Curly hair can be as unpredictable as a mood ring, and just like the perfect espresso, it demands a skilled hand to bring out its best. Step into my salon chair through your headphones as I dispense pearls of wisdom acquired from three decades in the hair industry. This episode isn't just a how-to for taming tendrils; it's a masterclass in elevating your salon service to an art form. We'll traverse the labyrinth of curl patterns, dissecting the do's and don'ts that will transform your nervous snips into confident clips.
Grab your combs and capes, stylists, because we're about to embark on a journey to the heart of curly hair care. I'll walk you through the pivotal first encounter with a curly-haired client, emphasizing the power of listening and the importance of understanding their unique hair narrative. Let's talk shop about recognizing the collage of textures on a single head and developing a battle plan for each curl's quirks and mood swings. By the end of our time together, you'll be armed with the know-how to turn those once-feared curly consultations into sessions where lifelong client bonds are forged, and your arsenal of products and techniques is robustly expanded.
Curly hair can be as unpredictable as a mood ring, and just like the perfect espresso, it demands a skilled hand to bring out its best. Step into my salon chair through your headphones as I dispense pearls of wisdom acquired from three decades in the hair industry. This episode isn't just a how-to for taming tendrils; it's a masterclass in elevating your salon service to an art form. We'll traverse the labyrinth of curl patterns, dissecting the do's and don'ts that will transform your nervous snips into confident clips.
Grab your combs and capes, stylists, because we're about to embark on a journey to the heart of curly hair care. I'll walk you through the pivotal first encounter with a curly-haired client, emphasizing the power of listening and the importance of understanding their unique hair narrative. Let's talk shop about recognizing the collage of textures on a single head and developing a battle plan for each curl's quirks and mood swings. By the end of our time together, you'll be armed with the know-how to turn those once-feared curly consultations into sessions where lifelong client bonds are forged, and your arsenal of products and techniques is robustly expanded.
Curly hair consultations. Are you afraid of curly hair? A lot of people are. A lot of stylists are, so today we're gonna break it down. If someone with curly hair comes into the salon, you're gonna know exactly how to talk to them.
Speaker 1:
Welcome to All About Hair, the go-to podcast for stylists, salon owners and anyone passionate about hair styling. Whether you're a seasoned stylist refining your skills or a curious listener looking to enhance your hair knowledge, we've got you covered. I'm your host, denise Kylitz, a former stylist and salon owner with four award-winning salons under my belt, with over 30 years of experience, I've dedicated myself to helping stylists excel in foundational hair cutting, color theory, client communication and more, enabling them to build six-figure careers they can be proud of. My mission is to uplift our industry by sharing valuable insights gathered along my journey. Get ready for enlightening discussions, captivating interviews and practical advice on marketing, sales and technical skills. This is the podcast All About Hair.
Speaker 1:
Someone with curly hair sits down in your chair for the first time and, instead of approaching them like you would any other consultation or I don't know do you even do a consultation? You should. That's a whole other conversation. You need to know a little bit about curly hair, right. I remember when this was a long time ago textures really coming back. So that's a wonderful, wonderful godsend, right. That natural texture, wearing your hair in its natural state, curly hair. If you have waves, make them big, you know things like that. It's coming back. It's a wonderful, wonderful thing. I'm not talking about frizzy hair, I'm talking about curly texture, and there's all kinds of curly texture. But I remember this one time that our salon was just beginning to blossom, okay, and our education was just getting up to speed, things like that and we had some stylists that were afraid to cut curly hair and they actually turned away people because they had curly hair and instead of acknowledging the fact that, oh, I don't know how to cut curly hair, I think it made the client actually feel bad about their hair texture. Isn't that awful. So when I heard that happened, I never wanted that to happen again. So I made sure that everybody knew how at least the basics of how to cut curly hair, what to look for, what to talk about, do's and don'ts, things like that. So kind of that's what we're gonna discuss today. There's so much about curly hair and I tell you what, if you wanna specialize in something, curly hair is a winner. So because people with curly hair, when they find a stylist who knows how to cut their hair, they will not leave you and if you have a product for curly hair, that magic potion, if you will, they will buy it. So just get to know your products, get to know hair, get to know different textures, and that's what we're gonna be talking about.
