Stylists are really going through it.
With social media, AI, and filters shaping the conversation, hairstylists find themselves devoting almost as much time explaining to clients what is and isn’t possible as they spend actually doing hair.
To be fair, everyone's being flooded with hair tips and inspo online, where dramatic transformations appear effortless. Plus, it’s getting harder and harder to find images of people who aren’t AI generated.
Here are the top five conversations that hair professionals seem to be having over and over again.
1 - Please don't bring AI-generated inspo pics.
A recent and acute source of frustration for stylists is when a client asks them to reproduce hair that doesn’t actually exist.
No stylist, no matter how skillful and talented, can recreate something that isn't real.
Even when the inspo is of the client using a virtual try-on app, the hair they’re looking at is usually not achievable. A big part of what draws the eye to AI hair is its unrealistically perfect texture, which most human beings just don’t have.
The above is also true of filtered photos: The hair color you're seeing may have originated in the real world, but filters give images a digital modification that's hard, if not impossible, to reproduce.
2 – Even if your inspo pic is that of a real person, your hair likely will not come out the same.
Many clients don’t understand that if they don’t have the same features, coloring, hair texture and density, face shape, and other physical attributes as the person in the inspo pic, their hair will fall short of that idealized look.
Even if the inspo image is of the actual client at a younger age — hair changes over time and, let’s face it, so do faces. The same style they used to rock is not going to make them look like they did 20 years ago when they last sported it.
A good stylist will come as close as possible to recreating the inspo pic. A great stylist will determine what a client loves about the inspo look, and figure out the best way to deliver that.
3 – The look you want isn’t achievable in one appointment.
Many clients don’t consider that a new look revealed in a quick before-and-after TikTok may have taken months to pull off.
When this is explained, many clients will say they understand that their desired look will require multiple steps over time — but then get impatient during the process, usually at some point in the middle of their hair journey.
4 – The look you want isn’t achievable without a ton of expense and maintenance.
That TikTok transformation referenced above? May have cost thousands of dollars from beginning to end. And it may have taken a whole lot of time, products, and styling finesse to make it happen.
When major new looks are presented as effortless, it generates a wealth of unrealistic expectations among those who don't do hair for a living.
Sure, it might be possible to give them a dramatic new look. But when the client is seeking it at a low price and without much day-to-day styling effort, that eliminates a whole lot of options.
And lastly, here's one that has stuck around through the ages and remains a necessary conversation today …
5 – Don't come to your appointment if you’re sick.
Lots of people forget that a salon is not just the place where they come for self-care, but it’s a workplace. And nobody wants a sick person at their workplace.
In a close-proximity environment like a salon, one person's illness can affect everyone. For most stylists, getting sick means their income will suffer for the next few days or weeks.
Even if a client promises to wear a mask and cover their mouth when coughing or whatever — the risk just isn’t worth it.
At the end of the day, stylists and clients both want the same thing: for the person in the chair to love their look and have a good experience getting it.
That goal can be achieved if expectations are realistic and communication is flowing both ways.
For stylists, being honest and offering solutions that will work for the client are key. For clients, accepting their stylist’s opinion and honesty is how they'll end up with a look they love.