Getting the right style

WANT a bit of a change but don’t want to come out looking like a fashion disaster? Changing hair salons and worried that you won’t get what you want? Check out these tips for getting good haircuts.

Before you let anyone pick up a pair of scissors, have a simple hair wash. Tell the salon before they start that you will be coming for a cut in a few days, but that you want them to see your hair wet and dry.

Use the time to discuss with the person who will eventually cut your locks what problem areas you have so that there are no surprises on the day.

List what you need from your style. For example, do you just want a simple wash and go, or do you want longish hair that you can put up and wear down too? Do you need a style that you can work out in at the gym and then very quickly blow dry after? Asking yourself this will help you pick something that suits your lifestyle.

Although it can be useful to cut out celebrity pictures and say, “I want that”, the truth is that those deceptively simple looks often require a professional as well as a tonne of products. A simpler way is to look at what suits your face shape.

For this, first discover your face shape. There are lots of web sites for this ( just Google determine my face shape) and once you have that, you can find sites dedicated to matching hair cuts ( Google hair cuts for diamond/ oval faces). Have a good look, print out what appeals and talk to your stylist to see what is practical and what is not.

Finally, talk to the stylist. A professional can tell you what works, what doesn’t, what typical problems are and more, so have a good chat about what you want to see if it’s achievable.

If it’s a radical change, see if you can have a preview of some kind. For example, if you want your hair chemically straightened or waved, the stylist can fake this with clever blow- drying so you can see what you would look like before you decide on the style.