Speaker 1:
Okay, so first thing, with consultation for curly hair, just remember, not all curls are created equal. You've got people that have really kinky curly hair and you've got people that have just loose waves and maybe they just want to make it wavier looking with layers or product or whatever, and you could possibly have different texture. In fact, this happens all the time different texture on the same head. So one spot might be really kinky, one spot might be loose, and you have to, as a stylist, figure out how to handle that. The second thing this is a must Listen to your guests.
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Okay, they know their hair a lot better than you do. They've been living with it. Now, they might not have all the answers, because that's why they're sitting in your chair, but they know their hair, they know how it reacts to things, how it behaves. You've got to listen to what they're saying. Now, look, they might not have the same verbiage that we use behind the chair, but that's okay, let them talk and don't talk down to them just because they don't know the language. Then, once you know what their pain points are, so say they don't have a style to the front of their hair or their hair looks real bulky at the ends, like a little triangle. So once you understand their pain points, then you can develop some kind of plan of attack. But you have to listen to them.
Speaker 1:
Don't go into the consultation thinking, oh, I'm the curly specialist, I know what's best for them and you want to cut this big round halo haircut on them. Well, maybe they don't want that. They don't want big hair, they just want a decent haircut that they can wear different ways. My dog is being a little noisy right now, so forgive me if you hear stuff in the background.
Speaker 1:
One of the hardest parts about doing a curly hair consultation is letting the guests know what their hair can and can't do. Okay, what if they show you a picture and they really want a certain look, but their hair won't be able to do that? You need to be able to approach it and say, hey, we can do this or we can do that, but we can't do this, okay, and you've got to be the professional. Really, what you're after, too, is you want their hair to be the healthiest that it can be, because curly hair can frizz and get real, and most people and I know myself I have curly hair and when I wear it in the curly state you can hide a lot of sins in that curly hair. But it needs trims just as much as straight hair does. It needs healthy conditioning, it needs moisture. So even if you can get them in for monthly treatments, that's even great.
Speaker 1:
But knowing how they take care of their hair, knowing how often they wash, what kind of styling things they do to it, do they let it air dry? Do they diffuse? Do they coil it around with their fingers? Do they tie it up in one of those scrunchy things that they have out now you need to know what they're doing so you can help them. You can best help them.
Speaker 1:
Also, make sure you have plenty of reference photos of every type of curl pattern. Get on Pinterest, look up curly hair. They've got tons of pictures. Do different hairstyles, categorize it. Different hairstyles Up down, long, short.
Speaker 1:
Really show them and showcase what you can do with curly hair, because some people don't even know it. They've just been growing their hair because they haven't been, they haven't found a stylist or someone who would actually listen to them or someone who knows how to cut curly hair. So many people lopsided, or you end up with this chunk of layer in the hair. It's awful. And so then what happens is people just don't trust the stylist anymore and they don't go to the salon, and we don't want that. We want people coming to the salon. Ask them to bring in pictures too. It might not be of their hair, it might not be of them, and it might be really far-fetched goal. It might not even be something that you can achieve on their head Color, curl, pattern, texture, how they part their hair, just simple things like that. But have them bring in a picture of their goal, of what they're trying to achieve, and I really think that'll go far. And make sure that you tell them, or you at least accept, that it's okay that they're using consumer language. They don't have to use our professional terminology that we use in the salon. They don't have to know 2A, 3c, different curl, texture, patterns, anything. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Don't do that. Let them talk, let them be a human and listen to them. Get eyeball to eyeball.
