minardi

Let’s say it’s April, and you’re looking for a new accountant to help you manage your finances. (Okay, fine—it’s March.) You do your research, ask your friends for advice, check references, and then you settle on a smart, competent person to take care of business. Now, it’s time for the first appointment, and you bring with you all of your receipts, your past returns, as well as a detailed account of your financial history. Why do you do this? So the new accountant can do the best possible job for you.

The same advice holds for finding—and visiting--a new hair-colorist. Think of it as doing due- diligence in order to protect your valuable investment. Before you take even two steps into a salon, here’s what I recommend…

Book a color specialist: No, not someone who cuts hair but really, really likes to color…someone who only does color. I truly believe they are two entirely different kinds of people, and you want the most specialization you can get. A fabulous, passionate cutter sculpts hair with scissors—they look at the head in a three-dimensional way, much like an artist working with clay. People who color hair all day are a little nutty (like me!); think of them as crazy artists working with paint on canvas. It’s a growing specialty and one that you should seek out when looking for someone new.

Avoid wearing foundation or blusher to your appointment: A good colorist needs to evaluate your natural skin tone…and that’s hard to do when you have a layer of Base #23 and Casual Coral masking your real complexion.

Skip the turtleneck:

The neck is probably the very best indicator of your actual skin tone (which is why, when you buy foundation, you should always test it on your neck, rather than your chin or hand). Granted, at the time of service, you’ll probably be in a robe that reveals your décolleté…but during your initial consultation, try to reveal as much of your neck area as possible.

Be honest about your hair history: Didn’t pay your taxes last year? You tell the accountant. Jumped from blonde to ginger to platinum to chestnut last year? Please tell your colorist. We simply must know what’s underneath in order to make decisions that will work for your hair.
Bring magazine photos: As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. (Or in the case of a color appointment, at least $100.) What’s “buttery” or “caramel” to you, might be something entirely different to the professional looking at your hair.

Tote some of your favorite lipsticks along: Showing your colorist the different shades you wear gives us a big clue about your style and personality. One person might bring in seven different tame tones of beige and pale pink; while another person whips out ruby-red and a highly-metallic tube of copper.
Be open to making dramatic changes in stages: It’s not that you can’t go from brown to blonde…it’s that doing so over two-to-three visits is sometimes more effective than overworking the hair and trying to alter your color in one fell swoop.

Be daring…but not risky: What’s the difference? Let me play it out for you….Say a girl comes in looking like Jennifer Aniston, with blonde hair over a soft-brown base. She wants to go with a bold, deep chocolate. No problem. That’s daring (and fun, I might add). But in walks a woman who has bleached her hair to almost-white multiple times, and she’s telling me she wants to go with burgundy. That’s risky. Remember: Color is not a cure for bad, damaged hair.

Avoid being the last appointment of the day: It’s simple…we’re human and we get tired! Better to put yourself on the books in the morning, when your colorist is fresh and perky…and still enjoying the caffeine from her morning latte.

Best,

B!