you how to style it, how to blowdry it, etc so that you can recreate the look they are giving you at home. Asking questions helps you to understand what they're doing and why, and you deserve to know because it's your hair they're styling and your money they're taking.
Aftercare
It's important to take good care of your hairstyle once it's all done. Condition your hair with a deep conditioning hair masque/hot oil treatment once a week at least, don't overuse heat tools, etc. Dry your hair on a medium setting and point the nozzle downwards when drying if you suffer with frizz. When your hair is healthy and put together it frames your face, it brightens your appearance, it makes you look fresh and smart. And you don't necessarily need to use lots of hot tools and products to make your hair look put together. As I said, you can find lots of cute hairstyles to try out that don't require hot tools. If you have the right hairstyle for your hair type then aftercare should not be too difficult.
I hope this helped and good luck with finding the right hairstyle!