Speaker 1:
And if you haven't listened to my podcast on the five consultation easy consultation tips, go back. I think it's 131. I'm wrong, I'll put it in the show notes, but it's five easy ways of doing any consultation. And you'll still want to utilize these five steps for curly consultations, because you could talk about hair color and how that's going to affect the look. You can talk about their haircut, their condition, the cost what do they want to spend on their hair? And then, how often do they want to be in the salon, the convenience. So the five Cs I just gave them to you, but go listen to it anyway.
Speaker 1:
And then the final thing you want to do is test their hair. Look at their hair in wet and dry conditions. That's going to tell you a lot. You want to make sure that they come into their consultation, whether it's just a consultation or it's their actual haircut. But make sure, when you coach them on the phone before they come in, that you're telling them come in how you wear your hair, because that's going to tell you a lot of things like how do they wear their hair and also what maybe is their skill set. You could tell if somebody diffuses their hair, if they use the right products on their hair. If they don't know how to style their hair, because maybe they've just brushed through all their curls, you want them to come in how they style their hair. But then also you want to see their hair wet, because that's going to tell you lots of things like the porosity, if their hair soaks up, the water, the hydration, if they need a mask or some kind of moisture treatment. Most curly hair girls need some kind of moisture, because that's what's causing the frizz, is the dehydration of their hair. Just side note, from just seeing it wet and dry, then you can determine what color to use, what formula you're going to use for hair cutting, if you're going to cut it wet or dry.
Speaker 1:
So let me ask you this what do you do to learn about hair that scares you, and what do I mean by that? So say you were that one of my stylists a long time ago. Curly girls were walking in the shop and you were scared because you've never cut curly hair before. What would you do to educate yourself on how to get better behind the chair, because that's really what it is right. They say knowledge is power. Really, the use of your knowledge is the power. So take classes. There's so many different brands out there that offer curly hair haircut how-to's. I mean so many brands. I mean it's like a. This started I don't know a few years back. Even the curriculum at our school now has curly hair, natural textured hair in the curriculum, which is wow, wonderful, wonderful. But educate yourself, go to classes, never stop learning. That is the key, key thing.
Speaker 1:
So, anyway, here's what I want you to do. I want you to look up curly hair. I want you to go to Pinterest. I want you to make some categories on your Pinterest page. You know different. You know wavy hair, curly hair, really kinky hair. However you want to call it, you don't have to call it 2A, 3c, whatever. Okay, I've never done that, ever. Most people don't know that lingo. So make yourself some categories on Pinterest. Maybe even make color categories for curly hair, like highlights around the face versus highlights all throughout or lowlights, because how you place the color on curly hair, you color it different. Okay, the highlights have to be a little bit chunkier so you can see the ribbons in the hair, but you got to make sure that you need to ask them do you ever wear your hair straight? Because if they do, that's going to look completely different. That's why this consultation is so, so important. But okay, back to what I want you to do Pinterest page right.
Speaker 1:
Pinterest, look up curly hair all types. Create that for your guests, for yourself, and if you are unsure on how to cut that they do have curly hair mannequin, doll heads just go to Amazon or Pivot Point or something like that. Or if you have a friend say, hey, can I just play with your hair, you don't have to cut their hair, but learn how to diffuse their hair, learn how to wash their hair, learn how to set it in different ways, learn how to do their bang area a little bit different. You know, do it on somebody safe that's not paying you, and see what you can come up with. If you need help with that, reach out to me. That's why I'm here. I have a whole video on how to diffuse your hair, how to work with curly hair. I'll link it down here.
Speaker 1:
Be somebody different, be a different stylist. Be somebody that people can depend on, that they feel comfortable coming in and talking to you and guess what, If you don't know how to do something, own it too. Say, hey, you know it's a little bit out of my comfort zone. I don't mind going down this route with you. I like you as a client, however that is. But own that too. Don't do something that you don't know how to do just for the money, because you're going to have a disappointing guest and you're going to be disappointed too. And guess it crushes your confidence actually when you make mistakes on people. Anyway, I hope this has helped. Make sure.
Speaker 1:
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