Why you do really need a hair consultation
A hair consultation, for extensions or general hair services, is crucial for the stylist and client to make sure you get the hair you really want. It’s not just for being a new client either, consultations are great for new treatments and services that work for your hair and when you are looking to make a change to your hair. The consultation allows you to talk through how the service works, if your hair is suitable, give you a price and answer any questions and concerns you have. Make the most of your consultation with these helpful tips.
Before your consultationDo your homework in finding a stylist. You can find a list of extensionists working with our hair on our Find A Stylist and whilst they have an account with us as a professional running a salon business, we do not check and police their application work. We therefore recommend you check a couple of things for yourself:
- Extension application training certification (look for the HABIA endorsement logo on these certificates for reassurance)
- Check what hair brands they work with, the methods available and the quality of the hair extensions
- Check their social media feeds for client reviews and examples of their application work
Have a think about why you want hair extensions in the first place and if there is a problem you are trying to overcome, such as if you are struggling to grow your hair at the sides and extensions would help fill-in to create a better shape. Maybe it’s just about more length, so check our Length Guide and try a tape measure on yourself to see just how long that really is. Similarly, to adding volume, more hair means more care and you need to be sure this is manageable, so talk this through with the extensionist and maybe work up to where you want to be in stages.
Want some more hair inspiration? Head to our Instagram to look for images on our feed and also check out the Trends Highlight and save to a Collection so you can find them easily when at the salon.
ColourWe have some beautiful base shade colours, mixed shades where two colours are blended already, and a range of special shades with Dip Dye, Ombre and Root Stretches. See our full colour range here to give you an idea. You can see some of these in real-life in our Instagram Guides too.
Looking at a colour online can be difficult to tell if that’s really the right match for you, so an in-salon professional colour match is the best option at your consultation. It’s also worth being realistic that some images you see may have a filter or edited, so there’s nothing that beats seeing the colours in-salon for yourself.
If you are using another stylists for your colour work, ideally go to your hair extension consultation with the new colour for that perfect match.
The consultation itselfHead in with your hair styled as you like to wear it so the stylist can see this for themselves. Whilst you have done your own preparation to give you a good understanding and maybe also help hone your questions in this meeting, make use of the stylist’s skills as this is what they do. They may have a suggestion on colour to really make the most of your skin and eye colouring, a style tweak to enhance your face shape and the inside track on the hair trends to try.
The paperworkWe offer pre-made Consultation Forms for our stylists and this forms an agreement with yourselves. It is a mutual agreement where you need to be honest in your information, agree to care for your extensions and return for your maintenance and safe removal to have the best experience with your extensions.
You may also be offered a strand test. It’s nothing to worry about but tests that you do not have an allergy to the bond, although incredibly rare. Also, it gives you a chance to feel how a bond lies in your hair which is useful if you have not had extensions or a particular method before.
The form asks questions about your lifestyle, health and medical information so try to be as honest as possible so that the stylist can help match the right type of extensions that will work best for your lifestyle and also how you like to wear your hair. So, for example, if you need to have your hair tied back for work every day, you need to share this with the stylist to help ensure that this is taken into consideration for where the bonds are placed at the application to be discreet when tied up. For some lifestyles, the extensionist may be able to advise you for further haircare to reduce any possible problems.
The commitmentHaving invested in good hair you are going to want it to look it’s best and Super Stylist Alex Ferris of Hair Extensions by Alex Ferris explains further:
“Ask how much the refit/maintenance will be and how often this is needed for the method you are going ahead with because extensions are not just a one-off expense. If you want to continue having them, you need to budget for these too and invest in the correct products so you can get the maximum wear out of your new hair.”
Understand the full costs for the lifespan of the hair and make sure you can afford this before committing further.
Whilst many extensionists offer consultations as a free service, some may also charge as this is a significant amount of time out of their diary. So, don’t be offended if there is a small charge for this appointment, as they may well also reduce the cost of your application appointment by this amount too.
Regardless of whether extensions are new to you or you are a long-term wearer, it is worth doing your research and ensuring you use the consultation to get to know your hair transformation, understand how to get the most from the hair and to care for it properly so that it will last longer.