I used to dread going to the hairdresser, chiefly because the stylist always touched my hair as if it was an envelope marked 'anthrax', rolled their eyes when I asked for 'more blonde' and could barely conceal their laughter when I produced pictures torn from magazines of Kate Bosworth (fair enough). That was until I found an honest hairdresser in London, who has (at the risk of sounding dramatic) changed my life, mostly because she's been honest.
And so, I asked other women with hair woes what they would ask an honest hairdresser.
Here are their questions, and some honest answers from the team at Inanch:
Q. How bad is bleach really for your hair? And if it's bad, is there anything that gets you blonde without destroying your hair?
Bleach is bad but to be completely honest, every chemical we apply on our hair is bad -
IF it's not being done in moderation. If you have no other way of lightening your hair other bleaching then that's fine, but use a lower peroxide (which lessons the potential damage to your hair). Also, try not to go from one extreme to another (i.e. dark to blonde and then back to dark) as this is when the hair really gets destroyed.
Q. Do you damage your hair by washing it everyday?
Not at all! It's completely the opposite - if you wash your hair everyday you are cleansing your hair and scalp and allowing your hair to grow through.
Q. Should you always tip your hairdresser, and if so how much?
Tips are appreciated by both stylists and shampooists, although we don't expect to always receive tips, it does give us a sign that clients were happy with our services. Juniors tend to be motivated more by tips as they are usually on a low trainee salary and rely on their tips - but they also acknowledge that they need to give a great shampoo/service in order to receive good tips.
Q. If you are skint is it ok to ask to skip the blow dry to cut the cost after having your colour done?
Absolutely! A blast dry service after a colour or a treatment is common practice and complimentary. The only time we include a blow dry as part of the service is when clients book a Cut & Blow Dry which is a fixed price with or without the blow dry.
Q. Should Asian/Oriental hair be treated differently when it comes to cutting/styling?
If it's your first visit for a cut/style spend an extra 15 minutes and ask for a thorough consultation to discuss exactly what you would like to achieve with your hair and to assess the hair texture. We completely agree that certain hair types should be cut in a certain technique in order to get the desired effect - an initial consultation is extremely important to understand the texture and how the hair behaves.
Q. I think my hair is gradually falling out, what should I do and is there any product that genuinely helps thinning hair?
The first call of action is to discuss this with your hairdresser and get them to assess the hair growth pattern each time you visit the salon for your haircut. It might be at a stage where this can be treated by taking some vitamin tablets for helping hair growth. Philip Kingsley offer a range of haircare products, including vitamin tablets which help hair growth. If the problem is severe, we do refer our clients to a Trichology clinic for more intensive and prescribed hair loss treatments.
Q. To save money in between getting my colour done can I top up with semi permanent or temporary colour without causing too much damage? And is this wise?
If we are referring to covering grey hairs then you can purchase special hair colour pencils to colour in the greys around your hairline and parting which will see you through. The alternative is to have a full head of colour 'every other time' and to do your hairline and parting colour more often as it costs half the price.
Q. Is it useful to bring a picture of a celebrity whose hair you like to show your hairdresser?
As long as the client says, "I want hair like that", not "I want to look like that" then yes!
Seriously though, we encourage clients to bring in pictures (especially for bridal clients) as it helps the stylist understand what kind of hairstyle the client is aspiring to and helps eliminate any misunderstandings between the client and stylist.
Q. I have lots of naturally curly hair, are products for Afro hair too strong for my hair?
Some haircare products for Afro hair can be very invasive and strong. There are many good products on the market that control curly hair without causing any damage to your hair. Our favourite is the Phyto Specific range which is designed for Afro-Caribbean hair.
Q. I want the silky bouncy hair but have dry sort of fluffy hair instead. Best products please?
There are so many products out there to choose from - I always say when choosing products for your hair, remember that a shampoo is for your scalp and a conditioner is for your hair. So if you feel that you want body and voluminous hair but also soft hair, you go for a shampoo that will give you body at your roots and a conditioner that softens the hair, but make sure that you apply the conditioner on mid-lengths to ends.