Hello, my name is Natalia. I’m a manager of an ordinary beauty salon: we have average prices and certified professionals. You have probably used services like ours at some point in your life. All companies have their own secrets and you should know about them before you go to a hairdresser.
Especially for ViralSection, I will tell you what happens behind the scenes of many beauty salons and whether expensive hair procedures are really worth it.
Some procedures are not worth the money
- Hair Botox is exceptionally popular: after the hair is covered with a special product, it becomes smooth, shiny, and elastic, and it doesn’t break as often. First things first, this product will lighten your hair by 1-2 tones. And second, 2-3 months later, the effect of the Botox will wear off and the hair will look exactly the way it did before the procedure, or even worse. In order to make it smooth and shiny again, you will have to pay at least $70 to a beauty salon, several times a year (the longer your hair, the more it will cost). If you are not ready to pay this much for the procedure, then don’t even start.
- Another hit among the salon’s offerings is cutting with hot scissors. This procedure costs 2 times more than a regular haircut, because special thermal scissors are used. And they heat the ends of hair, which prevents split ends. But if you get haircuts regularly, your hairdresser removes the split ends anyway. Most people use this service once and don’t see the point of paying for it again.
- Very often, clients are disappointed after they have their hair laminated: yes, the hair becomes more shiny and smooth, but the product gets washed out in a matter of a couple of weeks. One of our clients once came to us in tears: she had her hair laminated at a different salon. She washed her hair twice and it looked as if she had never had the procedure.
- The same works for keratin restoration and straightening: these are not treatment procedures but cosmetic in nature. Useful nutrients can’t get inside the hair, it is just that the product covers the hair from the outside and makes it visually thicker and smoother. And just like any hair dye, it gets washed off in a matter of a few weeks and the hair looks just like it did before.
© Depositphotos
- From my experience in communicating with clients and watching the professionals work, it is possible to maintain the healthy state of your hair without very expensive salon procedures. It is enough to have the ends cut regularly, to not use a curling iron too often, to use thermal protection products before using a hairdryer, and to use special creams for the ends of the hair. And of course, don’t torture your hair with lightening procedures.
- An interesting fact about hair dyeing: about 95% of our clients dye their hair in balayage and ombre styles. It is even hard to tell them from one another. And the girls that stand out are the ones with a more natural hair color or a solid color hair. It is cheaper to have one-color hair and the hair damage is minimal.
Sometimes, you are blatantly deceived.
- Some “advanced” beauty salons teach their employees to deceive their clients: they use cheap products that look like expensive ones and they apply expensive hair masks without asking for the client’s permission and then include them in the bill. Honest professionals mix the hair dye right in front of their clients and always ask them if they want any additional procedures. You have the right to not pay for the procedures you didn’t ask for.
- Some dishonest hairdressers hide bad hair dyeing jobs using tonics. For example, the yellow color can be hidden with a violet shampoo. You will only see the real color after you wash your hair at home. If this happens, go to the salon and tell them what happened — they have to fix all of their mistakes. And if it is impossible to achieve the necessary color from the first attempt, they have to tell you about this in advance.
- Always pay attention to the certificates of the hairdressers: good professionals take courses in order to improve their level. This is especially important when they have to do a difficult dye job. There are many techniques now, and it is impossible to learn all of them just by watching tutorial videos. If you are not sure about a hairdresser, ask for a certificate, don’t take their word for it.
- Even the most expensive beauty salons may try to deceive you. One of our employees told us that her previous boss made them wash disposable gloves, and fill the bottles of expensive products with cheap ones because she was trying to save money.
About failed expectations
“How is it even possible to straighten my hair like the salon does?”
- There is a popular opinion that some haircuts look great on anyone. On the one hand, some classic shapes look good on almost any face. But before getting a haircut, always listen to the opinion of the professional. If they are sure that your hair type won’t match up great with a certain cut, it is probably true: after the cut and styling you will look good but what are you going to do the next morning? You’re going to have to use curling irons and other devices.
- If you decide to change your hair color dramatically, and before, you used to use henna, make sure that your hairdresser knows about it. Natural henna has a strong and resilient pigment, unlike artificial dyeing products. The result of dyeing hair that has been dyed with henna may be unpredictable.
- Bad news for those who want to dye their hair an unusual color, for example, green or violet. These colors don’t last long. And in order to prolong the brightness, you’re going to have to redo the procedure every month.
- One of our regular clients had been dyeing her hair red for a long time and then she decided to change the color to violet. We had to do the wash 3 times, then we dyed the hair, and then we toned it. The hair was pretty long, so the procedure took 6 hours. For a year, the girl was struggling trying to maintain the color and the style — the color was pinkish and dirty, and the hair was hard to style, and became very fragile.
- By the way, for bright hair, there is a little trick: in order to not damage your hair, you can get hair extensions (just a few locks). You can dye them any color and change it for the next 5 years.
About the peculiarities of clients
- We aren’t the most expensive salon in the city and the prices are pretty appealing. But some clients still try to make us give them a significant discount. Sometimes, the salon meets them halfway, but you should understand that the price of the haircut also includes washing the hair with professional shampoo, using a hair conditioner, and styling the hair. A client that wants to pay less only gets the haircut. And the funniest thing is that some clients still end up disappointed — they want all the services for half the price.
- Once, a client asked us to style her hair — she wanted curls. The hairdresser did the job, and the client left for her corporate party. 2 days later, she came back and asked for a refund. She thought the curls would stay that way for 2 weeks!
Have you ever had any expensive hair services? Which services do you think are not worth your money and which can only be done by a professional?
Preview photo credit Depositphotos
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